Having fun with beliefs

[Bumblebee]

During the intensive class, I was trying to do all the exercises and was often feeling frustrated because I could not hold the beat, fell behind in my readings, forgot to do some of the exercises, etc.

Now that class is over, I am exploring what we read in a much more relaxed way. I am actually playing with my thoughts.

When I dream, I can always breathe underwater. If I am drowning, I remember I am dreaming and that I can breathe underwater, and it instantly happens.

Since our dreams are just as valid reality as our walking reality, I decided to apply this instant feeling "of course I can" to my walking reality. And no, I did not try to breath underwater...

At work, there was this flu going around. People were knocked down cold by the thing- three day fever and at least a week looking like they just fought Godzilla. My thoughts automatically concentrated on the fact I didn't want to catch it, and of course I KNOW that if I think I don't want to catch the flu, I'm setting myself up to get it, as I am concentrating on the problem and not the solution. So I started playing with more productive ideas. Every evening as I walked my dog in the forest, I imagined that I was healthy , and I took the feeling from my dream and applied it to my health: I felt like it was obvious that I was naturally immune to viruses. I imagined myself strong and healthy.

Well I am happy to say that so far so good. Only 2 out of 20 of us didn't get it, and I am part of the 2. 

I will try this to use these kinds of thoughts on other aspects of my life to see if I can make a link between reality and these thoughts- that is the scientist in me speaking!! 

[Deb]

I dream a lot that I'm breathing under water. I wonder what that means?!? I don't necessarily know that I'm dreaming, I just realize at some point that I can breathe and I'm not drowning. If I was Freud I'd probably say it has to deal with some interior belief that I don't fit in, but that I'm proving to myself that even if I don't fit in I'm still surviving (in foreign surroundings).

I also have a lot of dreams about having trouble with phones. Back in the "old" days I would have trouble with dialing the wrong number over and over again. Very frustrating. I just had one this week, where I was somewhere with my 19 year old son and I was trying to call my husband on my iPhone and some stupid game kept appearing on my screen. I couldn't figure out how to get the screen back to phone mode and finally handed it over to my son, thinking he'd know what to do. This type of dream probably represents my belief that I'm not a great communicator. I can communicate well through writing, but I've often said that I'd never do well in a verbal fight because I can't "think on my feet." When I read the exchange between Seth and Rob about why Rob's hand was cramping while he was writing, it really struck a chord for me.

It could also be tied to an experience I had back in the 80s. I was at a horse show with a friend. The show didn't even get started and she had an asthma attack and went outside for air. She insisted she was ok and I should stay there. I hesitated for a moment but had a bad feeling and followed her out anyway. As I was walking towards the door, an usher/attendant asked if everything was okay. I told him what was going on and he said, if you need any help I'm also a paramedic. When I got outside, I saw that it was a really bad attack. We talked a little but then she passed out and stopped breathing. I ran to get the paramedic who was just inside the door. While he was taking care of her I ran back into the building to call 911 and couldn't immediately find the pay phones. I was terrified that I wouldn't be able to dial the phone, just to dial 911! I luckily was able to do so and the paramedics got to her within a couple of  minutes--they had been parked around the corner "just in case." I rode in the ambulance with her. She revived, but they had overdosed her with epi and she died anyway. So, me and phones...

Your experience with the flu reminded me of something. I'd always puzzled over how doctors can be around sick people all the time and not get sick themselves. I'm reading an old book written by a doctor (Confessions of a Medical Heretic, WOW!) and he mentions doctors and nurses having good immune systems because they are constantly exposed to all sorts of germs--so they rarely get sick. But, the thing is, we are always crawling with germs but our bodies know how to keep them in check. Because of what I've been learning from Seth, now I think the reason they don't get sick is because they see themselves as the doctor, the sick people as patients. They believe they are invincible because it's their role. They are doctors, not patients.

So glad to hear you didn't get the flu! I bet those other 18 people were thinking they were going to get sick, or fearing it. Great believing!!!

[Pinky]

Wow, thanks for bringing up the belief about the flu, Nathalie, because I've been playing with beliefs about my health, and it's been startling.  In the spring, I started having a bit of throbbing on one side of my lower abdomen, like where one of my ovaries is situated.  And now that Kaiser has stopped hounding me about a mammogram, the latest round has been about getting a pap smear.  So as I'd get the Kaiser emails and phone messages, I could feel the throbbing increasing and decided I'd better make my ob-gyn appointment.

I'm also pre-hypertensive — not bad for being part of a family where everyone started taking high blood pressure meds in their 40s (I started in my 50s).

And I love coffee but have to drink it in moderation (substituting with decaf) or a get these little lumps in my breasts.

Thinking about our beliefs and our health, I started rethinking the throbbing in my ovary, my blood pressure, those lumps in my breast from caffeine, and a few other health issues.  And I started to rethink about aging (I'm 61) and the belief that my body's supposed to start falling apart. In fact a doctor told me last year that one of my eyes may have glaucoma, an inevitability of aging.

So I'm changing those beliefs, really becoming aware of them.

The throbbing in my abdomen is gone.  I've been enjoying the most delicious kona coffee 2 to 3 times a week and the lumps in my breasts haven't appeared.  I stopped taking my hypertension meds and, quite frankly, haven't even bothered to check my blood pressure.  I don't know the status of the glaucoma, but I'm no longer assuming it will transpire because of my age.

And I've learned to stop listening to the chatter of people around me whose views on health are so fear-laden that you wonder how they get through the day with any joy.

Deb, your idea about the doctors being healthy because of their beliefs is mind-bending.  I've always believed we build up our immunities by allowing the antibodies to get stronger with each little bit of sickness.  But wait a second – I think you are onto something!

[Deb]

AWESOME NEWS Pinky on your health issue turnarounds. I'll be 59 in a few weeks and started on thyroid supplement a couple of years ago, being told by my doctor at the time that thyroid problems begin after menopause. Then the next thing I knew they had me on blood pressure meds as well. My goal is to figure out what is emotionally causing both of those issues and get off the medications. Although all my life I've heard people complain that once you hit 50, it's all downhill from there, I really haven't expected my own body to do that, so the thyroid problem really surprised and disappointed me. I tend to not speak out much and the thyroid is in that 4th chakra which is about self-expression, so I should start there. I have a little work to do. 

[Pinky]

Hey Deb, do let us know how you work through the thyroid and blood pressure issues.  I'm rooting for you as you examine your beliefs and figure it out on a deeper level.  Doctors project health problems into the future as we age and it feels like it's time to defy their predictions.

Your friend's asthma attack at the horse show back in the 80s sounds so traumatizing.  Fast forward to 2014, your view of that event in terms of blockages in communication, dialing the wrong numbers, and what your dreams are telling you--there are strands there that I hope you can connect.

Nathalie, rereading how you changed your thoughts about getting the flu was inspiring, really good guidance for me on how to change my beliefs and thoughts.

You both are sharing such good information.  Thank you!

[strangerthings]

I also have a lot of dreams about having trouble with phones.

Wow I used to have these too!

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Sharing my phone dream experiences in general this is not replying personally to any post just in general:
 
I felt though that with this certain person everything I said was wrong and negated. It was not a matter of communicating with this person it was that there was not anything I could say that would provide any positive feedback! I remember when I would express such great joy and this person wasted no time to squash it.

My communication eventually was to say bye-bye! I haven't had those dreams since.

Once I had a dream on mass communication... that was interesting. I was doing something on a mass level (mass event) but one of the headphone/microphone cords was severed and all the others were plugged in and good to go and the message was being sent out.

I remember it had to do with my ego check. Checking in with myself to find the creative stopper. I found it. It changed how I proceeded from there. Eye opener I tell ya.

Some of my broken phone dreams were about my own power and not depending on another for approval. It was my joy, my power, my communication, and if the other(s) were not receiving message then there was a miscommunication within me. "User error".

They were all different and meant different things. Those kinds of dreams helped to steer me in a different direction.

I squash my own joy. The feedback is the mirror. People reflect our beliefs. We meet them face to face.

We are here to learn in a safe space. And sometimes its ok to get out of a situation that you feel is no longer safe for creative expression. Sometimes that is not the bandaid, but the solution. To make my own boundaries and stand able with the boundaries. To learn to stand. To be around people that are willing to give safe space when I am expressing myself. Letting go is also a lesson I learned. Well, I am still learning this lesson but, its not as intense. Thankfully!

Sometimes the lesson is - check yourself. lol (to me)

There are various lessons to learn various solutions. One of them is bound to work lol Just keep at it!    (to me and in general)

"What is coming at you is coming from within you."

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Deb, The friend .... you experienced something that I haven't ever experienced (except with pets) in this way and I never know what to say anymore to people because my beliefs have changed so much. It is my wish that even if you ever think about it, you are surrounded with a lot of support and love. I usually just hold people and let them cry or vent and follow their lead pretty much now. But this is all typing and if I was there I would have just loved you and been there if you needed someone. I had a relative pass away and I still do not know what to make of it. I've done so much work on beliefs that I know he chose this. I'm happy he is moving on. I wont tell my family that though. And there were lessons for others to learn from afterwards. I see all that now. Anyway, its been years for you and I did not want to post about those dreams and not point out that I saw that and understood in my own way. xoxoxo

[Deb]

I also have a lot of dreams about having trouble with phones.

Wow I used to have these too!

I STILL have them, lol! When I started having them it was dialup phones and phone booths. As technology changed, it changed in my dreams as well. Weird. I think I just have a deep need to be understood... I had an incident when I was about 4 or 5 where I was blamed for hurting someone (I didn't, she lied out of anger and for her own gain), and I remember the feeling of unfairness and frustration when the adult in the room refused to hear my side of the story, turned her back on me and walked away with her smirking kid in her arms. As you say, wrong and negated. But that could be where it started. Time for me to grow up!!!

Lately I've been having a lot dreams about small animals, being responsible for their safety and struggling with that. I can only guess what that's about.

[Sena]

The throbbing in my abdomen is gone.  I've been enjoying the most delicious kona coffee 2 to 3 times a week and the lumps in my breasts haven't appeared.  I stopped taking my hypertension meds and, quite frankly, haven't even bothered to check my blood pressure.  I don't know the status of the glaucoma, but I'm no longer assuming it will transpire because of my age.

@strangerthings , thanks for bumping up this interesting post.

@Pinky , I trust you are keeping well.