Check out the Secret secrets

Last night I watched the Secret DVD. I would have to rate it five out of five stars for pacing, punch and plot. I won’t give away that plot however, because the lure of the DVD is that the world’s most influential people have known and used the secret for centuries. People who are interested should check out their website. http://www.thesecret.tv/home.html Any group with the confidence to advertise a new era for mankind deserves a few minutes, or hours or days of time.

I especially like the emphasis they give to writing down a list of “gratitude” and “thankful for.” Many people have been saying for many years that each of us is the author of our destiny, but few have said it so well.

I Prefer to Be—

One study about expressive writing randomly assigned participants to four different groups. People wrote 20 minutes a day for four days about:

1. a non-emotional control topic
2. a life trauma
3. their best possible future selves
4. both a trauma (the first two days) and their best possible future (the last two days.)

For the best possible self assignment, people were instructed to think about their futures as the realization of all their life dreams. At the end of the study researchers found that writing about one’s best possible self was associated with a significant increase in positive mood. Individuals who wrote about their best possible selves were also significantly higher in psychological wellbeing three weeks after the study was completed. Five months afterward, the best possible self group had the lowest number of visits to the doctor. Even the trauma only group and the combination group had significantly lower health visits than the control group.

So I tried it. What I wish for myself is potent and seductive. Taken seriously, the blend between wishing and reality begins to blur. The preferred self plans a bright future.

Then the skeptical part of the brain objects. “Wishing is not enough. A fervent desire of the heart cannot change one’s circumstance.”

But it can. And it does. Writing down one’s fervent hopes helps them to become part of a life experience. Hope is more concrete—just look at the page. Defining desire in words makes it easier to act upon.

Excuse me. I’ve got to go now. Got to write down what I want and then find ways to make it come true.

Serenity

The magic of my first books helped get me started down the journaling path. Magical moments came early in life when Uncle Red sat down with my older sister and me for story time when we were just toddlers. I don’t recall what books he read, but the impression was deep and lasting. Then when I learned to read for myself any place in the world became part of my life experience.

Whatever people remember about their first books, they are powerful pathways, not just to learning but to our emotional lives. Stories help us adjust to bad times, get past them. Find some benefit. This process is even more powerful when we write our own stories. The process of finding the language to define experience stirs the senses and affects us in positive ways. Journaling has application in many aspects of life—from romance to health. Writing one’s life history even helps to understand our feelings about money and why we make the financial choices we do. Consider the blogs shown at:

http://womensfinancialserenity.blogspot.com/

Fond Memories
This week I received the invitation to a high school reunion. I’m not going to be able to attend, and I’m sorry that I’m not. The people on the committee have gone to a great deal of trouble and have given some thought to ways to span the years and bring classmates back together. One of the things they did was send around questionnaires that asked us to recall fond high school memories. How cool is that? Writing about the good experiences is a wonderful way to peel back the years. Writing the answer gave me something to laugh about.

I filled out my questionnaire by saying: In second year Latin class, Jennifer had a difficult time translating Cesar out loud. (Didn’t we all?) Miss Brown [the teacher] did not offer to help; she just let Jennifer struggle. Jennifer hemmed and hawed but didn’t know the right verb. Finally she ended the torture and blurted out something like, “…and the soldiers rose from the dead!”

Miss Brown expelled a blast of air, bit her lip, but then started to giggle. Once started, she couldn’t stop. She listed to the side and almost fell off her chair from laughing. The picture of Miss Brown rumbling with laughter, tilted thirty-degrees starboard has stayed with me all these years. (Other than that, did anyone ever see Miss Brown smile?)

It was fun to write, even better to recall those carefree times. Before I opened the questionnaire, the day had seemed frustrating. Afterward, I felt better. I remembered Jennifer’s confusion as part of the common humanity that connects us all.

Morning consitutional

This morning the sky overhead was totally clear, and; the full moon was totally cool. My morning walk took me out the door at 6:12 a.m. when the moon was still full in the west and the eastern horizon was just starting to blush. Choosing which way to turn was a difficult decision. I could howl at the moon or watch the sky put on a morning coat. At one point near a park I stopped and turned back and forth, west to east and east to west. Moon Sun. Sun Moon. It was hard to start walking again and much easier to wait for the universe to make the first move.

Dear Temporal Lobes:

I recently read that writing lights up the temporal lobes of the brain, and that the physiology involved in the processes of defining thought and putting it down in writing uses different areas of brain than those employed for speech and listening. The article went on to say that the temporal lobes seem to have more direct connections with the emotional centers of the brain. The inference was that writing allows one to access emotion in ways that are different, and in some ways or in some instances, superior to talking.

So—good morning, Temporal Lobes. What are you feeling today? Do the next moments, hours and days seem hopeful? The rest of the mind needs to get involved soon. There are many calls to make and people to persuade. But for now, let’s spend a quiet time together, seeing what might burble up from below. (Pause) Yes, I see. The problems are great, but, you’re right. The power to imagine is also the power to solve. Creativity and writing are the ways forward. Thanks again. We’ll get together again soon.

Best wishes, Georgiann