Emerging from COVID

Something is up but you don’t know what it is.  During COVID there has been so much change that all of life seems in chaos and darkness.  We need to find a new way to live, to search for a guiding light to lead us towards a new sense of certainty.  But we do not know where to begin. 

When I work with clients who don’t know where to begin, who cannot find a way forward through so much chaos and darkness, I like to help them with a brief visualization. 
Here it is - 

1. You know that something is not right with your life, and you have asked yourself ‘What needs to change?’, but still you have no answer.
2. You decide to leave the confines of your home, where the same old information can get stuck, circling round the same four walls.  Imagine opening the door to your home and leaving for a nearby forest.  You may need to imagine driving there if you cannot reach it by foot.
3. Once you have found the forest, take a moment to survey the trees.  Marvel at how tall and strong they appear, and how rooted they remain, even in the strongest storm.  Take a moment to feel your own feet rooted firmly in the ground.  Just notice how it feels to make contact with that ground, knowing that you have the ability to keep yourself grounded at any moment.
4. When you are ready, step into the forest and notice how you feel.  Pay particular attention to any tension you feel if you lose your way, or you find it hard to see in the occasional shift in light (from daylight to shade).
5. Notice what it is like in your body to stop for a moment, at the edge of three different paths.  Notice how you decide which path to choose.  Just notice.
6. Once you have chosen the path, look for the edge of the forest, and see how the light begins to change from shade to light again.
7. As you leave the forest, notice how your body feels with the relief that comes, and then you see a stream.  Floating in the stream is the issue you have been trying to find, and it washes up against the banks right next to you. 
8. What is it like to look down at this issue, resting on the banks?  

A visualization can be useful to identify an issue to focus on, and that clarity can give you a sense of relief from the chaos and darkness.  The next step is to plan how to work on that issue.  This can be difficult alone, so if you need help, get in touch.

Chris Warren-Dickins, Psychotherapist
Ridgewood, New Jersey
www.exploretransform.com