I just had the best yoga class ever! It wasn’t actually the yoga that made it that way, although I do love the practice. It was who was in attendance. There is a gentleman, actually the husband of the instructor, who I have always thought was a fun and kind man. Well, the last time I saw him, he was quite ill. He asked me to help him with hypnosis, which I gladly did. I haven’t seen him since, although his wife kept me updated on his progress.
The hypnosis we did was directed at the stress resulting from his diagnosis and also going through the treatments he had to endure in order to find his way back to recovery. I recorded the sessions and gave him those as well as others I had that were appropriate. His wife said they listened to them daily through the whole process.
I couldn’t help myself, I hugged him hard! He smiled, so did his wife. As I was leaving the class, he stopped me and told me that he uses the advice I gave him every day. I had to ask, what advice? He said that he does a daily purge of his head trash. He imagines a trash can that he fills up with the stuff that has been rolling around in his thoughts and then dumps it in an incinerator to be burned and left as ashes.
Head Trash
I did tell him to do that, I often suggest that to my clients. It just hit home when he said it, how important a practice that is. The stuff that rolls around in our heads can interfere with our peace, especially when facing something that seems to be larger than we are, that is head trash. It humbled me that here was this person who had just faced a huge personal challenge saying that my suggestion was making a difference in how he was living. It made me realize how important our words and actions are. If I speak it, I want to be sure and live it.
There are challenges in all our lives. I do my best to keep mine under control, but truth be told, I am human. I have moments of feeling frail. This wonderful man just reminded me to throw that stuff away! I also have found that for me, when it seems like my head trash is getting too full, it is time for me to look around at how I can help someone else. Whether it is through organized volunteerism or just doing a favor for a friend. If my focus becomes how to help facilitate a change for another, change happens in me.
I recently met with a client who has been in the helping profession. She left her job for health reasons and instead of feeling better, like she thought she would, she found herself experiencing the blues. Furthermore, because she was blue, her eating was bad. She was eating carbs and sugars and had put about 20 pounds on. She had stopped going to the gym as well.
The first thing we did was to put all the head trash into one of those trash bins. Every “I can’t” got thrown away. Next, we threw out the excuses she had created. We threw away her attachments to past hurts and slights. I could sense her relief at being done with all of that. But what to do with all that empty space? We decided to fill it with her favorite color light and allow that light to shine on all of her good qualities; her caring, her determination and her competence for starters. She has reported back to me that she is now throwing away stuff in her home as well as in her mind and she feels so much better!
Imagine your trash can, what would you put into it? What are you ready to be done with? Are you filled with “I cant’s” or excuses? Maybe it isn’t even your own stuff to hold on to? Are you carrying around other people’s stuff, such as gossip, jealousy or pettiness? If it is holding you back or weighing you down, this may be the time to consider throwing it away.
