Ain’t Nothing Like a Bad Thing - to open the door to something great!

Imagine awakening in the middle of the night to strange noises coming from somewhere in your house or apartment.  Groggy, you stumble out of bed, donning slippers and robe.  With a cautious creep, like a dog suspiciously investigating some strange new object that’s blown into the backyard, you step into the hall.  Gradually, you realize the noise is coming from the spare room, and you swear you can hear music…

There's a party goin' on right here,

A celebration to last throughout the years

So bring your good times, and your laughter too

We’re gonna celebrate your party with you

Yep, it’s music alright.  It’s Celebration by Kool & the Kang.  Next, you hear party horns, and strange, high-pitched sounds.  “Is somebody having a party in my house?!  Should I call the police?” you wonder.  “No, officer,” you imagine yourself saying, “I don’t have a teenager expecting me to be out of town.  And no, I have not taken any kind of street drugs within the last 24 hours.”  You shake your head and move toward the door, noticing flashing lights escaping beneath it.  Aliens?!!  Have aliens landed on earth and chosen your house to set up shop and party before taking over the planet?  Again you consider calling for help, but an inviting warmth pulls you towards the door, and so you slowly open it.

“OMG!” you scream, at which point a glimmering, shimmering, sparkling being of light turns, smiles, and says, “No, it’s just us angels right now, God likes to come fashionably late to these things.”  You are dumbfounded!  Peering around the room, you’d swear you just walked in on a posse of angels indeed partying in your house.  Then one of the sparkling light beings approaches and introduces himself as one of your guardian angels, Randy.  He beckons you into the room and introduces you to several other angels who’ve helped you at different times throughout your life.  Next, they invite you to dance, and although you agree to, you’re still not sure what’s being celebrated, especially since your life is in shambles right now.  As the Celebration chorus begins, the angels toss confetti and sing, “Celebrate good times, come on!” But you abruptly stop—out of the corner of your eye you catch sight of a banner you’d missed before.  It says 2009 Economic Crisis on Earth! “Celebrate good times?!!!” you say to yourself.  And then, forgetting you are in the presence of divinity, you yell out, “What the hell is going on here?!!!”  Instantly and to your surprise, the music stops.  Party horns, confetti, and all the angels except Randy disappear.

You and Randy are now left standing alone.  “I’m sorry, I just don’t understand how you can be celebrating when I’ve lost my job, haven’t been able to find another one, and don’t know how I’m going to pay my bills!  How can you be celebrating when so many people are suffering?”  Randy then comes closer and tells you there’s nothing to be sorry about, as your feelings are authentic.  He then lovingly explains that the divine conscious collective has deep compassion for what people are going through during these challenging times, and he is here to share a message of hope.

“What if you look at this situation from our vantage point?” Randy asks.  “What if this is an opportunity to get off the treadmill you’ve been running on, catch your breath, and take a closer look at what you’ve been creating?  Because you do, indeed, create your life experience.”

“You see, many people are strongly influenced by the external world’s voices,” Randy continues.  “You tend to follow the opinions of your parent’s, teachers, friends, ministers, coworkers, spouses, hairdressers, politicians, and media.  And you’ve chosen life paths that don’t feel authentic to your true self or deepest desires.  You’ve learned from those voices that you have to compromise on your integrity, be ‘realistic’, and follow the rules.  And so you never find your groove, because the only choices you see are the ones fitting the external world’s bleak perceptions of success and how to obtain it.

“People lose touch with the fact that you were born with a previously installed navigation system that operates from your authentic inner-self, so the most rewarding course for your life is best selected from within, by listening to your deepest, truest feelings.  This often requires you to daringly ignore what the external world says is doable, and trust your intuition.  But many disregard their calm, confident inner voice because the unruly voice of the external world yells louder.  It screams what you can and can’t do, what you should and shouldn’t do, and what is and isn’t possible. You end up living a life designed by the external world that your now tainted inner world insists makes sense.

“You sometimes feel you’re on the wrong path, or that your values, goals, and dreams aren’t really your own.  You may even consider getting off the treadmill, but every time you try, there’s some other person, circumstance, or your inner-judge insisting why you can’t.  You end up feeling stuck, trapped, and enslaved to the life you’ve created.  You don’t jump off the treadmill because it’s going too fast.  You know you’re running out of steam, feeling despondent, like you’re just going through the motions.  Or you feel increasingly volatile, but you convince yourself you must ‘keep on keeping on.’  So your journey is one of limitation and struggle, stress and force while you ignore your heart and gut, your true power centers.

“When a major crisis occurs, when the economy, religious institutions, the environment, or political systems start to crumble, you get tripped-up and forced, or ultimately flung off the treadmill.  At first you feel you’ve taken a devastating fall.  You’re sprawled on the floor, breathless and dizzy.  Feeling panicked and frantic, and not yet able to see the potential good of your new circumstance, you try to figure out how to get back on the speeding treadmill because that’s all you know to do.  You think there are no other choices, so you struggle to find a way back into the same old kind of uninspiring, superficial, corrupt, stressful, or messy lives you’ve been living, desperate to continue doing what you’ve always done.

“However, if you lie still long enough to catch your breath, you start staring up at the ceiling for answers.  You start noticing details, its color, texture, imperfections, variations, divots, and painted mishaps.  Simultaneously, you start doing the same with your life, really noticing it, examining it, and looking at the details of it.  Your fall gave you the opportunity to pay attention and really notice fine points of your life that you’ve been glancing past. Now you see that perhaps you’re life has been a front for true success and happiness all along.  That’s when you consider that perhaps a new door has swung open, one with greater possibilities and a chance to create a new life from your heart’s desire.

“You start saying maybe I don’t have to keep doing what I’ve always done.  Maybe I can pick up my childhood dream from where I left it.  Perhaps there’s another way to create the life I want without struggle and force.  Maybe success is more than making money.  Perhaps I don’t have to stay in this relationship.  Maybe I could start my own business or go into a new career.  Maybe I can improve our world with my ideas.  Perhaps I don’t have to just accept this medical diagnosis.  This is my chance to let go and start anew.  Really, what do you have to lose at this point?!!

“When you start challenging previously held beliefs and perceived limitations, and rebuilding trust in your inner guidance, you create an opening for divine consciousness to show you the way to balance and wholeness.  Suddenly you find the universe supporting your journey in the form of mind-boggling synchronicities, unbelievable opportunities, and magical surprises.  You rekindle your innate ability to harness awe-inspiring divine power to create magic—to open doors where there were no doors, to run into the right person at the right time, or to come across a tree of money just when you need it.”  You find your heart guiding you to a life path that is rewarding and thrilling, and with much better scenery than you had while trudging on that treadmill of prefabricated life paths.  You will find that instead of forcing, you can allow; instead of working hard, you work inspired.  Instead of ‘going by the book,’ you can write the book, and instead of exploiting, you can create and benefit others in the process.

“There ain’t nothing like a bad thing to open the door to something great, and we angels are celebrating this opportunity to work with you through the major paradigm shift underway on planet earth.  This ‘crisis’ is evolving you into higher beings, and you will manifest a beautiful new world.  A world that’s good for you, good for others, and good for the environment.

Speechless, you turn as Randy puts his arm around your shoulder and walks you back down the hall.  As you say your goodbyes, he assures you that you can call on him for assistance.  He’s always available, and it is his greatest joy to help you fulfill your life purpose.

**************

So how do we get back on a path that feels right for us?  What can we do to clear out the negative beliefs that have formed in our subconscious minds, and dissolve the unsupportive voices in our heads?  How can we start making life choices consistent with our deepest values and goals?  How can we see the opportunity this economic crisis has afforded us?

Hypnotherapy or Hypnosis is a powerful tool.  Hypnotherapy allows us to eliminate damaging subconscious beliefs that were formed at a very young age, and restore our positive, loving inner voice.  A number of therapeutic techniques, including regression therapy, sub-personality therapy, emotional clearing and others allow clients to return to the time a belief was formed or speak directly with the subpart, our inner critic for example, reprogram the subconscious mind and return to balance.

Coloring therapy is a fun and effective self-hypnotic tool you can use on your own at home to help realign your subconscious beliefs, thoughts, and actions in a positive way.  Remember when you were a child, lying on the floor with crayon in hand, full of joy and tranquility?  Coloring therapy is a great way to reconnect to that state you enjoyed as a child, which was actually a light trance or hypnotic state.

So get yourselves a good variety of colored pencils, crayons or pastels and find some printable coloring pages for adults online.  Mandala coloring pages, my favorites, have designs many ancient cultures regard as symbols of healing, and connote the presence of spirit and wholeness that exists in each of us.  Coloring or creating our own Mandala connects us deeply with our inner guidance and helps us heal and return to balance.  The repetitive strokes and hand movements, coupled with the healing sacred geometry of the Mandala usher you into hypnotic trance, where mental balance can be restored.

To make your coloring session even more powerful, start with some soothing music.  Then, place a notebook nearby to jot down notes you’ll use as you transition back to full awareness.  It’s a good idea to color for at least 15 minutes.  Thirty minutes or more is even better.

Begin by taking three deep breaths from your belly.  Place your hand on your lower abdomen so you can feel your belly expanding and contracting, and continue to breathe from your belly as you color.  While coloring, first notice calmness and joy washing over your body, and bask in it.  Then as you continue coloring, notice the feelings and thoughts that surface.  Don’t attach to them, just observe them as they come and go, and notice how the higher self that is coloring remains calm and joyful.  This is a glimpse at understanding that your chattering mind or personality is a separate entity from the real you or higher self that’s enjoying the coloring.  Here you can discern your inner dialogue and its negative tendencies without disrupting your peaceful state.  As you do this, you become wiser, realizing the negative voices or upset feelings are a response to life experiences you had long ago.  You no longer have to believe those voices or attach to those feelings.  As you detach from them, the unsupportive beliefs begin to dissipate, returning you to your natural tranquil state.  The more you do this while coloring, the more you’ll carry this peaceful state into your daily life as well.

Here is an exercise from the book Joy of Living by Sanaya Roman that I have adapted slightly.

When you’re ready—before returning to a more alert state—complete the following:

“During my coloring session, I experienced the following wonderful, delicious, positive feelings: _________.”

Good.  Now consider an area of your life where you are struggling, feeling confused, frustrated, off track, or experiencing lack.

Write about this area of your life here:______________________

Now, decide which part of you is creating this.  Close your eyes, breathe, and imagine its appearance, what age it is, what its facial expressions are, what it’s feeling, wearing, doing, etc.  Is it your inner critic, your inner child, your victim, cynic, Mr. or Miss Perfect?  Try to give the part a character name/role like you would in a play.

Write the details about this part:___________________

FYI:  Our subparts or sub-personalities each have individual beliefs, feelings, and purposes that formed very early in life.  Although this part may be causing you some problems, there’s a need to have compassion and befriend it.  It’s wounded and has acquired some negative coping strategies, but it’s attempting to help you, protect you, or get your needs met in some way.  Our healing goal is to redirect this part so that it works with you in a more positive manner.

Continuing….

Now thank this part of you for trying, in the best way it knows how, to help you.  Next ask the part what good thing it is doing for you?

Write this parts purpose:________________

Next ask the part if it would be willing to help but in a different way, one that would assist you in creating a life that feels more authentic and joyful.  Perhaps ask it to keep a look out for new ways to help you create that life, such as keeping track of synchronicities, new ideas, hunches, or unique opportunities.  Perhaps ask it to help you deal with this economic crisis by thinking outside the box and coming up with an innovative career idea.

Look again at this part of you.  Has it changed, does it look older, wiser, or happier?  Thank this part of you for being so willing to listen and help you in this new way.

Describe how this part of you has changed:__________

After completing the exercise, allow yourself to come back to ordinary reality by stretching or yawning.  As you go through your days keep a little notebook near by to record the new findings this part of you discovers, and watch your life begin to transform.

Remember to use coloring therapy on a regular basis; reprogramming the subconscious mind requires consistency, at least once a week, if not more. Even a short session done when you’re feeling stressed, frustrated, or angry can be hugely beneficial.  Also, understand that it’s normal to have several parts, so each time you do this, another part may appear that needs healing or to be returned to balance.

I wish you much joy, insight, and healing as you work with coloring therapy.  Please feel free to share your experiences with me, as I welcome your feedback!

Vanessa Phillips is a Certified Clinical Counseling Hypnotherapist with a passion for helping clients reconnect with their loving inner voice, true life paths, and innate divine power.  She has a private practice in Sherman Oaks, California, and she also offers phone hypnotherapy sessions.  You can reach Vanessa at www.fullyempoweredhypnotherapy.com.