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- Once you’re relaxed and heart-centered, take a minute
or two to briefly review the events of the past day. Do this with compassion
and objectivity, as if you were watching a movie in which you felt kindly
toward the main character – yourself.
As you watch the movie of your day unfold, simply take note of those
moments when you were relatively relaxed, and those moments when you were
especially tense. If any self-judgment arises, or if you find yourself getting
caught up in the drama of an event, simply shift your attention back to
breathing into your heart and recall the positive emotion you evoked earlier.
- Once you’ve gone through the day, let it go, and take a
few more breaths into and out from your heart, intensifying the positive
feeling you evoked.
- Staying anchored in the positive feeling, briefly
return to the tense moments of the day and imagine them surrounded and
penetrated by an atmosphere of calm and by the heart-feeling you’re now
experiencing.
- Finally, picture yourself at the end
of the day and imagine yourself, as vividly as you can, having gone through the
entire day in a calm, heart-centered state. Notice how that feels in your body. Notice your state of
mind. Notice any changes in your
sense of the people or events you had encountered.
When to Use the
Technique
You can do this exercise after your day is over – perhaps
sitting in your car for a moment before driving home, or on the bus or train
ride home. It will help to shed
any negativity you accumulated over the course of the day, freeing you to enter into
your evening in a more open, positive, and relaxed state.
Or you could do a review before going to sleep. Instead of entering into sleep with
your mind rehashing the day’s events, your mind will be calmer and clearer,
allowing your sleep to be more restful, restorative, and creative.
But you don’t have to wait until the day is over to reset
your mental and emotional thermostat.
You can even do a mini review in the midst of your day – perhaps after a
stressful experience – to immediately neutralize any negative impressions in
your brain and body, thus preventing the stress from spilling over into the rest of your day.
Doing this exercise on a regular basis is a powerful way to rewire your
brain for greater well-being, happiness, and harmonious connection to
others. When you also do the Preview of the Day exercise, the effect becomes even more powerful.
For an understanding of how these exercises work, see the pages on Creative Visualization - An Introduction and Imagery Exercises.
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