Another in my series about new ways of looking at the world, not just the paranormal one, but the one in which we must travel every day -- life.
My mother white-knuckled it through life. She wanted to know exactly what was going to happen, every outcome, even if she had to imagine them to prepare herself for some "awful-awful" that would surely present itself. She had high blood pressure, smoked like a chimney, constantly watched the news, and read the newspapers, combing for signs of impending doom. I'm not sure what preparing her mind for these scenarios did, because she never once prepared physically for such events. There was no hoarding of canned goods, purchasing of guns or storing of duct tape and plastic. She simply entertained her mind with these scenarios and, consequently her body.
The body doesn't know the difference from a thought or reality? You don't believe me? How many times have you startled during a scary movie or felt your palms sweat watching someone walk a tightrope between high rise buildings? How about this exercise: Close your eyes, imaging plucking a lemon, feeling its waxy bump surface and the nubs at each end, put your lips to the surface and now bite, letting the juice spurt. Did your mouth salivate? No real lemon. Real body production of saliva. Hmm....
So, if life is a rollercoaster and we can't control it's up and down on the hills, what keeps it on the tracks? What keeps the ride safe is knowing that you are competent, you have support from those you love, you have intelligence and are capable of evaluating situations and making decisions. When you know these things about yourself to be true, then whatever life might throw your way, you will cope. There is no need to practice mind scenarios and frighten yourself, producing adrenaline and wearing down your vessels for something that is not even occurring in real life.
Yes, life is a rollercoaster! Throw your arms up in the air, knowing that it can't jump the track, feel the wind, feel the highs and lows, be scared, be unsure, be thrilled, be exhilarated and know that you can't stop the ride from happening, but you can learn to accept its patterns.
You cannot smooth out the surf, but you can learn to ride the waves.
Here's one thing I know about rollercoasters versus Merry-Go-Rounds: The rollercoaster, because of its highs and lows gives you reward and relief, tension and excitement and, most importantly, perspective. You can see your world from up there. The Merry-Go-Round shows you the same thing over and over and over again safely, but with no ability to have a perspective, no joy, no plummets, no anticipation because you already know what it's going to do--go round and round and round and round....
(For over 20 years, I've been sponsoring people with anxiety disorders. At one time, I used to run an anxiety disorder self-help group, wrote articles printed around the world, helped to work on recovery programs, gave workshops and lectures. To this day, I still sponsor people through recovery. It is 100% curable and no one should have to suffer. Above is one of many lessons I like to impart.)
