To those struggling and want to start spiralling up, please read the whole article because I wrote it for you.
The only moment that exist is now. As you read this, that is the only thing that is real, right? The past and future don't exist here and now. Therefore, they are imaginary. They are perceived.
Yes the past objectively influences the present. Such as getting a cut on your hand at age 4, and the scar is still present. And as an example, dropping out of university due to CPTSD means you got a crap job and a crap apartment and that makes you feel like a loser and forever stuck.
I'm not discounting the terrible, horrific things some of you have experienced.
This article is about taking control of your mind and the perceived past. So you can finally shift. And disclaimer: if your past is too traumatic to even think about, please speak to a professional. This is article is for those that are not so traumatised that they cannot recall the past or are unable to think/write about it.
The vast majority is of your life is influenced my imagination and feelings. Therefore, it is the most important thing in the world in my opinion. Because in imagination you can feel like a winner (it may take over a year to get there, but it I believe it's possible for everyone). And that feeling makes people respond different. I heard one story of someone that spent 4 hours getting in the zone and when he went to an interview, he was hired on the spot. This is the power of getting your imagination/feeling right.
If you feel good things never happen or life is doom and gloom, it's due to past memories. If life has been hard on you, you expect things to continue being hard. It makes sense.
However, that expectation is polluting the present and future. You have the ability to feel life is sunshine and rainbows. Because life is largely imaginary. If you can imagine feeling wonderful in a daydream, then it's possible to make that feeling a normal feeling.
You think it's objective, and a small part is. Like 1%. There is nothing that is not MOSTLY influenced by perception. There are people that celebrate when relatives die (instead of grieve). There are people that have fun and prank others after they lose limbs. 99% is imaginary.
It's been scientifically proven that beliefs create reality, biologically speaking. If you want to look it up, look up biologist Bruce Lipton. This means up to 99% of your life is essentially a program running. 99% of your life is basically 100% of it. So the clothes you are wearing right now. The place you are right now is by design. It's not random.
If you were someone else, you might be a multi-millionaire by age 20. If you were someone else, you might decide to surrender everything and become a nun or monk. Why aren't you one of those people? Beliefs.
Beliefs are essentially themes of imagination and feelings organised into neat little boxes. For example "everyone hates me". And it becomes true. You make it true. Your mind is made to look for evidence of it being true and discount any and all evidence of it being false. Therefore can it be any other way?
Adopting the right beliefs can make you see people as friendly and safe, it can result in your boss thinking you're awesome want to promote you etc.
If this resonates, you are now thinking ok, I can get on board with this. That beliefs might be largely influencing me. But how do I change it? The feeling of hopelessness and anxiety is overwhelming and insurmountable.
You can do it by changing the contents of your mind. Remember now is the only moment that exists. So you can change the story in your mind. We are not being delusional here thinking it will change reality. But with enough repetition, it will influence your feelings. And I think what we all want the most is to feel good, happy, at peace, safe.
The mind and body responds to the story you give it. I heard one account of a man dying in a refrigerator cart that he was trapped in overnight. There was just one problem - the refrigeration mechanism was broken! He basically killed himself by his belief. It's important to take control of the mind and feed it a wonderful STORY.
You can have ANYTHING in imagination. And when you focus on it strongly, the mind believes it's real and you feel the appropriate feelings according to the story you feed it. This is why hypnotherapy is so powerful.
But anyway, here is an exercise you can commit to, to start spiralling up:
Write out your life story in one page. You can post it here if you wish. Notice the general theme of it. Write it in 1 sentence. For example "my life is a string of shitty experiences"
Now what is your ideal theme? Mine is excitement, freedom, fun; in one word "flow-state". Now you know what you're aiming for, tweak your life story.
Rewrite it daily. Each time slightly better. For example say you went to a mental hospital at age 16 and it was a terrible turning point in your life. You became more depressed and the staff were horrible and you felt like the dregs of society.
Change it so it helped you. It and put you on a better path. Do whatever is believable and feels good. Next time, write it again but better. Maybe it drastically changed you for the better. Then next time, maybe you never went to the mental hospital. Keep at this. The more you put in, the more it shifts you. But consistency is better than short sprints of enormous effort. So maybe commit to a minimum of 5 mins, but every single day.
