Mind and Envisioning

If you tried to do some of the envisioning exercises and were not successful, this post should be some help for you. Many persons have trouble envisioning. It is a great mental tool often used by Olympic athletes and very successful persons to fulfill goals or gain understanding about a situation. The power of the mind opens many doors, the power of the mind is a gift from God to us. 
Even in daily life we often envision, unnoticed by our conscious mind, certain events. You might have a dog who greets you each time you come home. The moment you think of  it, you also will have a picture of your dog in your mind. However, not all of us are able to do this from the git go.
That's why I give you some exercises to make envisioning for you easier. 

Exercises to help you:

1. Look at an item (fruit, pencil, cup, candle.....etc. Etc.) about 30 seconds, then close your eyes and try to see that item in your mind's eye.

2. Do the same exercise as number one, but now modify consciously with your mind what you see. For example, if you envision a strawberry, add another strawberry or a flat of strawberries or see yourself eating the strawberry.

3. Play with colors: Envision an apple. Apples come in many colors....color them consciously in green, yellow, red or a mix.

4. Think of something you do everyday, such as: brushing your teeth, eating breakfast, getting into the car, going for a walk with your dog, etc. Envision yourself doing one of those things in your mind. (Practice makes perfect... play!)

    5.   If you have trouble finding meaningful work, envision yourself 
          in the work environment you want to be in.
          See yourself doing the work. Do that frequently.

          We draw to ourselves the things we focus on.

© 2012 Angelika Mitchell

Reflections on a Tragedy

This week I will be posting twice. My regular post and one in response to the shootings in Aurora, CO.
First of all I want to say that my heart goes out to the surivors and to the families of the victims. I can only imagine the devastation you must feel.
We all are asking what brought this young man to do something so desperate?

I watched CNN yesterday and the interview between Mr. Pierce and Michael Moore. There were deep questions asked about American Society. Comparisons were made with other countries who have hardly any gun-violence even though their children too watch violent movies and play violent games. The difference alone, it appeared in this discussion, was that those countries do not allow handguns in the possession of its citizens. It will be difficult to convince American people to let go of their sacred cow - their guns.
After the shooting, the pro gun National Rifle Association (NRA) encouraged  citizens to get guns for protection. Indeed the gun registration (acc. to the discussion between Pierce and Moore) went up.
The question is, can guns really protect us?  Especially when our tempers are so easily flaring? Obviously getting more guns is a reaction to a great inner fear....."we are at risk" or even a greater fear: "I don't want to die." And if our survival is at stake, we move into fight and flight mode.....maybe a normal response but I am not convinced that it is a good time to add more weapons.

My thought on this matter is that if there is a privilege, with it must come also responsibility. In the United States we have the privilege to carry and own a gun. But since this is a deadly weapon we have also a great responsibility. First I think a gun should only be in possession of a person who can prove to have a fairly even temper, and persons who have learned self control and discipline.
But the problem is, that these are not things our children in the USA are easily learning. Our children are constantly bombarded to want and eventually get their every whim instantly gratified. That forfeits the necessity of learning discipline and making sacrifices which will more likely lead to self control. Many grow into ....holics and into persons out of control and prone to addictions. Then you give guns to a people who have not learned control and what do we get?

At the same time there is a major decline in the belief in God and church attendance and an equally major decline in the arts. What is the difference between other countries and us?
European countries cherish and cultivate the arts - a major difference to the USA (not only that they don't have guns). In the Opera house in Graz, Austria there is a saying carved into the concrete: "WITH THE ARTS A NATION SHALL RISE, WITHOUT IT A NATION SHALL FALL." (vaguely translated)
We vaguely give lip service to the fact that art therapy is helpful to people - I am not sure we quite believe it.
I myself paint and make music and in my darkest hours, when I couldn't even pray, it got me through my difficult times. I strongly believe that the arts are a gift from God, and in their own way are a prayer from the heart when words fail. It is besides my faith and family, the most important thing in my life.
In the USA we have been cutting the arts in the schools. I have heard of Symphonies having to close down, and if there are performances, they are so expensive that only the wealthier population can afford to attend. This trend is not helpful to us.

In our ignorance we think we can do without the arts and without our faith - but can we?
Now contrary to what you might believe of a Christian minister, I am not going to make you feel guilty. Making you feel guilty and pressuring you into a belief would only make you end up in a different kind of fear, the fear that God will zap you. We don't need more fear. But I invite you to ask the question: Where does our safety truly lie? All I can tell you is that God loves his /her people. God is merciful and forgives our transgressions. If you are a Christian, remember Christ died for you because he so loved the world.
If you are not, I can only pray that you will experience God's mercy through either others or some sort of miracle in your life. Only through experience can we know that God is. That experience cannot be forced. It comes when it comes.

For those who don't like religious talk look at it this way:
Would you do unto yourself the things you do unto others. If you have to say no, then you might need to change a few things. If we want others to treat us kindly, we must treat them kindly. We think sometimes that others must change, but really it always starts with us.

And all this talk about safety in God and God's love may not seem to do much for the survivors or the relatives of the victims. It seems as if the incident disproves my claim. There is loss and shock and certainly no feeling of safety.
But maybe we have the privilege to take a deeper look and hopefully find that not only a young man, but a whole society is at fault. Maybe we have been called to awaken from our self centered "bottom line -dream walk." Self awareness is a gift and a good start for change.

God is not responsible for our actions.....we are not puppets, we have free will. In spite of our free will actions.....God does loves each and everyone. In God's unconditional love we find our safety.


Here are some exercises and suggestions:

1. Get  paper, markers, or coloring pencils and a notebook to write in.  Especially if your are panicked or suffer from anxiety, use those tools and let the steam off.....and be honest about your emotions. It does wonders!

2. If you are a person of faith and need to make sense of your life and the world, you could talk to a priest, pastor, Imam or Rabbi or appropriate faith leader.   Besides, prayer works wonders.  If you are not a member of a faith community, you may want to consider joining one. You might consult a counselor....but if you don't want to do either of these things....consider #3

3. Engage in random acts of kindness. Helping others helps us to get over our own fears and frustrations.....and it creates a better world.


© 2012 Angelika Mitchell

Fear, the Opposite of Love

   

In my last entry I was talking about how fear can make you “scatter brained.” If we are “scatter brained” we forget things. We don't do our assignments well. We are like strangers to ourselves... Not to mention that fear causes us to see the worst in others.

In the  Bible (the Christian Scriptures) 1 John 4:18, we read: “There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear.”

You don't need to be a Christian to know that this is true.

Ask yourself this question: “If I am afraid of someone, am I  able to love them?”

Let me address that problem of seeing the worst in others.

Sometimes it doesn't hit you that you are doing that until everyone walks away from you. However, on a larger scale, hate crimes, bullying and negativity on even a national basis will be the outcome. Policies created by fear are restrictive and oppressive. Fear is never based on facts, nor is it based on knowledge or wisdom.

At the basis of fear lies ignorance. We might be afraid of a secretive neighbor or someone who looks like “those people.”  And instead of getting to know that person and those people we start making up stories. We observe and we jump to conclusions. Fear is also “contagious.” If someone panics, you can be sure that many more will panic. .

I have three exercises for you this week:

1. Make a list of things you like about someone you fear or dislike.

2. Do a meditation/concentration. Breathe deeply and relax. Envision a concentration of light / or Christ light in your heart. Let this light expand slowly so that eventually you are standing in this globe of light. (Some of you might call it God energy, Cosmic or Universal energy... Use whatever you are used to. It needs to be an energy of well-being.)

As your energy expands, see yourself in this globe of light, notice the sensations and feelings you have. Keep your mind focused. Then think of someone you dislike or fear and place them before you. Now imagine them also in their own globe of light. What does this person seem like in their globe of light? See their light expanding outward. Eventually both your globes of light touch and then intersect and if you can manage merge. Dwell in that meditation for a while. What are you learning?
Journal what you experienced and learned.

       3. Think of someone you have avoided because you were afraid of them, or you were afraid
           that others think of you less if they see you with that person.
           I encourage you to face your fear and try to get to know that person.

© 2012 Angelika Mitchell

A deep breath

Think back to a time you were fearful or terrified. You will remember your irrational behavior and actions. That adrenaline rush will put people in fight or flight mode, and we are on the defensive whether or not we need to be. We don't think things carefully through.  We act out of panic and make decisions we would never make in a relaxed state of mind. Of course if there is an emergency that fight and flight instinct can be helpful. But if that fight and flight instinct continues to control us after the incident, we have a problem. At points it seems the whole US  is a country with PTSD.

Out of this experience we are distrustful, and at each others throats, which is so perfectly portrayed in our two political parties.  We are short tempered in situations we don't understand or are unfamiliar with. We don't have the patience to deal with anything that does not concern us. Such a mind set is difficult between two individuals, but between groups and parties in something as large as a country, it becomes a whole lot worse and more volatile.

Our mind can be used to defuse such situations. I am a Christian minister and will be talking about how to use Christian values to overcome fear. However, I will also give those who are not Christians, ideas on how to use my suggestions.

First of all, we need to relearn how to focus and concentrate.

With hours of media at our finger tips and hundreds of ways to multitask, we have started to loose a precious commodity, namely deep concentration. In my capacity as a substitute teacher and continuing education teacher, I have noticed that students have trouble focusing. Many also have trouble thinking critically and using their imaginations. Why is concentration important? If we have too much stimulation, I have observed that people are “scatter brained.” If we are “scatter brained,” I know from my own experience, we become more easily overwhelmed, stressed and fearful.

That concentration I am talking about has been described in religions as meditation and prayer. Concentration has been used in many various religions, from Buddhism and Confucianism, to Spiritual direction in Christian denominations.

 I will give you exercises in this blog to practice concentration and meditation regardless of your tradition.

If you are religious, use meditation, deep prayer and contemplation.

If you are not religious, you still can use the concentration and focusing exercises.

The first exercise:

Sit, lay down or stand somewhere quiet. Then take deep breaths. Let your mind follow as you inhale and then as you exhale. Notice if your mind wanders. Refocus! Keep on breathing for a couple of minutes. Then add one more thing......imagine that you breathe out fear and breathe in well-being.

For Christians: breathe out fear and darkness and breathe in Christ light and love
                          or imagine you lean back into Christ knowing He is in charge.

© 2012 Angelika Mitchell

Need for Redirection

That's correct the beginning letters of this blog title spells fear. But this blog is not about fear, but rather about freedom from and overcoming fear.

Ever since 9/11, our country has lived under a grey cloud of fear. We were continuously fed news of impending terrorist attacks. That fear has shown itself in various ways. We are suspicious of strangers especially if they have an accent or look a certain way. We are suspicious of our very neighbors.  We criminalize immigrants and individuals with different skin colors quite easily. We incarcerate even children and youth, especially if their skin color is not white.

There is a trend in self preservation which is highly concerning. There are people buying bunkers to survive a catastrophe... Well, I suppose those who can afford it might do so.  There is nothing wrong with that. But the mentality behind it is concerning.

Many of these individuals go through any lengths to protect themselves and their families by installing weapons which will harm others who innocently might come near those bunkers. Their mentality is that everyone else is a criminal or a threat and needs to be shot. Woe to those who might ever have to seek help.

I have heard about a falloff of a willingness to help persons who are less fortunate. Food banks are struggling to get enough food to meet needs. The problem is, need is rising. The economic downturn has increased the anxiety in many people. Seventy year-olds are hanging on to jobs while the younger generation and new graduates can't find jobs because they don't have the experience employers require. However, it is quite insane to require 5 year experience from a college graduate.  These young people have school loans to pay back. Fifty plus year-olds who are unemployed can't find jobs because they are “too old” even though they have still 15 or 20 years in them. At the same time we want to change the retirement age to 70. Persons who were homeless or have a mental illness don't even stand a chance.

The bottom line has locked us into a pattern of greed. Greed is based on fear of not having enough. It is the bottom line which gives us the idea that private prisons are a great idea, that universities and colleges can charge whatever they want without even the slightest commitment to helping students find a job. It is the bottom line which causes television stations to bring irresponsible programming, or lobbyists to try to get their way with our government. It is the bottom line which causes a company to exploit its workers at minimum wage while expecting to be able to call that worker into work at any time of day or night without paying on call fees. That bottom line causes for profit hospitals to kick sick persons out because they don't have insurance, or deprive persons in need of the privilege of therapy. At the same time, facilities find ways to give therapy to persons who have plenty of money even if they are not in need of therapy (As a former nursing home activity director, I have been present during such discussions).  It is the mindset of insurance companies who find loopholes not to pay hospital or doctor fees. Greed is at the bottom of the mindset in genetic engineering gone awry, as can be seen with Monsanto, a company who is at war with organic farmers.

 The trend to live for ourselves is truly concerning. The greed and trend to live for "me and myself" shows itself in horrendous crimes of drug cartels, especially that of human trafficking, but also in other day to day corruption. The mental attitude behind it is: "I am superior to those others who are weak and inferior, and I can exploit them." Exploitation in various fields is rampant in our time. An exploitative mindset is a very destructive force.

The only way to overcome this trend is to consciously chose to change our minds.

I myself am working on establishing a car ministry in my town for persons who cannot afford to repair their car. Without a car you can't go to work. Without a job you can't pay your bills. And in many places there is no adequate public transportation. However, when the plea went out to mechanics to donate a few hours to repair cars of less fortunate, I found in a town of about 400,000 and plenty of mechanics, so far only two mechanics who are willing to consider donating time.

Without community support, persons have trouble to survive. Those who belong to a church might be doing better in that, but not always. 

The only way to live a wholesome life for everyone is to change our mindset so that we can live as benevolent community.

We have a choice. We can free ourselves from our fears, we can choose to emerge from our imprisonment in our paranoia  and our judgments, and we can redirect our minds to new thought patterns.

THOUGHT LEADS TO ACTION. New thought leads to new action.

This is what this blog is about.

© 2012 Angelika Mitchell