healing

Snow covered rocks rest upon the shore
Beneath frozen tundra of the moors
When the sun again reaches its mark
Life will then rise anew from the dark

It will be months until that time
We must be evergreen as pines
Go with the icy waters’ flow
Find insulation in the snow

A wanderer to our tribe walks in
Half naked, barefoot, with weathered skin
He gives the cold no quarter or heed
Of what then could this one be in need?

In beginning there is fear in tribe
To gain our trust he takes little time
For one whole year he stays among us
Teaching many things from his small hut

Warnings of winds and fish going dry
What to build and where in bay to try
There too was a child close to her death
He sung onto her life-giving breath

From her fever she awoke most strong
By the tribe chosen before not long
Permission granted by the lawman
To train with him, the nameless Shaman

I call this technique “Hindsightfulness” because it involves visualizing looking back on the present. I’ve also heard of this being called “nostalgia for the present moment.” It can be used to enhance experiences that are already seen as being good or to savor the moment even more, but what I would like to emphasize is how it can be used to cut through or at least help to somewhat alleviate difficult times and even moments of great anguish. Really this is an emotionally based practice and could fall under the umbrella of inner alchemy.

In this thought experiment the control is how you currently feel. The variable that is manipulated is perception of time. Imagine that you are looking back on this moment as a memory. Add to this visualization that from that future time you will somehow be healed of the current affliction. You do not need to know exactly how that would be the case. It may be too difficult to imagine. Maybe it is easy to imagine in which case you can go with it. One example is if you are dealing with romantic dejection you try to imagine a future significant other who you would be very happy to be with. This seems cliche and even silly when you are in pain but if you really give it a try in can have a surprising effect to pick you up onto your feet again. Another example is to picture being on the other side of something that you have a lot of anxiety about doing. For example if you have to engage in public speaking in a few days you can imagine in great detail what it will be like when you are done with it. What will you do to reward yourself? How will relaxing really feel in a visceral way? You can even learn to defer anxiety. By doing this kind of technique you can learn to decide to be anxious about an event the day before or the day of it instead of right now. You actually procrastinate on being anxious. Anxiety takes a lot of energy and you decide not to spend that energy right now. It takes practice but it is possible. We are not using a notion of the law of attraction here by the way. That is an interesting topic but also is very subjective. This is subjective too but in this case that is the whole point. We are leveraging subjectivity. This pain can be looked at in different ways and from different perspectives. Believe it or not our minds have the power and capacity to embody what seems to be beyond out current reach. If you get good at this sort of visualization you can actually start to transmute your emotions and even your mood (emotions being like waves that come and go while mood is more like the state of the surface which is more widespread and lasts longer).

When combined with flexible thinking and even opposite thinking Hindsightfulness can be an even stronger technique. By flexible thinking is this case I mean thinking of different possible perspectives that could be had on your current situation and imagined future. It perhaps even means thinking of what a kind stranger might think of your condition. Picture them having compassion and being a companion who is able to help because they do not have the burden of pain that you have. A more advanced version attained with practice is to imagine and feel yourself to be that kind stranger. This involves a healthy imagination and a flexible sense of self. At long last a great application to the daydreaming abilities we have been honing our whole lives. By opposite thinking in this case I am referring to thinking in the opposite way that you currently are. It could be as in depth as flipping feeling sad with acting like feeling happy (like a method actor) or it could be as simple as saying to yourself, “if I feel this way right now then the opposite of this must exist too.” It is basically an acknowledgement that emotions, even extremely powerful ones, do come and go. None are permanent. The pendulum has swung this way and so it has to swing back eventually. At the very least it cannot stay this way. It is temporary. This is not to take away from how bad something feels. It actually encourages feeling that very deeply and not being in denial of it so that you can engage in flexible and opposite thinking effectively.

In my scholarly study of Buddhism thus far it is worth noting the influences of impermanence and equanimity. They are very applicable concepts and helped to shape this practice. The feeling that nothing is permanent can be scary but when it comes to pain and suffering it is a most welcome insight. The concept of equanimity is also right on the nose. Staying in the middle of that pendulum as much as possible is the idea. However if you are one to experience a very wide spectrum of that emotional pendulum (like I am) then do not beat yourself up or see it as a hindrance to balance. Your high sensitivity allows you to know very much about the full range of the human condition and that can be leveraged into compassion and insights of epic proportions.

To summarize Hindsightfulness is a very effective way to alleviate the pain of a moment or a stretch of time in your life. It helps to see it as a “life situation” rather than “your entire life,” framing it in this way may be difficult at first but it can absolutely be done if taken in stages as needed and practiced patiently. Flexible thinking and didadic thinking can also be applied if needed and entire daydream visualizations could ensue as a therapeutic tool. With this you can be your own hypnotist or therapist. Ultimately the concepts of impermanence and equanimity can become more and more embodied. You must test them for yourself. Rather then viewing them as beliefs you see how they hold up to your own direct experience. Give all of this a really fair try and it should speak for itself but do not just believe that either of course. The only point of this is for it to work for you. What works for me may not work for you and visa versa but it may also work at a later time if it is at least remembered as an option to try.