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"If you build it they will come"
"We create our own reality"
"Intention brings action"
We've heard these and many similar sayings lots of times before. They are the core of many new-age workshops, self-help books and self-improvement programs. Sometimes the process works, but more often it doesn't. And when it doesn't we ask why? Why did the Universe fail us?
Do dreams fulfill themselves, as some gurus say, or do we need to actually need to take logical, concrete steps to turn those dreams into a new reality? The big debate rages - if you want it, will it just happen? If you put that intention out to the Universe, announcing that you intend to have a new Porsche in your driveway, will it somehow manifest there, especially if you use deep meditation, the right psychic powers, etc? Or do you need to do tangible things to bring that new sports car into existence?
To some extent, we do indeed create our own reality. The book "The Secret" develops these ideas in detail. Yet the idea also has come under tremendous criticism. In my observations from working with clients, I have found that dreams really do come true, but they take one hell of a lot of work to do so. I think we've all done something like this, to some degree - anyone reading this article has probably at least thought about it. How can we create a world, make it feel real, and observe the details of it as if it were today's reality?
A diffuse, nebulous dream is almost as bad as no dream at all. To achieve your dream, you need to define what that dream is, envision it and then commit to it. Is your entire being aligned with that dream, or are you divided in some way, part of you wanting it, and part of you wanting a different (perhaps opposing) result? If you are fully aligned with that dream, then how are you going to make it come true? Are there obstacles in the way - sometimes very large obstacles, even seeming impossibilities?
In an earlier article, Journey to the Horizon, we explored a way to create a future reality and then map out a roadmap to that reality. We imagined that the reality was far away (the farther the better), conceptually beyond the horizon. Then we explored ways to characterize that reality - what makes that new world tick, what makes it real? We also looked at the "impossibilities" of that world, what makes that world out of reach at the moment. We suggested that these impossibilities were really just paths, problem statements that defined the path(s) we had to travel. We then identified the steps along that path, focusing on the first one with the intention to follow up regularly to track the effort.
In laying out this idea, I used the methodology known as the Horizon Mission Methodology or more currently called the New Horizon process, developed by NASA in the mid 1990s.
The methodology identifies five steps:
1) dream the future world - creatively identify the new world over the horizon and begin to think of it as a reality.
2) Imagine being in that reality and describe the future reality in more detail
3) Identify the salient elements of that future reality, what makes it superior and what made it seem impossible in the "present" time. These impossibilities become paths from the present to the future.
4) Determine what the paths are in greater detail. What steps need to happen to travel that path from the present-day world to the new-horizon world?
5) Identify the first step along that path. What will you do to start and how will you do it. How will you know you have completed it?
This methodology is a wonderfully structured way of developing advanced technology, road maps to fundamental change in business, and other far reaching changes in life. So how could we make this work in the daily world of the hypnotherapy client, the person wanting to heal an issue, to change their life and improve their personal wellness?
Returning to that "create your own reality" theme with which we began, doesn't each of us have a dream? Each of us wants something, maybe big, maybe small. For each of us, there is something over the horizon, and if/when you have that potential future, you have the opportunity to create a new horizon world. So how do we begin?
In hypnotherapy, I invite the client to relive times when things went well, when they were confident and when they felt strong and in control of life. I then invite them to imagine a time beyond the present - maybe a few months or a year out, when they have achieved at least some of their goal. This sets a future reality which they can then work to manifest. Thus, the ability to build future worlds is already well defined. Once the vision is in your subconscious mind, it will drive your actions toward making that vision a reality.
When doing more advanced hypnosis work for spiritual development, I often extend this concept with guided visualization, past-life, inter-life or future-life work. I often begin in the same way, but this time, we go much farther out - reaching into the far future, perhaps even into another lifetime. We again build, experience and make that world a reality. Thus, we already understand how to build future worlds, including those far beyond what we experience today.
This brings us the tools for step 1 - going into the future horizon world.
In hypnosis, we can easily do creative visualization, future progression, and so forth. So after going into hypnotic trance, we can begin our hypnotic progression - imagine we are going into the future. We can envision this desired world in increasing detail.
What is life like in that future time? How does it feel to live in this world beyond the horizon? Like any hypnotic regression or progression, we can develop the scenario - are you inside or outside? Is it light or dark? Are you working or resting? What do you observe as you first become aware of this new place and time?
Developing the world further, in the same manner as if we were doing a karmic or past-life regression, we can further experience this horizon world. We can establish the emotions, the feelings, the spiritual truths in this new reality. What are the themes of events, the currents of meaning in this world. What is it about this new world that brought you here? What is going on here? What are you doing? What are your relationships? and so on...
Now we are ready for step 2 - developing the future world in more detail. [Bear in mind that these steps don't have to be entirely in sequence. We can always go back to earlier steps in the process, filling in or altering details as needed.]
Now, while in deep trance, let's look more closely at some of the scenarios in this horizon world. What are you doing at work? What are your surroundings? Who is with you, or are you alone? How are you interacting with other people in this world? What are events in this time and place and how are you interacting with them? What is good about this scenario and what are you seeking to improve?
Moving through a few scenarios, we can understand more and more about the details of this future world. What makes it tick and how do you fit into it? And ultimately, what is it about this world that is so important that you are creating it as a new reality?
In step 3, we look at the details of this world, the important elements.
In deep trance once more (maybe the same session, or maybe a different set of trance-work), allow yourself to see and experience the changes. What are some of the impossibilities you saw earlier? Looking back on the path, see how you got into your future world. What were the steps you needed to take? What did you do to overcome obstacles. Looking back toward the present as if you were looking at history, imagine you have solved those problems.
Steps 4 and 5 are much more logical, much more at the cognitive level. Here you can imagine the path in greater detail, observing it and identifying the steps you took to follow it. While still in trance, perhaps you can imagine yourself walking backwards along that path, observing each obstacle from the future of it having been surmounted already. Looks a lot easier from that side, doesn't it?
As you move back toward the present, observe the obstacles, the steps needed, until you get back to the present day. Now you are back in the present, perhaps seeing the work to be done in a creative new way.
At this point, our trance-work may be done. From this point on, we begin planning, a much more left-brained activity. Yet even the concrete, left-brained activity can be done with a new creative insight. What can you imagine having done? repeating that future vision, what did you do first? second? and so on.
For each step, imagining it is now done, how did you know? And how did accomplishing these steps make you feel? Perhaps you can see yourself achieving the result. How will you know when you have completed it? Perhaps by seeing it from this new perspective, you can undertake the step(s) with ever increasing confidence.
So after our hypnosis work, I wonder - what is the first thing you will do? Will you make a change? Begin a new project? Finish a project? Take that next step along the path to the future? And how will you stay on track? How will you keep yourself on that track to your horizon world? Perhaps this is the time for a success coach or other mentor, partner or companion to be of help. As time progresses, you will want to revisit these steps, redoing the trance-work and refreshing your vision - keeping your eyes on the prize.
Eventually, you may find that one by one, the "impossibilities" begin to fall away. Maybe the horizon world is a now at hand, or maybe it is just a little bit closer. Either way, you can find yourself making progress - step by step along the path to the hypnotic horizon.
