Special Memory #7
I’m sure you’ve heard the expression: “What’s the worst thing that can happen?” Have you ever considered what is the best thing that can happen?
In graduate school, we were shown how to map out everything we wanted to happen through visualization and affirmation. The premise was, that if you can visualize it taking place, you can attract it into your life. For years I created these “Ideal Scenes” and in doing so I attracted the best mate, sold my condominium to the highest bidder in record time, and instead of creating a business plan, I created a series of Ideal Scenes for every area in my very first business.
I decided to open my own facility in 2015 after seeing the pitfalls of residential care. People that discharged from my program were failing to follow up with ongoing counseling and were relapsing. At the time, I decided to keep an eye on people regularly because I didn’t achieve sobriety in one month, it took me 6. I personally wanted to fill this need, while at the same time presenting to people the program I developed at the residential facility.
Thus, my preplanning began, and I knew I had to do so with the Ideal Scene process that worked so well for me. I knew that outpatient care was drastically different than residential, and was excited to finally have a life and not worry about housing people, medicating them, or feeding them.
Having my own outpatient facility meant it was all on me. So I took extra care in mapping out the Ideal Scenes that supported every aspect of running a mental health facility.
Two years later, when the doors finally opened, I could see I made the right decision. No longer were people forced to be there and hauled away from their homes to a life in exile, they all chose to be there.
I liked showing the clients the series of Ideal Scenes that opened up Basic Steps. It was a long two years and laid a great foundation for where they were now attending. These Ideal Scenes included the ideal facility scenes – one for the licenses and permissions, another for having college interns, my preferred client scene, the financial situation scene, more on health and self-care, and so on.
I have always been confident with the Ideal Scene process because it worked so well in the past. Before I moved up here from Los Angeles I needed to sell my condo and 5 days later it was sold! After a bidding war! Yep, Ideal Scenes are no joke.
Ideal Scenes grabbed hold of my business and somehow got me through these leaner years, as most start-up businesses can attest to. However, I cringed each time I presented the ideal facility scene to my clients because one main element had failed to come true.
An Ideal Scene looks like a wheel with spokes – kind of like a bicycle wheel, and each spoke contains a positive statement that spells out what you want in relation to the topic. So, with my Ideal Facility Scene, one of the spokes may read, “I am joyfully at peace as I interact with my staff and participants.” Another may be, “I am enjoying the music system, it aids greatly to the atmosphere.” However, the “I am amazed with the nearby hiking and trails, it adds greatly to my facility,” well, that did not take place.
One item out of 18 failed, and why did I continually obsess about it? Kind of like school. If I missed one answer out of 100, I beat myself up for days! So, I tried to find the last piece of the puzzle and I searched and searched the surrounding area for something that gave me a semblance of a hiking trail. A little one between this condo and the park just didn’t do it for me and I continued in desperation to find relief.
Then came one magical day. You know, the day when you wake up in the morning and just feel something wonderful is going to happen? After my lunch break, I decided to take the group on a silent walk in a different area to a park I had seen. As I walked along the path towards its rear, I noticed the path continuing down into a sort of opening in the trees. Much to my surprise the path opened up to this incredible forest! I had found the missing spoke!!! Everyone in the group could read my reaction. Silent or not silent, the entire group was cracking up.
I don’t question it anymore. I somehow got the funding I needed, sold a condo in only 5 days, got an incredible relationship, found the ideal apartment in the ideal community, experienced amazing health, and found that elusive nearby hiking place.
You can create Ideal Scenes for everything life has to offer. Health, vacations, musical expression, and now I have two active ideal scenes with my musical expression and my writing a new book on reparenting.
The Ideal Scene process is referred to as “Co-Creation.” This is a spiritual term meaning that we are working with God to create things in our lives. We automatically create things negatively when we focus on the worst things that can happen. Being automatically positive and focusing on what I want has changed my life for the better.
Professional athletes use co-creation all the time. They will visualize success and attract that to them. From gymnasts to track stars, and even one of the best players in baseball, Freddie Freeman, the first baseman for the Los Angeles Dodgers. He reported that he uses visualization for 50% of the practice time before games and does 50% of physical batting practice. The over-practicing started to break him down so he changed up his routine and still is batting over .300 and is still a perennial all-star. If you see it, you can be it, and he is one of the best at doing it.
Give this a try. Jot down what you would like to experience in detail and see what happens. A friend was about to sell her home, I asked her to list everything she wanted to take place, and her house sold in 4 days! Incredible.
I would love to hear your success story.
Compassionate Care is Always Available
There are many more tools and strategies you can use in your pursuit of happiness. Here is where we come in. Contact us at Basic Steps Mental Health and let us support and educate you on this journey back to your loving heart center. Imagine living a heart-centered life, regardless of what is happening externally. We’d love to be of help.
For 25 years, Dr. Scott Alpert, the clinical director of Basic Steps Mental Health, has treated over 7,000 people with mental health and addiction problems, using a Psychological approach that mixes and matches ten of the top approaches used in the industry. We are here virtually and in-person to help you get through this COVID-19 pandemic and many other difficulties you may be experiencing.
May you have good mental health.
Related Posts
The Benefits of Slowing Down
Have you ever made those rash decisions, blurted out something, and then later...
Confession – I Am an Addict
I have a confession to make. I am an addict. I guess that’s the best way to...