The Totality of Possibilities. A Heal Your Life Workshop

Transcription

1 The Totality of Possibilities A Heal Your Life Workshop Heart Inspired Presentations, LLC, 2010 Patricia J. Crane, Ph.D P.O. Box 1081, Bonsall, CA

2 Dear Licensed Heal Your Life workshop leader, Welcome to this new three hour course, the Totality of Possibilities! This is a favorite phrase of Louises, learned during her early spiritual studies. This course can be offered as an introduction to the philosophy or as a follow-up to any of your Heal Your Life courses. Reserve some time to read through the course yourself, doing the exercises as you go along. Be ready to claim your OWN totality of possibilities. You may also want to get Louise s audio CD, The Totality of Possibilities, recorded in front of a live audience. If you want to make this course a full day workshop, you can either add in a few more exercises OR have everyone create a Vision Board (also called a Treasure Map.) Review the sections on marketing, logistics, and principles for leading a group from your original training information. Love and blessings, 2

3 Course Outline (3 4 hour workshop) I. Welcome and introduction II. Our thoughts create our reality -Thoughts exercise III. Awareness -Key #1 -Belief handout IV. Loving and Accepting Yourself - Key #2 -short inner child exercise -mirror work -BREAK- V. Attitude of Gratitude - Key #3 -Gratitude exercise VI. Creating and Using Affirmations Key #4-8 principles - Writing their own VII. Visualization Key #5 -visualization exercise VIII. Closing meditation Singing I Love Myself the Way I Am 3

4 Course Outline for a six hour workshop (9:30am to 4:30pm) Include more discussion than in the shorter workshop. I. Welcome and introduction II. Our thoughts create our reality -Thoughts exercise III. Awareness -Key #1 -Belief handout IV. Loving and Accepting Yourself - Key #2 -short inner child exercise -BREAK- -mirror work V. Attitude of Gratitude - Key #3 -Gratitude exercise VI. Creating and Using Affirmations Key #4-8 principles -LUNCH- - Writing their own affirmations VII. Visualization Key #5 -visualization exercise -SHORT BREAK- VIII. Treasure Map tell the participants ahead of time to bring a few magazines with positive themes and images and a pair of scissors. You provide posterboard and glue stick. Treasure Maps usually take about 2 hours. Some will finish before that, others won t be done in 2 hours, so they will need to complete it at home. VIII. Closing meditation Singing I Love Myself the Way I Am 4

5 Welcome to this workshops, the totality of possibilities! Isn t that a wonderful phrase? Let s all take a nice relaxing breath. Now open your arms and say with me? I welcome the totality of possibilities for my life! How does that feel? Exciting, scary, overwhelming, expansive, fearful? (let a few people comment briefly answer as appropriate.) If it feels scary, by the end of this workshop I m trusting it will feel wonderful! I d like to tell you about my background and the philosophy of Louise Hay. (Tailor this introduction based on whether there are a lot of people who already know you and about Louise, or whether there are a lot of new people in the group.) Louise Hay is a best-selling author and the founder of Hay House Publishers. Louise grew up in a very abusive home, and thus had very negative ideas about herself and life in general. At fifteen she became pregnant, and gave up the baby for adoption. (Read Louise s bio in the back of You Can Heal Your Life if you want more details.) Although she managed to become a runway model and marry a well-known Englishman, her self-esteem was still low, and went lower still when her husband left her for another woman. Eventually Louise ended up in New York City, and a friend invited her to a lecture. The topic? Change your thinking, change your life! Although her friend never showed up, Louise went to the lecture and 5

6 the ideas presented opened up a whole new vision of life for her. She eagerly took the classes and applied the ideas to her life with amazing results. Louise never graduated from high school, yet her books have sold millions of copies, and her publishing house is a leader in the mind-body-spirit segment. So if you have ever thought to yourself, I don t have enough education, you can say good-bye to that limiting thought! I was attracted to the Heal Your Life work ---- (fill in your story, no more than 5 minutes what positive changes have you experienced?) Our potential is truly unlimited, not because of our human selves and our egos, but because we are a part of the Infinite Intelligence of the universe. How amazing is that? This workshop is designed to inspire YOU with YOUR potential. I d like to take a brief survey and find out what life issues you are concerned about: - anyone concerned about finances? (Raise your hand so those concerned will, too) -your health? -career and success? -relationships? -feeling good about yourself? -finding your life purpose? 6

7 (Some may raise their hand for ALL of these, and there may be some laughter as people keep raising their hands!) Ok we have a number of issues of concern and you will be learning techniques to change those. Isn t that wonderful? A central idea in this philosophy is that OUR THOUGHTS CREATE OUR REALITY - continually. So let s do a short exercise to check you what you re thinking: Close your eyes and take a deep breath. Imagine that you re home, waking up on a typical day...when you first wake up, what are your usual thoughts? Are you grateful to be alive and excited about your day, are you neutral, or are you dreading getting up?...are your thoughts limiting? Now become aware of your thoughts as you get ready for your day (either work or other activities)...what are you thinking?...as you are getting dressed and see yourself in the mirror, how do you react?...what kinds of thoughts do you have as you are commuting to work?...how do you react as you see your coworkers and your boss? Are you judging them or do you know they're doing the best they can?...when you go to lunch, are you worried about the calories or do you feel good about choosing healthy food?...become aware of your typical thoughts as you continue through your day and go home or to other evening activities...do you realize you are worrying about the issues you raised your hand about just a minute ago? What are your usual last thoughts as you prepare for bed and go to sleep?...as you think back over the day, perhaps you are aware of the places where you could change 7

8 your thoughts. Tell yourself, right now, I approve of myself and I easily choose the thoughts that nourish me! Imagine looking in the mirror and saying, I accept you just the way you are! Now take a few deep breaths, stretch, and gently bring your awareness back to this room and open your eyes. What did you become aware of? Did you notice a lot of negative thoughts about those earlier issues? If our thoughts create our future reality, are those ones you want? Let s have some sharing about that exercise. (Let several people share, comment as appropriate. Suggest alternative thoughts affirmations.) The first key to changing your life is AWARENESS, and the exercise we just did has created some awareness of your typical thought patterns. But thoughts are like drops of water as more of them collect, they become a puddle, then a pond, then an ocean. One idle negative thought isn t a problem, but when you have a pattern of negative thoughts, you are continually creating the future that you don t really want. So instead of drowning in a sea of negativity, this workshop is about learning to float on the ocean of life! Let s say this out loud, My mind is so powerful. Turn to your neighbor and say, Your mind is so powerful. Now say, I choose to think positive, powerful thoughts. Say to your neighbor, You choose to think positive, powerful thoughts. How does that feel? It feels good and expansive, doesn t it? 8

9 We re going to work with more positive affirmations and visualizations later, but for the moment, let s understand where our limiting thoughts come from. We learn them growing up from our parents, relatives, schools, religious institutions, the media, and other children. Most of our beliefs about life and all those life issues we mentioned earlier, are created when we are quite young. So no matter how old you are, it s important to realize that there is a little child within you who needs unconditional love and acceptance and guidance in how to change the old programming. Every experience you had at every age is a memory still in you. As a child, when something went wrong, you tended to believe something was wrong with YOU, and if only you did it right, they would love you. As an adult, it s important for you to re-parent yourself, to give yourself the unconditional love and acceptance you deserve. Here is a handout about beliefs and how to change them. In order to welcome the totality of possibilities in our lives, we need to change the beliefs that don t support our expanded ideas about life. So here is the second key to changing your life LOVING AND ACCEPTING YOURSELF JUST THE WAY YOU ARE. Did anyone find themselves thinking, no way! If you don t love and accept yourself, you will see that reflected back to you by others in your life when you truly learn to love and accept yourself, you will see wonderful reflections coming back. It is a process it doesn t happen overnight. But you start where you are and go forward. You are worth it. (Say this again, you are worth it, and just silently look around the room for a few seconds.) 9

10 Now I d like to guide you in a short exercise to connect with your Inner Child. Your first experience with your Inner Child can be emotional. That s totally OK. Your feelings are very important. (Make sure you have some tissues available.) Get comfortable, uncross your legs and arms, take a few deep relaxing breaths. Allow your body to relax. Let your mind drift back in time to your childhood and remember a place you enjoyed as a child. Perhaps it was a special room in your home, or someplace outside. Imagine yourself there, and with you is yourself as a child of 4 or 5. How is the child feeling? Tell this child it is nice to connect again after all this time. Ask the child what she or he needs to feel happy. Tell your child you will be back again, and together you can create the life you want..take some deep breaths. stretch and bring your attention back to this room. Let s have some sharing.. (you can have more or less time for sharing depending on when you want to take a break, usually after an hour and fifteen minutes or an hour and a half.) We re going to do one more exercise before going on our break. It s called mirror work, and Louise Hay popularized this technique in her book. It s a 10

11 powerful method for really connecting with your inner self and releasing old ideas. Please pick up your mirror (have extras to hand out if someone didn t bring one and as you guide them in this exercise, use a soft, loving voice). Look into your eyes, even if it s uncomfortable. What are your first feelings and thoughts? Just notice, and keep looking in the mirror. It may be difficult now, but with practice it gets easier. Say to yourself silently, I am willing to love and accept you just the way you are. It s OK if it doesn t feel true right now. What would you like to tell yourself that you didn t hear as a child? Give yourself and your inner child- support and encouragement You can put down your mirrors. -BREAK- Take a minute break. Have tea and coffee available. The next key to changing you life is having an attitude of gratitude. How many of you already practice being grateful? There is always room for more gratitude. Please get your journals.. Now write down the names of 3 people in your life you are grateful for.. now write down 3 events in your life, from any time in your life, you are grateful for..and finally write down 3 things you are grateful for. 11

12 When most seem finished, say 30 more seconds to finish up. Now, please stand up and find a partner. Sit down together and then I will give you the rest of the instructions. You are going to go back and forth on each section people, events, and things. One person start (use choosing A or B, or shortest hair, or..) and share the names of the 3 people and WHY you are grateful for them then let the other person share the same. Then each shares the 3 events they are grateful for and why. Finally, share the 3 things each is grateful for. -This exercise will take at least 10 minutes, and possibly 15. Pay attention to the energy and whether the participants are really listening and sharing. When the voices begin to fade, it is time to call the group back together.) Let s have some sharing with the whole group. How did expressing gratitude feel? (Have some share, comment as appropriate.) You can begin a practice of gratitude each morning by immediately thinking of people, events, and things you are grateful for as soon as you wake up. After several days it will become a habit. If you wake up in the night and can t sleep begin to think grateful thoughts! 12

13 The fourth key to changing your life is learning to create and use positive affirmations. How many of you are already doing affirmations? (Raise your hand so they raise theirs.) Wonderful (if some are)! And for those of you who haven t been using this technique, you will be amazed at how they work. Here is a handout with the basic principles for creating affirmations, plus some examples you can use for creating your own. (Handout the Principles for Ordering from the Cosmic Kitchen and the sample affirmations.) Let s start by saying some of the affirmations together. Put your hand on your heart center, right in the middle of your chest. Let s read together just the first affirmation in each section. (Do that.) Do you feel more positive? Now I ll briefly go through the 8 principles for creating powerful affirmations. Principle #1 YOU NEED TO DECIDE WHAT YOU WANT. While this seems obvious, it s not as easy as it sounds. Have you ever had mixed feelings about something you want, like a relationship or a new career? If you re not clear, the order to the Cosmic Kitchen isn t clear. The Menu of Life is infinite! So it s important to take time to really decide what you want. What are your dreams for career, health, relationships, and prosperity? Next session we ll 13

14 work with clearing out the past and any mixed feelings you might have about creating what you want. When you re in a restaurant, you don t tell the waiter or waitress to get you anything. You look over the menu, narrow your choices down to a few, and then make your selection. Do you sit there and worry about whether you ll get it or how long it will take? Probably not. You TRUST that the chef and the staff in the kitchen are responding to your order in the best way they can.. It s also important to be SPECIFIC about what you want. One woman started affirming for job interviews and she got them, but no job. She needed to be affirming for a successful interview that would lead to her being offered a wonderful job. Principle #2 COSMIC KITCHEN ORDERS ARE POSITIVE, PRESENT TENSE, AND PERSONAL. State your affirmations as though they have already happened. If you state them in the future, they will stay in the future. Always state affirmations in the positive, stating what you DO, want, not what you DON T, because the Cosmic Chef doesn t hear the don t. For example, if I say Don t think about a pink Cadillac, what is the first thing you think about? Right- a pink Cadillac. So if you say I don t want you re actually 14

15 sending out the energy to create what you don t want. So----say I have I receive I am. The Law of Attraction brings you what you focus on. Principle #3 INCLUDE WORDS THAT CONVEY POSITIVE, ENERGETIC FEELINGS. It feels wonderful that.. I am so happy and excited to be. It is fantastic to. The more positive energy you can generate with your affirmations, the more quickly they tend to manifest. You ve probably heard the expression, change your thoughts, change your life. I m adding in- change your thoughts and feelings, change your life. Along with your positive affirmations, practice FEELING as though they re already true. Right now, think about something you want in your life. Open your arms and say, I have.. (a fabulous relationship, a great new job..etc.) All together! Now say it again with enthusiasm!! Doesn t that feel good? Principle #4 TRUST THE TIMING OF DELIVERY. LET GO OF YOUR TIMELINE. Allow the Universe to bring things together at the right moment for you. When you re at a restaurant, do you run to the kitchen every few minutes to 15

16 check on it? Most people are content to enjoy talking to the person they re with for dinner, the ambiance of the restaurant, and a glass of wine while waiting. Have you ever had a fleeting thought and had it manifest? Would someone like to share an example? (You can, too.) When this happened, it was a clear thought that went out to the Cosmic Kitchen very easily, and you probably weren t concerned about when or if it would happen. When these fleeting thoughts happen, it s the Universe demonstrating to you how easy it is to manifest something! A part of trusting the timing for your order to arrive is letting go of the need to have it. This may sound paradoxical, but if you have an underlying sense of fear that what you want WON T happen, the Cosmic Kitchen responds to the fear, and your good is kept away. So you really need to be aware of any conflicting feelings in order to release them and send a clear message to the Universe. The stronger the feeling of trust, the more quickly the Chef can complete your order. A Course in Miracles tells us that infinite patience produces immediate results. Principle #5 16

17 LET THE COSMIC CHEF DECIDE HOW YOU RECEIVE YOUR ORDER. When you do an affirmation and then start imagining how it will happen, that is called outlining. This is something you want to avoid. For example, you want a free all expenses paid vacation somewhere. If you start trying to figure out what you can do to get it, that is outlining. Use Principle #6 to guide you in any action. Shakti Gawain, author of Creative Visualization recommends that you add the phrase this or something better at the end of your affirmations. Principle #6 ALLOW YOUR INNER WISDOM TO GUIDE YOU IN THE RIGHT BALANCE BETWEEN ACTION AND ALLOWING. When you meditate, ask for guidance in any action you are to take to help the Cosmic Kitchen. Listen to that Inner Wisdom. If something feels forced, back off. Affirm that you are perfectly guided in ALL your activities. Often, you can simply keep saying an affirmation and doing your visualization, and what you want will literally fall into your lap. Principle #7 17

18 BELIEVE THAT YOU DESERVE TO HAVE A WONDERFUL LIFE. Many people feel they are not entitled to health, wealth, happiness, and a wonderful relationship. The truth is, we are all deserving of all good, but others who didn t feel worthy taught us something different. What were you taught as a child about having a wonderful life? Are you willing to believe that you DO deserve a wonderful life? Principle #8 FEEL GRATITUDE TO THE UNIVERSE AND THE COSMIC CHEF FOR FULFILLING YOUR ORDER IN THE MOST MIRACULOUS WAY. Gratitude is a wonderful feeling at the heart level. It not only sends out positive energy around your affirmations, it also helps you with feeling the trust that it is already being taken care of. Every day take some time to make a gratitude list, either mentally or on paper. Cultivating the attitude of gratitude will create wonderful miracles in your life. Now would you like to write your own affirmations? Terrific! I m going to ask you to write at least 5 for now. As you re writing them, imagine the totality of possibilities for YOUR life. Be expansive. Dream big. You can 18

19 write and use as many affirmations as you wish. Infinite Intelligence can respond to all of them. I ll put on some gentle music to help you go into a relaxed state that helps with creativity. If you need help, raise your hand. Give them at least 10 minutes to write their affirmations. Then ask who needs more time. Would anyone like to share one of their affirmations? (clap and give positive feedback for each one.) The fifth key and our final process for this workshop is visualization actually creating a mental picture of what you want, and feeling it as much as you can. Some of you may have heard of the Law of Attraction. It means that you attract what you want with your thoughts, spoken words, and emotions. If you feel anxious and have thoughts of lack, you are attracting more of that instead of the abundance you want. Isn t it interesting how strongly you can feel negative emotions when you re upset? We need to learn to feel strong positive emotions to attract what we want more quickly. So choose one of the affirmations you wrote for your practice right now.. 19

20 Now close your eyes take a few breaths. As you breath in, think to yourself, I am and as you breath out, relaxed. Breathing in thinking I am breathing out thinking relaxed. This is a very simple relaxation/meditation technique. (after about 15 seconds) Now imagine that your affirmation has already come true. Feel the excitement of it. Imagine the details of it. How would your life be different? Take a few more deep breaths and open your eyes. Let s have some sharing. How did that feel? (Encourage anyone who says they couldn t really visualize. Explain it takes practice like anything else, but the most important element is the strong positive emotion!) I d like to give you a handout to remind you about the 5 daily habits that will help you make and keep the positive changes you want in your life. Every day, think of as many things as you can to be grateful for, do your affirmations, practice mirror work, meditate, and visualize. You will be glowing! Before we close I d like to guide you in a short process. (You may want to play meditation music during this exercise.) Take the hand of the person on each side of you and close your eyes. Know you are safe. Feel the energy in those hands and become aware that person wants the same things you do 20

21 to be healthy and vibrant, to be loved, to prosper, be peaceful, and express themselves creatively. Send comforting thoughts to the people on each side of you and know they are sending you the same. Now let the love in your heart flow out to them and all around the circle. Imagine it spreading out from this room and encircling our planet. What we give out we get back, and right now we are connection with all others on the planet that want love and peace in their lives, and we are strengthening those qualities for everyone. We envision the totality of possibilities for everyone. Take a few deep breaths and bring your awareness back to this room. When you feel ready, open your eyes. If time, take a few minutes or so for sharing. We re going to close with a wonderful song, I Love Myself the Way I Am. Let everyone know what other wonderful workshops and services you offer. You can give them a special offer for signing up for something else right then! Make sure you have their addresses and send out a short positive message during the next week. 21

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