I’m familiar with ‘act as if’ terminology as it’s been applied in the field of psychotherapy. I understand the basic how it is applied in NLP as well. After many years of psychotherapy programming, I’ve decided that it’s okay for me to choose words that resonance with my own experience. Agency, curiosity, flow, satisfaction and clarity can be useful words or they make me feel more lost and alienated from others. Psychotherapists use the words all the time. They are also so well circulated in wellness that they’ve become more of cultural zeitgeist. Of course, curiosity is good. It can’t be bad can it? Except if you’re spying on your neighbor. Part of my deprogramming involves determining what these words to me. Otherwise, I’m just regurgitating what I feel is expected of me. We gain social currency when we speak and act like others. But what does it mean to act for ourselves? We can’t entirely reinvent language and vocabulary.
‘Fake it till you make it’ works for me as a phrase, but it’s not a sustainable way of living in the world. I also find it a problem if it’s a means to avoid intimacy and pain. If we’re always looking to be ‘that’ we’re not focusing on what is.
Anna, I love that you brought up deprogramming and what words mean to you. Yes! Part of the mindfuck of writing about consciousness is that the words are only ever pointing at frequencies or concepts (including this sentence right now).
And, my concept of "manifesting" has evolved as well. I agree that if we believe language is casting a spell, then by saying "I want X (that I am not)" The "that I am not, or don't have" is implied, but it creates instant separation.
One affirmation I've been saying to myself and others recently is "I am whole" In that, there is no separation, not wanting or desiring to manifest things from an enigmatic universe. I am simply whole now.
I was going to say “mindfuck” — but, I restrained myself. Thanks for saying it for me. Saying “I’m whole” is not so bad. Won’t get us into a whole lot of trouble. Although even being ‘whole’ is a problem when a person is saying, “I’m whole” when they really feel fragmented. There’s a disconnect between what they feel and what they experience. If I was in a cult and some guru told me to continually repeat: I’m whole. I’m whole. I’m whole. I’m whole. or I’m whore. I’m whore. I’m whore. It might cause me to breakdown at some point.
I’m sorry I’m getting so nit-picky here. I’m sure intention is good. I think I’m just more sensitive to these dynamics than others might be as I’ve had some negative experiences. How we choose to treat ourselves and others is probably more important than any particular word or mantra.
Indeed, it's important for there to be coherence between language and context. Nit-picky-ness is invited. I agree that - any word or phrase can be used for serving or non-serving purposes. And I find also that most words and phrases in the English language create unconscious externalities. Thanks for sharing!
This is a great idea, Chris. I love the words "agency, curiosity, flow, satisfaction, and clarity." I am now looking for ways to build this feeling into my day and live like I'm already successful in the lifestyle I am trying to build. I want to experience this feeling more rather than feel anxious and let my survival fears get the better of me. Thanks for the post!
Thank you! It's part of a gamify-your-consciousness framework I've created. I'm glad you like those words. And they can be literally anything you want to experience. Way to go for choosing deliberately what to experience.
I’m familiar with ‘act as if’ terminology as it’s been applied in the field of psychotherapy. I understand the basic how it is applied in NLP as well. After many years of psychotherapy programming, I’ve decided that it’s okay for me to choose words that resonance with my own experience. Agency, curiosity, flow, satisfaction and clarity can be useful words or they make me feel more lost and alienated from others. Psychotherapists use the words all the time. They are also so well circulated in wellness that they’ve become more of cultural zeitgeist. Of course, curiosity is good. It can’t be bad can it? Except if you’re spying on your neighbor. Part of my deprogramming involves determining what these words to me. Otherwise, I’m just regurgitating what I feel is expected of me. We gain social currency when we speak and act like others. But what does it mean to act for ourselves? We can’t entirely reinvent language and vocabulary.
‘Fake it till you make it’ works for me as a phrase, but it’s not a sustainable way of living in the world. I also find it a problem if it’s a means to avoid intimacy and pain. If we’re always looking to be ‘that’ we’re not focusing on what is.
Anna, I love that you brought up deprogramming and what words mean to you. Yes! Part of the mindfuck of writing about consciousness is that the words are only ever pointing at frequencies or concepts (including this sentence right now).
And, my concept of "manifesting" has evolved as well. I agree that if we believe language is casting a spell, then by saying "I want X (that I am not)" The "that I am not, or don't have" is implied, but it creates instant separation.
One affirmation I've been saying to myself and others recently is "I am whole" In that, there is no separation, not wanting or desiring to manifest things from an enigmatic universe. I am simply whole now.
I was going to say “mindfuck” — but, I restrained myself. Thanks for saying it for me. Saying “I’m whole” is not so bad. Won’t get us into a whole lot of trouble. Although even being ‘whole’ is a problem when a person is saying, “I’m whole” when they really feel fragmented. There’s a disconnect between what they feel and what they experience. If I was in a cult and some guru told me to continually repeat: I’m whole. I’m whole. I’m whole. I’m whole. or I’m whore. I’m whore. I’m whore. It might cause me to breakdown at some point.
I’m sorry I’m getting so nit-picky here. I’m sure intention is good. I think I’m just more sensitive to these dynamics than others might be as I’ve had some negative experiences. How we choose to treat ourselves and others is probably more important than any particular word or mantra.
Indeed, it's important for there to be coherence between language and context. Nit-picky-ness is invited. I agree that - any word or phrase can be used for serving or non-serving purposes. And I find also that most words and phrases in the English language create unconscious externalities. Thanks for sharing!
This is a great idea, Chris. I love the words "agency, curiosity, flow, satisfaction, and clarity." I am now looking for ways to build this feeling into my day and live like I'm already successful in the lifestyle I am trying to build. I want to experience this feeling more rather than feel anxious and let my survival fears get the better of me. Thanks for the post!
Thank you! It's part of a gamify-your-consciousness framework I've created. I'm glad you like those words. And they can be literally anything you want to experience. Way to go for choosing deliberately what to experience.