Shifting Paradigms

Shifting Paradigms

by Aubri Wilson



Ten feet under in the earth

I hope to see stars

Though I've never been

In a cave of glowworms

And nothing bright shines here

Maybe I secretly dream

Of tours in New Zealand



And if I don't feel like myself

As I think I should be

Could I really be a doppelganger

And not what's real?

In the mirror

My eyes are startled

By the sight of

Who I've become

With my full control



With you came the most

Paradigm shifts

I've ever grabbed hold of

With hours of searching

Inside my mind

Leading to a reality

Beginning with you



I saw myself with joy

Doing what gave me joy

Returning to what gave me joy

Fleeing from what gave no joy

Giving you what gave you joy

Living fully a life of true joy



And when I actually saw it

And trusted it

And reached towards it

And pulled you towards it

With me, and got up again

When slipping from

Not noticing the wet floors

There it was all along

Waiting patiently for me



Truly there joy was

And light underground

That you can rise to

And touch without

The burn, and if

The poor beetle

Mistaken for a worm

Can glow wondrously

Then so can I

 

Have you ever tried visualization? You can find a few tips thanks to Forbes here. I first read about visualization, without knowing the term, from stories in Chicken Soup for the Soul books. In one, a woman spoke of thinking of her goals and desires and then finding pictures in a magazine to represent each. She cut out a handsome man, a cute house, and even a dollar sign. She would look at the pictures every day and think of what they represented for her. In a year she was married happily, living in the home of her dreams, and without financial stress.

So if I make a picture book of my desires, they’ll come true? Yeah, right, I thought. There’s a bit more to it I think. Knowing what you want is important, sure. Later in life, though, I began to think of times I’d used visualization with real results.

For example, in high school when I spent an hour or more a day practicing the piano, I also spent a significant amount of time thinking of the pieces I wanted to learn in my mind and seeing myself play them like a virtuoso. Eventually, with practice, I could make those runs with my fingers that were impossible at first. I kept seeing myself do it, trying, and then I did. I saw what it looked like, I could feel invisible keys, and the subtle smile on my face.

Or, when I first dreamed of going abroad, I narrowed down to China and getting there through TEFLing. While a good number of people around me doubted, I visualized myself walking the streets of China, teaching in classrooms and eating in amazing hole in the wall restaurants with real Chinese noodles. I read books and looked at countless images of China, the food there, the people there and I began daydreaming about being there. And somehow, through what seemed like uncommon luck and maybe foolish pluck, I found myself on a long plane ride to Shanghai and living there for nearly a year.

If it worked when I wasn’t fully conscious of what I was doing, what are the possibilities if I use visualization intentionally? Do you use visualization? What have you found it can do for you? Have you ever had a paradigm shift through practicing this and doing and gaining what you used to believe wasn’t possible?

Photo source from Flickr here.

 

 

 

 

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