Mindfulness: 

This is the pill for you

A woman’s voice, quiet yet strong, filled every corner of my bedroom, suddenly invading the privacy of my bedroom.  The radio station I had just tuned into was BBC London and I was immediately hooked.  Through the radio she spoke of the life sentence her and her partner received for the murder of a police officer.  Not just a life sentence but one to be served in solitude.

She was placed in a small cell, so that her arms, when outstretched, could reach each wall. Her bed was a thin mattress on the cold hard concrete floor and there was no window.  She was allowed to the courtyard sometimes, but only when the other inmates had returned to their cells.

10 years after her imprisonment, new evidence came to light- her and her partner had been wrongly convicted.  Sadly her husband did not survive to see this day but as I sat there listening, I felt pain for this woman.

I kept thinking about this woman. I couldn’t stop.  This strength. This spirit. This human who had not only survived an ordeal I could not bare to imagine, but she had grown from it. Who had taught her? I wondered in that moment, how would I be in her place?

Hundreds of people walk the same streets we do. We pass the same buildings, the same trees, even the same homeless people who sit on the curb asking for food and money.  And yet each one of us will see a different reality. A different world where different possibilities are in reach. Or, for some, out of reach.  This is because we – you and I – create our own reality. We decide what we believe to be true and what we believe to be untrue.

Lets consider our nervous system– the greatest pharmacist in the world! And how about our bodies? Only the best healers in the world! And yet, in today’s society it is very easy to reach for an external solution- a pill.  Sometimes, you don’t even need the pharmacist to get it.  Our minds have been conditioned to believe that pill A is the cure for condition A, just swallow pill A 3 times a day and voila – goodbye condition A!

However, science documents very well the effect of the placebo – a pill that contains no active ingredients– that when administered to patients in clinical trials – has been shown to be so effective in treating conditions, that sometimes the drug being tested is not marketed because of it.  The reason this works is simply because the patients (who in highly regarded clinical trials will not know they are on the placebo) BELIEVE that it will work.

In other words, science acknowledges the immense power of the mind and in particular, the power of belief.  Belief it turns out, not only changes our biochemistry but has the power to switch genes on and off.

So, what if we remove the pill altogether and simply believe? What if belief IS the pill for you?

If we consider that thoughts are the language of the brain, then feelings are the language of the body.  How we think and how we feel creates our state of being and our behavior and our beliefs.  So why not decide to change your story? Write a new one that serves you better.  Change what you believe is possible – be full with gratitude and feel and act like it already happened.

Here are 3 easy ways to change your reality, today:

Today

Action: 

Before bed, write a list of 3 things to be grateful for that happened today. As you write them, FEEL grateful

Rational: 

Thinking positively whilst feeling resentment or anger, simply doesn’t cut it.  Your thoughts and your feelings must be aligned. Research shows that thoughts aligned with feelings change your biochemistry ie your body will adapt itself at a biochemical level to be inline with the way you feel.

The best thing is, when you are in a state of gratitude, you cannot feel anything but gratitude and gratitude is the best way to raise your vibrational state.

Tomorrow

Action: 

Before bed, in the same journal, list 3 things that you are grateful for tomorrow.

Here is the key: FEEL, as you list them, like they have already happened!

Rational: 

How many times do we say ‘I’ll be happy when….’? It is certainly not uncommon.

How about being happy and grateful right now, as though have you have the very thing you want in life?

The Future

Action: 

We are our biggest barrier in in life!

Decide what the rules are, decide what is possible. And imagine yourself living in a world where anything is in reach.

Rational:

Stop living life to the tune of a story where you are not the lead character – shining and galloping on the back of a white stallion. Ok, so you don’t need the white stallion, but the least we can do is be the lead characters in our own life. You know – the one who always gets what they want? The hero. The happy ever after person.

Let go of any stories (and therefore beliefs) that do not make you feel good and create a new story that makes you feel like you have swallowed a bag of glitter and you will shine all day!