Change Your Life Story Session 4

We all hold various stories about ourselves that we more or less believe. These narratives from the past have the power to define your present, thus creating ground for your future. In session 4 of 6 you will decide how trustworthy your stories about yourself are.

Transcript

Hello and welcome to the fourth session of the course What's Your Story?

And thank you very much for coming back.

I'm entirely grateful for that.

Also thank you for your donations that you've actually made for participation in this course.

The donations help both myself and the Insight Timer community to develop and provide relevant content in a modern,

Updated,

Developing environment so that it is available to a larger number of people.

Thank you for that.

Well this is the fourth time that we are meeting you and me and by now you're actually becoming a professional,

Skilled story identifier.

And I bet that you've had the opportunity to see,

Hear,

Read,

Whatever that would be,

A number of different stories about yourself and the world that you are holding and that you are holding on to.

And you know,

There's like nice stories or nicer stories.

Nice nicer okay neutral not that nice worse bad even worse worst stories kind of and all between on that scale.

And of course there are stories that are very useful.

These are those stories and narratives where we've learned something which is very important for our life like you know don't swim too far in the sea when the waves are too high or sugar is good but if it's too much then your body fat might also get too much or similar things learnings.

Most of the stories that we are holding are actually not so useless oh sorry not so useful might even be useless in many ways or quite harming for our being well-being development personal development.

So if you like maybe just start by landing in your body.

So you release the main focus point of your existence right now from your head from the brain.

You may as well imagine how it travels down along with the spine lower in your body.

So your attention is traveling to the lower regions through your neck and shoulders down with your arms to your hands fingertips and even lower in between your shoulder blades to your lower back all the way down through your hip joints the long bones in your legs down to your feet until the attention reaches the ground.

Your breath is natural it takes care of itself.

Your eyes might be closed softly open with a soft gaze.

You might as well be standing walking do it mindfully then and be safe.

See what is talking to you right now if there is a story knocking on the door of your consciousness.

There is a narrative something that you have experienced that you're sitting with right now.

It might be talking to you through some physical sensations it might be talking to you through a feeling or there might as well be thoughts that carry with them the story or two or three or four.

But if you were to focus on one narrative that you feel is in you right now.

I have a few things booked for tomorrow and in my calendar and so the story I'm sitting with a little bit is like okay how do I go about my day tomorrow it will be stressful because I've already had a few days like this so there might be a little bit of a feeling of unease you know already today.

So what is the story that you are sitting with?

You can share it with us later in the comments section in the inside timer app or online.

But for now we'll play a little game.

So this story that you're sitting with like the story I have tomorrow will be a stressful day.

We'll do some scenario planning.

So now in the first scenario you decide to trust to believe the story.

So I believe that tomorrow will be a stressful day.

What are you sensing is happening in your experience?

To be mindful listening to your thoughts and feelings and physical sensations.

Is that comfort,

Discomfort,

Energy,

Lack of energy,

Fatigue,

A bit restless thinking maybe or on the other hand spacious feeling in your mind.

Depends very much on the story that you have chosen to work with.

Now if it's okay for you think about if you believe the story what will happen?

I'm kind of guessing and I have a reason to believe that if I choose to believe my story about tomorrow being a busy day full of stress then I can't really say that tomorrow will be a day full of stress.

But what I can tell is that if I choose to believe the story now I will definitely not enjoy this afternoon,

This evening,

My sleep will be you know just so and waking up tomorrow will as well be colored by the expectations on the day.

So that in the end if the day will be stressful and busy or not doesn't really make such difference because it will have already kind of spoiled my today and the night and the morning before.

So how does your story affect your being and well-being if you believe it?

Good scenario number two let's choose not to believe your story say well this is not necessarily true.

What happens in your experience?

What happens in your body in your mind?

Thoughts feelings sensations?

And now what will happen if you choose not to believe the story?

And not believing doesn't necessarily mean like fighting it.

Not believing is about saying well yeah okay there is a story but it is exactly what it is it is a story and it's not necessarily true.

So in my case that would be the story is tomorrow will be a busy and stressful day.

Okay it might as well be so but it might as well not be so and I choose to see it for what it is as a story in my mind maybe based on some previous experience but what can I do now?

There is no hundred percent guarantee that it will be like that.

So what I can do now is I can decide to think.

One potentiality is that tomorrow will be a busy and stressful day but right now it is not.

Right now I'm sitting here in my home enjoying my cup of tea.

I have an evening in front of me a good night's sleep and a morning with your girl or a short run in the forest or something.

Then we'll see.

So I'm not negating the story I'm not saying it's not true I'm saying it is a potential thing that it might be like that but it's not necessarily that it will turn out to be exactly as this and life changes we know that.

And I'm also allowing the story to be here with me in my lap kind of or in my head or wherever I'm holding it in my hands without really disturbing the quality of my time with you now and later tonight tomorrow morning.

So I'd like to invite you if you feel like after we will have finished this session together today to continue kind of questioning a little bit the stories that will come up for you today.

Asking all these questions about is it really true?

Is it the only alternative?

Does this mean a hundred percent?

This is as it is and this is as it will be or is there any other alternative available?

You're very welcome to share your reflections and insights in the comments section in the course.

If you feel like making a donation to the teacher and the InsightHimer community it is very easy to do both in the app and online through hitting the donation button.

And I am very much looking forward to meeting you again in session number five which will give you some practical tools for letting the story of your life develop in its own way while giving you the space and time and energy and means that you need without really being limited by a pre-written story.

Thank you for keeping up.

Thank you for turning up five times and looking forward to talking to you soon.

You can also head on to my profile and click on that little bell button to follow notifications from me including my live sessions and new courses and recordings.

Thank you,

Bye.