Just 3 days ago, a new YouTube video appeared in my news feed. The First Step of Conscious Manifestation | Conscious Manifestation 2020, by Ekhart Tolle. In the video, Mr. Tolle instructs us on how to handle negative experiences.
He explains when you are faced with a negative experience (i.e., death, loss of a job, struggles within a relationship), you become triggered. When you are triggered, your mind goes to the past to figure out how to behave in the present.
The problem with this, Tolle offers, is that you go to your conditioned mind, or your subconscious as he calls it, to inform you how to act in the present.
Our conditioned mind holds narratives or stories based on past experiences. Our triggers, or sensations, can lead us to project into the future based on feelings of fear.
This process is overwhelming, and when reactive, you are no longer able to stay present. You have become unable to deal with what is actually happening at the moment.
Tolle’s solution:
- Notice what is happening in your body.
- Be aware of the sensations in your body that are driving your thinking, as this will prevent negative thoughts from developing. The negative thoughts are old programming stored in the subconscious.
- Stay in the present moment.
- Know that you don’t have to believe everything you think. The thoughts coming up are confusing you with what is happening in the present. Manifest something new based on the moment, not the past.
Got it!
Basically, when faced with negative experiences, your body has a sensory experience (you can feel something in your body, i.e., tight shoulders, shaking, increased heart rate, discomfort in your stomach). So, notice this sensory experience instead of letting your thoughts take over.
Your thoughts are not helpful in these moments as they are based on the past. Instead, notice the sensation, notice the thoughts. Then tell yourself that you don’t have to believe what your mind is coming up with because it really has nothing to do with the present.
To sum up:
- Notice when you feel reactive or emotional.
- Pay attention to what is happening in your body.
- Be aware of the thoughts that arise as you pay attention to what is happening in your body.
- Elicit a sense of doubt or disbelief regarding the thoughts that come up for you.
-Not a chance!!-
What Tolle Is Missing: You Think More About What You Don’t Want To Think About
Have you tried this before? Where you tell yourself not to believe all the negative thoughts coming up in your mind?
And how has that worked for you? (Feel free to comment below if you have the itch to share your experience with me).
I think this is where the conscious manifestation comes in. Where you tell yourself that you don’t have to believe everything you think.
I had to look up conscious manifestation. I was curious about what it meant, especially in relation to the law of attraction. What I found was that the law of attraction is about creating the personal energy that draws things to you that already exist (I will be writing about this next week).
Conscious Manifestation
In contrast, manifestation is something that you create yourself. So, is conscious manifestation staying present and telling yourself that these narratives from the past do not bear any weight?
Because that won’t work for me or my clients. I work with people who have tried all sorts of stuff to overcome the powerful thoughts that creep in from the past. I will use my own experience and my experience in working with others to share the part that Tolle is missing.
Have you ever heard of Wegner’s White Bear experiment? Basically, participants were exposed to pictures of Polar Bears. Half of the participants were told not to think about the Polar Bear, while the other half were told nothing.
The results! The participants who were told not to think about the polar bear thought more about the polar bear.
In short, when you tell yourself not to think about something, you’re gonna think about it!!
You know what I am talking about! That last cookie in the cupboard, that person that you are trying to keep out of your mind, the situation that happened at work recently. The more you try to keep a thought out of your mind, the more it is going to show itself with the intensity of a neon sign.
The Solution
Follow steps 1-3, then here is what I would replace number 4 from the list above.
………
4. Listen! to what is happening in your body. Not with your ears but with a part of you that is deep within.
5. Just be with that sensation, knowing that it is a story from your past, yet you are here now in the present. Allow the sensation to flow through you. It will get intense (which is when you usually want it to stop), and then it will die down.
6. Note that you are not there anymore, you are not the younger you in the past. You are here. Now. And you can tolerate the discomforts from the past as they work their way out of you.
There is a story and a narrative inside of you. It is a story of the past. To ignore or dismiss the sensations and the thoughts is to deny a part of you. The more you do this, the more it may go dormant for a time, but it is still there, just waiting, until the day comes when you burst. (And we all know that day!!).
Ignore the Negatives
You need to stop turning away from the negatives that are inside of you. Instead, embrace them, hear their story, prove to yourself that the energy they hold can not overpower you, and then let that narrative know that you are not that person anymore.
You are here now, doing the best you can! You have more resources, more wisdom, more YOU! And you can do it.
Our pains of the past are there to teach us not to be shunned and forgotten. If you know what to do with them, they can be your greatest source of strength and confidence from the inside out.
If you want to discuss this more or learn more about the process I mentioned in steps 4, 5 & 6, book a complimentary chat with me and start your path to a strong and confident you!
