- Think of a situation where you opened up to another person about a problem you were facing. Visualize the situation. Try to remember how you felt while talking to that person.
- Then think about a situation where someone came to you to talk over a problem. Visualize that situation. How did you feel while helping that person?
- Now, superimpose the two situations. Eliminate the other people & see two versions of yourself; one with the problem, and the other who is there to listen. Or imagine talking to yourself in the mirror, and the mirror responding. You want to feel that there are two of you, each representing a different aspect of yourself. The one with the problem is the conscious self, and the one listening is the subconscious self.
- The final step is to start the conversation with yourself. How would you initiate a conversation with a friend about a problem you were having? How would you respond to a friend who wanted to discuss a problem? Where would you go from there? Keep the conversation going as long as you need, and when you're done, thank the other self for talking to you, just like you would a friend.
Some helpful tips
To get this down on paper, imagine that you need to talk to a friend, but are in a situation where you're not allowed to talk. Either type your conversation, or write it by hand (I prefer handwriting for this exercise). Maybe you'd feel more comfortable instant messaging yourself. Open up two windows and invite yourself to chat. You could even text it, but that might end up costing quite a bit unless you have an unlimited plan.
Make sure to keep the two selves separate. The first few times I did this, I couldn't keep track of who was who. While it's not absolutely necessary to differentiate (they're both aspects of you, remember), I find it makes the conversation flow easier when I know which part of me is talking. For myself, I indent the subconscious and start on the left border with the conscious. You could try italicizing one, using a dash mark, a different color pen, whatever works for you.
And as in all personal exploration, it helps to be in a quiet place, free from distractions. The subconscious has a hard time expressing itself when it's surrounded by constant noise.
Does this work for you? How does it work for you? Do you have any suggestions to make this better?
For an example of this technique, see this post.
This is really interesting. I'm going to try it right now. I'll try italicizing the subconscious voice.
ReplyDeleteThis sounds interesting. I would imagine as you write down the conversation new ideas and possiblities will flow. The nice thing about recording the conversation is that you will have those ideas to mull over later, without forgetting parts of the conversation.
ReplyDelete@ Kimber
ReplyDeleteOne of the problems with this method is many times my mind works faster than I can write it down, so I end up not getting everything on paper before it's gone. But it's better than pure speaking, where you get very little recorded, and only after it's over.
What you describe sounds like a one-man "Clearness Committee." In the Quaker faith, when a person has an issue or problem, a clearness committee works with the person to "clear" him or her, because Quakers believe that God is in all of us, and that we only need to clear ourselves in order to receive our own personal guidance.
ReplyDelete@Stephen
ReplyDeleteThanks for the info. I looked up the Clearness Committee idea, and found this quote:
"Each of us has an inner teacher, a voice of truth, that offers the guidance and power we need to deal with our problems."
From http://www.couragerenewal.org/parker/writings/clearness-committee
That does sound like what I'm advocating! Who knew I was reinventing a 350 year old tradition?
What a treat to go through your thought process as you dissected different issues your are facing. You are very brave to be so open on a format like this. Hecklers eat this kind of stuff for breakfast.
ReplyDeleteI have a similar exercise I do in my noggin to keep me focused on my goals as well. I find too myself likes to get in the way of stopping what I want to do. Once I get myself out of the way I can step out of my comfort zone.
Change is scary but thats what we have to do in order to get different results. You are giving yourself more control of your future. I want to share your example to others I know who could benefit from this.
I'm super excited to hear all about your adventure when you return. Good things are going to come I can feel it!!!!
@ Devine
ReplyDeleteYeah, I know it's scary, both working with change, and being open about my insecurities. But how can I expect to be a good advisor, encouraging others to open up, when I won't do it myself?