Issue 51, November 2002
Giving Back the Belief
©Jane Teresa Anderson, November 2002
Last week I dreamed I was at a writers' retreat. There were about eight of us ensconced in a country cottage for an afternoon. We were each to write an article. Our work would be judged and a winner would be announced.
I knew I wouldn't win. The other writers were all strong literary authors. I wasn't sure why I, a non-fiction writer, was included. With my laptop under my arm I surveyed the others as they rushed to mark out their writing territories.
One woman staked out the space between two indoor trees. She nailed dozens of blank pages to the tree trunks and then proceeded to pace the floor, marking the occasional word or idea onto one of the pages, stepping back and musing. I was impressed by her lack of concern for the ticking clock and her faith in the process of creating the whole piece in her mind before typing it out.
One man bagged a big table, set up his computer, tapped out his story quickly and left. I was impressed by his lack of hesitation and his faith in the right flowing of words.
An older man ran to claim the cupboard under the stairs as his writing space. I could tell by his determined speed that he'd checked out the cottage before and had to get this space before anyone else did. The cupboard was triangular in shape and lined with mahogany shelves. He had brought his carpentry tools and a variety of fabrics in his kit. He laboured fast and hard until he had completed his 'writing'. He was a performance artist. His creation (ten purple cubes displayed on the mahogany shelves) won him first prize. I was impressed with his lack of concern for the rules of the writing game and his faith in his abstract approach.
I don't remember writing anything on my laptop, but as we left the cottage I led all the writers to a large room and began to take them through some yoga and stretching postures to help them recover from their efforts and restore balance to their physical, mental, emotional and spiritual being. They loved it. I was at ease with my natural gift. It required no pacing of the floor, no hesitation and no great performance art. It was easy to follow and people benefitted from it.
I had this dream after mulling over how to introduce this Dream Sight article. I had a problem. Last month I sat down to write about how dreams can reveal unconscious beliefs that are not serving you well and to give a wonderful technique (Giving Back the Belief) to correct this. I introduced the article with a story about how to cook a chicken. The story grew wings and legs of its own and, hundreds of words later, left me promising to give you the technique for Giving Back the Belief in the next Dream Sight newsletter. My problem was - and is - that I don't seem to be able to get straight down to the nuts and bolts of a story without a lengthy introduction. As you can see.
I recognised all the writers in my dream. Some days I am the one who paces and muses and hesitates as the idea grows. On other days I am the one who just sits down and types it all out in record speed with no planning. In another guise I am the abstract carpenter, writing about abstract intellectual and metaphysical matters while breaking all the writing rules. But there are days when I am the performance artist, unable to write a straightforward piece without going to huge lengths to engage readers, at the risk of losing them in doing so.
So, without further ado, please follow me into the yoga room and let's get down to practicalities.
Giving Back the Belief
(For use when you discover, through a dream, an unconscious belief that is obstructing your progress in waking life.)
As an example, imagine you dreamed you were sitting next to your father waiting for something really special but nothing happened. Thinking about your dream you remember how often your father used to say, "Good things come to those who wait". You look back over your life and suddenly see how often you have waited with no reward. You begin to wonder if action would have secured better results. You conclude you have taken on the belief from your father that you cannot have rewards unless you wait for them.
To Give Back the Belief you have to name the belief, know who to give it back to, know roughly what age you were when you acquired the belief and, most importantly, chose a new belief to take the place of the one you are giving back. (If you don't replace the old belief with a new one you risk falling into the hole, or you risk another inappropriate belief filling the void.)
Old Belief - I have to wait for rewards.
Where it came from - My father.
Age I was when I acquired it - five years old.
The New Belief - All rewards are now mine.
What to do - Allow fifteen uninterrupted minutes. Close your eyes and see yourself as a five-year-old. Take a friend or mentor from today with you as you go back and meet your five-year-old self. Greet your five-year-old self and explain that you have had a wonderful life and learned many interesting lessons but that there has been one thing that has made life a little difficult. Explain that her father is about to tell her that "good things come to those who wait" and that it is really important to see that it is only a story, not the truth of the matter. Tell her that her life will be much easier if she knows that all rewards are now hers. Then, with your five-year-old self and your friend from today, see yourself talking to your father as he was back then. Your friend is there to speak for you if you find it tough. Tell him that you have had a wonderful life but that it would have been easier if you hadn't taken his belief forward with you. Tell him, "I took your belief that good things come to those who wait, but it hasn't worked for me. It's your belief. I mistakenly took it. I'm here to give it back. Thank you, but I have a new belief now." Embrace him and then tell him, "All rewards are now mine". Hug your five-year-old self and tell her all is now well. Stay as long as you wish but keep all conversations positive, then return to the present.
This technique is deceptively simple but it is extremely powerful. You may experience a few days of grief and feel a bit spaced out or rudderless as you get used to living life with a new belief. These are positive signs of a technique well done. Within a week you will begin to notice changes in your attitude and changes in the way life unfolds.
And that's the yoga and the alchemy of Giving Back the Belief. Now, about that belief that an article is no good unless it has a lengthy introduction ...
Jane Teresa Anderson
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