After years of habitual negative thoughts and anxieties, your brain is like a sludge covered  car engine. It still works; it just needs some care and cleaning to reveal the shine.   The happy memories, the peace, the joy – they’re all there somewhere; they’re just hidden by the grime.

The obvious solution would be to meditate – clear your head as you would clear the crud.  Well, I don’t know about you, but the thought of sitting in a dark room, trying to quiet my mind sends me into a panic attack.  I don’t trust my mind for one minute to leave me in peace.  If like me, the thought of meditation makes you want to run away, screaming, try this visualization instead:

1)  Find a quiet place where you can focus without interuption.  I know it sounds like I’m going to tell you to focus on your breathing.  I promise, I’m not.

2) Picture your brain covered with grime.  The grime is the buildup of all of the crap the bully has thrown your way – all of the harsh words, the worry, the guilt, the fear. 

3) Picture cobwebs all around.  They have been confusing you, making you feel like you can’t focus. See chutes with big grooves from the repetitive negative thoughts traveling through over and over for so long.

4) Start Cleaning.  First the cobwebs. Feel clarity starting to come back.  Notice a path through them opening up.  Feel the ease of moving through unencumbered.  Really feel it, and dwell there for as long as you like.  

Now, move onto the grime.  Layer by layer begin to scrape it off.  You may find it hard to remove.  It’s to be expected.  Your brain will not likely sparkle during your first session.  The crud has built up over time, and it will take time to remove.

Picture helpers cleaning busily with you.  They can be angels, people who have passed, anyone or anything that makes you feel safe and cared for.  Feel their love and kindness.  Feel their desire for your well-being.  

Picture a warm, peaceful light flowing over and through your brain. It’s moving slowly, through all of the crevices. 

5) Picture your brain sparkling.  Even if only for a moment, see it completely clear.  Feel the relief and peace it gives you. The bully will laugh at you, tell you you’re crazy, try to make you feel embarrassed and ashamed.  Ignore it.  Like any bully, he’s afraid of losing control.  Any time you can upset the bully, take it as a good sign.  Keep an open mind, and go easy on yourself.

Whenever you notice a negative thought, change the pattern and picture joyful helpers sliding down new chutes creating bigger and bigger grooves, paving the way for new and better habitual thoughts.

If you keep it up, you will eventually notice the grime loosening and the brain starting to shine. The grooves, hair by hair are being filled in, and new, healthier grooves are beginning to form.  Perhaps you will find a memory or two – a good one, or at least better than before.  Once you get the hang of it, you can do it for a minute or an hour.  It’s up to you. 

As always, remember, this is just one of the strategies you will find here.  If it resonates, keep it.  If it doesn’t, try another.  This is your journey.

Technique - Cleaning the Engine

1) Picture your brain covered with grime like the dirty engine.
2) Picture cobwebs all around well-tread grooves created by years running negative thought patterns.
3) Clear out the cobwebs, and clean off the crud.
4) Picture your brain sparkling like a shiny new engine with new connections deliberately forming new pathways creating new chutes for your new way of thinking.
5) See these new grooves grow every time you catch yourself in a negative thought and stop the pattern from running.  Picture joyful helpers sliding down new chutes creating bigger and bigger grooves, paving the way for new and better habitual thoughts.