Locked in her room by her two evil stepsisters, Cinderella discovered something amazing. Instead of rolling up in a ball, crying and allowing her heart to fill with hatred towards her tormentors, she danced around the room with her broom and sang “in my own little corner, in my own little chair, I can be whoever I want to be.”
Not only did she take the power away from them, she discovered the very thing we all need to make this difficult life less difficult. Cinderella, it seems was a pioneer of “Imagineering,” another creative force to come out of the mind of Walt Disney. Using the imagery in her own head space she was able to engineer her own virtual happy place.
We all have this capability available to us at any time. Our own unique head space is ours to explore, to create and use either for our betterment or for our misery. If you can imagine a bogeyman is hiding in your closet and that thought creates fear in your heart – you can also imagine serene, beautiful places which make you feel more calm and peaceful.
Over the last few years I have been Imagineering my own head space by practicing awareness with gratitude, mindfulness and relaxation breathing. Like Cinderella, I have found the more I create a happy place in my own mind, the less power negativity has in penetrating my emotions and triggering anxiety. While of course I’m in no way perfect at it yet, I certainly have seen an improvement in my daily experience.
Here in my own brain containing billions of neurons firing signals at light speed – I can close my eyes and imagine a beautiful ocean. I can hear the waves crashing on the beach; see the white foam creeping toward my toes playing in the pure white sand. Right here in front of my computer, I can smell the intoxicating blend of sea salt and coconut oil glistening on my skin in the bright sun. For me, this is bliss.
As you were reading my words, I suspect you went there with me. All of your senses responded as if you were actually on the beach, am I right? That is how powerful our mind is. And just like you so easily took that little journey with me, you can shift your thoughts from those which create anxiety to those which serve you in a positive way.
Whether you are naturally a cup half-full or a cup-half empty personality type, it doesn’t matter. Taking charge of mental wellbeing, practicing mindfulness and not being a victim to erratic, shifting emotions is a practice we all can choose and ultimately benefit from.
The exciting, cool thing is the more you tap into your own ability to imagine “good” and focus on gratitude, the more you will generate positive, happy emotions until one day, you will wake up and realize your life is how you “imagineered” it!
The Zen Den
Hello and welcome to The Zen Den. My name is Alison and while I am passionate about many things, my most inspiring driving force is human connection. Blogger, content writer, orthopedic exercise specialist, motivational speaker, international yoga pro, published songwriter, avid poker player, mom and wife are just a few of my titles. But when I do my job at NASA, I am known simply as “The Fairy Zenmother” a role I deeply love because people invite me into their space to help them find their center, relax and stretch their muscles and destress their mind. Here in the blogosphere version of The Zen Den, I invite you into my world where I will explore ideas for creating a better tomorrow and a kinder today. And hopefully, with insight, authenticity and humor; my words, observations and experiences will help you feel calm, centered, intellectually challenged and spiritually enlightened. Alternatively, if you have something you would like to see covered in The Zen Den, just let me know. Your feedback is welcome and valuable to the success of this blog. Finally, my heart is filled with gratitude to have this opportunity to share with all of you.
