Is that really possible? Well, not exactly. I'd say it's more like we have a lot more ability to influence our own reality than is commonly thought. Seeing the movie "What the Bleep Do We Know!?", and reading Alexandra Bruce's "Beyond the Bleep", which expanded on the concepts, gave me a new perspective on the connections between quantum physics, neuroscience, and metaphysics. It turns out that physical science has found evidence for many of the ideas I use in my work as a psychotherapist.
A mainstream belief is that we live in a physical world that is totally separate from us, that it continues to exist unchanging, outside of us, with or without our participation. Quantum physics challenges this paradigm. Our thoughts really do have a proven capacity to change the physical environment around us. Not to the extent of defying gravity, with the possible exception of a few yogi masters, but still to a significant degree. One study found that sending a group of people to meditate in Washington DC resulted in lowering the violent crime rate there. Experiments have also shown that negative and positive thoughts can change the configurations of water molecules. Since our bodies are mostly water, imagine the implications!
Thoughts change our brains too. Every time you repeat a thought, it strengthens the neural connections in your brain. We also know that negative thinking contributes to anxiety and depression. Therapy can change these patterns, by helping you notice when you are having negative self talk, and teaching you ways to interrupt it, and replace it with something positive. I often suggest putting a debate with yourself on paper, drawing a line down the middle of the page, listing your negative thoughts on the left side, and countering them with a positive thought on the right, until the negative thoughts run out of steam.
In addition, our brains don't know the difference between seeing something, and remembering seeing it. This may explain the fact that role playing, or rehearsing something you are nervous about, reviewing it in your mind, seeing yourself doing it well, makes it much more likely that you will be successful when you do it in real life. As far as your brain is concerned, you've already accomplished it. I continue to be amazed at the things my clients achieve using this technique.
This relates to the importance of having visions of your goals. Visualizing something may not guarantee you'll get it, but I believe it increases your chances. Making a collage in a therapy session is one of my favorite methods for helping clients manifest their visions. Drawing and writing about goals are other techniques I recommend. Put your creation somewhere you can see it often, which reinforces the reality of it. This also works with affirmations, positive statements about yourself that you would like to be true. Write them on sticky notes, and put them in places like your bathroom mirror, or your date book. These are just a few of the ways you can use positive thinking to create your own reality.
Request an appointment with Valerie Igl.
