Telling the story of our lives

I don't know about you, but this last 6 weeks have given me the opportunity to really reflect on the story I tell of my life so far, how it is now, and how I perceive the future. It is fascinating to look at the language I use to describe past, present and future. I keep catching myself saying pretty negative things, particularly about the future, like "I'm really going to struggle if I can't get paid work soon". Sound familiar?

This doesn't just happen with future predicitons, we can also be telling ourselves (and others) stories about our past that, although true, can energetically be holding us in a place of victim or disempowerment or lack. So this week's first activity is to write down negative phrases you hear yourself saying - to yourself, or others - that define/tell the story or how it was for you in the past. Even if they are phrases that are 100% true; that tell of abuse or anguish, abandonment or poverty. It is interesting to notice how often some of us continue to re-traumatise ourselves by identifying with something that happened to us a long time ago, when by doing so we are allowng that story to flavour our present. I am not saying that we should ignore our wounds or our life's learning, just offering the idea (if you've not already embraced it) that by re-framing or choosing to stop telling these stories, we allow ourselves the opportunity to turn the page and start a fresh chapter.

The second part of this activity is to bring your attention to what you are telling yourself and others about how you are now. If you are doing this course during lockdown and the immediate aftermath of the Covid19 pandemic I imagine you will have plenty of  material for this and the next (future stories) section!! Because you are taking the time to do this self-caring course, you will of course be spending as much time as you can being positive about yourself and making the best of your current situation, but just write down any negative messages that you notice that you give yourself about what the story of your life looks like at this time (I am constantly starting to say how scary it is to have no income, and how much the controlling side of me hates not knowing when this will all end). 

Thirdly, do you find yourself making any negative or limiting forecasts about the future? Write these down if you do. 

We will weave all that you discover here into a creative activity once you've done the guided visualisation!