How often do we wander about in the trance of life? Recently I wrote here about how most of us experience life through the heavily impaired view of our beliefs. These beliefs were created by the suggestions of many well-intended people who were just trying to tell us about life or set us straight.
The churches we went to filled us with the suggestions of right and wrong and good and bad most of which should have been questioned but we trusted the authority of those who claimed to know God. This trusting often left us feeling broken down because we now lived in fear of sin, or hell for just being human.
Our parents, grandparents and family members filled our young minds with suggestions and we thought they did so out of love but most likely it came from their own suggestions they received when they we young and impressionable. Oftentimes these passed down family beliefs are filled with incorrect and limited ideas but we went along because we thought it was the right thing to do.
Then there is the school system too often based on fear of failure and being in control and all the suggestions made by teachers and administrators. Self-esteem is often shaped by the school experience and too many leave school full of self-doubt all because of suggestions made by peers, and the school staff.
By the time we reach adulthood we have so many other people's ideas and suggestions inside us that we may have lost total touch with what we feel inside. Feelings let us know when we are right with ourselves or not. If we constantly get suggestions from others and we feel discounted inside because we have to go against our sense of what is right for us, then we end up filled with uncertainty tainted by the suggestions of others. This leads to so much self-doubt and to confusion about what we should do and what is right for us.
All of these accumulated suggestions amount to a pile as big as a mountain or at least a good size hill that we have to shake off and move beyond to leave the limiting trance of life behind. Breaking up the old heap of family, church, peer, school and work suggestions is a trying task because we have to get clearer than the old false ideas, thoughts and beliefs.
As a reminder here is the formula for living in the trance of others:
Suggestions + Affirmations = Commitment
If you take in a suggestion like, "I am a bad person for the thoughts I have," when you have these thoughts again and you say over and over you're a bad person for having these thoughts, you are then affirming you as a bad person. If you affirm your badness enough at some point you full commit to being not ok with who you are. Suggestions plus repeating those suggestions cement them into your reality.
If you want to break up the cement of suggestions you have to stop the repeating of the negative self-talk and then get out a sledge hammer or loving kindness would be better of positive thoughts and dig deep into the core of your beliefs and rebuild your sense of self one positive suggestion at a time. Self-hypnosis is a good tool for this breaking up of the trance of suggested negative and limiting thought. This can take much work and patience or you go with the flow downstream and live fully in the now of who you are in the present moment and be completely mindful and create from you higher nature.
There is more to explore here and the Expanded Capacities series can give you some bigger views of what is possible and techniques that will be helpful.