Remember the Future

A while ago I came upon a little trick that proved to be very helpful. I was in an acting class and incredibly nervous about performing my piece in front of the class. I kept thinking about it and hoping it would go well, but hoping for something in the future with a great deal of fear only made me more anxious.

Then it dawned on me: what if, instead of hoping or predicting, I treated it like a memory? So I thought of the performance with the words, "I remember how well that went." Immediately, my heart slowed down to 30 mph and I felt a much more at ease. I've used it since then for many auditions and other situations, but it can also be a more general tool for creating your future.

I think the problem of "visualizing the future" is that immediately it feels fake, idealistic, and threatening, all at the same time. Imagining what you want in the future can come hand in hand with some psychological obstacles that in words would be something like, "that will never happen," "you're not smart/talented enough for that, so forget it" or "you're not worthy of that." It's hard to imagine your greatest dreams sometimes. That's why I like to pretend I'm remembering instead. It's the same exact thing with a different name: a visualization and a memory are both pictures in your head, and neither of them are "real" per se. We all know that we selectively remember things, so our memories are often far from truth even though they feel true to us. So if you "remember" when you played that great role or received that check in the mail or it seems more real--at least to me. Remember holding a $5K check in your hand and reading it. Remember reading your bio in the program and it seems more real, because "remember" also implies that you're bringing the picture into existence from reality, whereas visualization implies to bring it from imagination to reality, but in essence, it's all imagination. True, remembering is easier because you have the material given to then restructure, which also makes it less threatening.

There have been moments where I lost something, for instance, and it's so frustrating because I can picture it and feel it in my hand so easily that it seems like maybe I can call it back to me. For instance, I lost my scarf and I can imagine how it feels, exactly what it looks like, almost as if it were in my hand. It feels as if it should be in my hand by how specifically I can remember it. Why not do that with the future?

The future and the past are nothing by constructions in our minds. That's all they are. In essence, they are not real. The only thing that's real is what's happening right now, at this moment. Even the moment two minutes ago isn't real. Now, if I cut myself two minutes ago, or got in a fight with my husband two minutes ago, does that mean it isn't real? Not exactly, because now I have the scars from that instance to deal with. I have blood on my hand, or emotionally I am hurt and frustrated. But the further that instance goes into the past, the more my mind will distort what really happened. My husband and I will probably have very different accounts of how our argument went down, though neither of us is lying; to each of us, our memory is real.

My point is only that the future right now is constructed of the same thing that the past is--to us. That is, if we even bother to think about the future, which many of us don't because we're afraid to. My husband asked me when we first met, "where do you want to be in 5 years?" It sounds silly to me now, but I couldn't answer and started crying. I felt scared, intruded on, and violated. Had I been? No, not at all. He was trying to help me visualize my future, which I was too terrified to do, mostly because my mind told me all the things I list above. Oh yes, and it laughed at me too.

Then there is the concept of the non-linearity (is that a word?) of time. While we experience it only in a linear fashion, it is, in fact, only another dimension of space. So, what if everything that had ever happened and everything that will happen is, in fact, all happening now? There are serious loopholes in that argument, but it's an interesting concept to imagine. Imagine the future you want is right next to you, even though you can't see it. So that your manifestations happen instantaneously, just not in your time-linear world. That would also mean that you could change the past with your thoughts...interesting. Not that what happened would actually change, but what if some of the things that happen in the past are our intentions from the future? I know, I know, the obvious loopholes are screaming out at me, but for instance, I was walking yesterday and thinking about a part I auditioned for a little while ago. I had assumed that it would take a while to cast because of other things the director was dealing with, but I was regretting that I hadn't really put the strong intention out there weeks ago to get the part. Then I thought, maybe by doing it in the future it sets the ball rolling in the past. Maybe if I intend now to do the part, that intention is what got the director to ask me to audition in the first place. Of course, we'll never know, but it's fun to play with time.

So try it: remember the future. Remembering is easy...sometimes. Try it and you'll see how your mind responds much easier. Also, how many of us have visions of the future? If you create a strong, specific visualization, it feels like a memory. Remember your joy at finding the check, at having the money to spend on something you wanted or needed. Remember the way it felt in your hand. Remember reading the amount and your name. Remember the future into existence.

An Opening Note

I wanted to make a blog for me, and others like me, who are searching for their personal Oz. What I mean by that, is finding YOUR (and my) way to personal enrichment, enlightenment, and happiness. with so much stuff out there on the internet, in the bookstores, and on TV, it's hard to sift through the New Age ideas, the religions, the gurus, the weight loss fads, the business fads, and everything and find what truly works for YOU. I believe personally that there is no one true way for everyone, but everyone with his and her personal perceptions, beliefs, and cultures, needs to find the way for him or her.

And, let's do it with a light touch, and hopefully some humor. Peace.