Yesterday I could not sleep at night. My mind kept going back to an unpleasant incident towards the end of the day.
It was 1.30 a.m. The 'film' kept replaying itself in my mind. I got up took out your book and read a few pages and felt the energy of the room where we met. I had to get out of the loop.
It was 1.30 a.m. The 'film' kept replaying itself in my mind. I got up took out your book and read a few pages and felt the energy of the room where we met. I had to get out of the loop.
i) I went to the hall and put a Mozart concerto. ii) Closed my eyes and thought of all the things which I love. My mum's face in rapture and she used to sit in the same hall listening to classical music came to me. I felt stronger.
I consciously began to itemize and dwell on all the things that made me very happy that day - why was my mind harping on a small incident when the rest of the day was so joyful? iii) Surely what happened was a learning experience for me? The rationalisation made me feel that I was taking the incident maturely.
iv) Fortified by the upsurge of positive energy, I revisited the incident. This time when I replayed the film, I pictured the hurtful stimuli in absurd combinations and laughed at the sheer incongruity of it all! I imagined one person with horns another without pants.
iv) Fortified by the upsurge of positive energy, I revisited the incident. This time when I replayed the film, I pictured the hurtful stimuli in absurd combinations and laughed at the sheer incongruity of it all! I imagined one person with horns another without pants.
v) I slipped into 'billboard' mode. I imagined a huge field of billboards, each depicting a beautiful incident from my life. I placed the unpleasant incident on a billboard among them - it looked inconsequential. I began to feel much better. I thought of how many complimented me on my playing the guitar for the picnic that day. And then the local paper had carried my profile the previous day highlighting my second book of poems . . .
vi)I thought of how I needed to practise my classical guitar.
vii) Feeling a bit hungry I ate half a bun and returned to bed. viii) I did a few breathing exercises.
Sleep came after a while. I awoke refreshed at 7 this morning.
Some weeks ago I met Dr A. Abraham, Life Skills Coach and Mentor, and practitioner of NLP (Neuro Linguistic Programming). All the techniques I used to beat the blues were the ones recommended by him. His conviction saw me through the night.
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Image source: www(dot) daysofcolour(dot)co
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