Do the Shadow Work!
Many times, I’ve found myself stuck in this loop of trying to figure out My life, goals, where I want to end up etc. I get so overwhelmed with the many things I want to accomplish and of course, that self doubt and negativity seems to peer its dirty little head in right as I’m about to make “all the right moves”. This leads to me basically doing nothing, getting nothing done and the visions of myself completing My goals are only a figment of My imagination.
While I was going through a pretty dull week due to lack of Sun, I stumbled upon this book, “Law of Attraction: How to Manifest Money, Desires, Love Using The Law of Attraction” by Beau James (which basically talks about why you may not be manifesting properly). One part of the book that stuck out the most was his discussion on Planning and Mental Rehearsal, which pretty much translates to a manifestation plan…but it’s so much more than that. After working on My own Planning and Mental Rehearsal Plan, I found My goals and overall thoughts to be more clean and for once, I don’t find myself drowning in a sea of My ideas. Thought I’d share a summarized version of how to create your own Planning and Mental Rehearsal Plan, which may help you to organize your ideas better.
First, it is necessary to determine “Who do you want to be?”, “What direction do you want your life to be heading?”, “What do you want to accomplish?”
Write out a list of things that you would like to be: “I want to have a job that I enjoy in the city”. Place it somewhere visible and look at it every morning.
Next, it’s important to look at thoughts and beliefs that are hindering your potential and self expression: “I am not smart, beautiful, or good enough”. These are the thoughts that hold you back from being who you really want to be. Changing the narrative within yourself always begins with self-awareness.
Start noticing and becoming more aware of your subconscious beliefs & your thought patterns. When you notice them, write them down & make the conscious decision to replace them with more empowering thoughts.
Sorting through your good & bad thoughts helps to access your subconscious thoughts and helps to distinguish, so that you can focus on only becoming positive. James stated, “you need to figure out the blocks that are hindering the routine & positive energy flow from your mind to the universe & are causing obstruction in the manifestation of your goals. These blocks of negativity are basically all the limiting beliefs you’ve formed & strengthened in your mind that make you believe that you’re incapable of doing something you desire.”
Mediate and notice your thoughts, watch them and note the positive from the negative thoughts. Note how they make you feel and then replace the negative thoughts with the positive affirmation.
Some hindering thoughts I’ve changed the narrative to:
“It’s too hard to change” to “Changing takes consistently, I have the energy and ability to push through”
“I have imposter syndrome, I’m not good enough” to “I worked hard to get to where I am, I am successful”
“I am ugly, My skin looks bad” to “I am beautiful and My skin is flawless”
Continuing on, he talks about how if you’re not manifesting the things that you want or in general, if you feel you are not receiving what you really want and desire out of life, you need to examine your subconscious & your thoughts and be completely honest with yourself.
Ask yourself and note “What thoughts that are kept in your subconscious mind that created undesirable outcomes? To examine your thoughts, you need to answer the following questions as honestly as you can”
Do you worry too much?
Do you focus on negative things & problems instead on focusing your energy on counting blessings & gratitude?
Are you anxious most of the time?
Are you too proud that you belittle other people?
Do you seek revenge for those who’ve hurt & wronged you?
Are you angry or depressed?
Are you feeling sad most of the time?
Do you spend a lot of time thinking about your mistakes?
Do you’ve low confidence & self-esteem?
Do you’ve self-limiting beliefs?”
Asking & answering self reflection questions, helps you to determine the current state of your subconscious. You can only change & reshape your subconscious mind if you’re aware of its current state. “Re-examining your past thoughts & beliefs is also one way of taking responsibility for what you feed your mind and re-examining your thoughts & actions is like looking at your thought inventory & deciding to remove those that are harmful, unnecessary, & distracting. Reframe your behaviors & your belief system”
Lastly comes the Planning and Mental Rehearsal
Planning is defined as “being proactive & staying ahead of the game” but can only happen if you have a clear objective. Having this clear mental image, will help you prioritize and make decisions.
Once you define your objective, imagine the steps you'll need to take to get there. Imagine the possible challenges you'll face & the resources you'll need to meet those challenges. Write these things down in your Plan.
After defining your plan, you can use Mental Rehearsal to prime yourself to carry it out. Mental Rehearsal is defined as “a powerful tool to prepare your mental circuits to execute your Plan. Mental Rehearsal is so powerful that the brain doesn't differentiate between doing that & doing the activity itself--the same brain circuitry is involved either way. When you rehearse something it also helps you refine your Plan.”
“To Rehearse, imagine the situation you’re preparing for in full sensory detail. Imagine what the environment looks, feels, sounds, & smells like, who is there, & what everyone is doing. Then walk into that scene in your mind's eye. Step right into your mental image & go through what you’ll say. Imagine how others might respond & respond back to them. Imagine the best possible outcome. Imagine what it feels like in your body when it all goes well. Feel that as if you’re there & it is happening right now.”
Now, I’m not saying any of this is easy, it’s very hard to do the shadow work and uncover what it is about yourself that is holding you back. I know how hard it can be to combat negative thoughts, especially when you’ve repeated the same narrative to yourself over and over. It took me three days to complete my plan and It’s still not fully completed but I do have a better idea of where I am mentally and what aspects of myself are holding Me back. Shadow work is one of the hardest things about spiritual journeys, no one wants to uncover the dark, evil and often repressed parts of yourself but it’s necessary for growth and improvement and especially if you want to find true inner peace. 2021 is about changing the narrative, staying positive and accomplishing our goals.
“If you approach the events in your life with this degree of consciousness, positive intent, & preparation, I think you'll be amazed how it reduces stress & gives you more & more of what you truly desire.”
Source: Law of Attraction: How to Manifest Money, Desires, Love Using The Law of Attraction by Beau James
- Brey’✨ / @aura.inked