How to feel JOY at any time
Today I was reminded by an elderly patient of how important making memories are.. when he shed a few tears of his love of motor-racing in his youth and how time has passed by so quickly.
I used a technique I learnt whilst studying Hypnotherapy and as I held his hand and asked him to close his eyes and go back to a time when he was in his motorcar, IMAGINING the feeling of the leather seats and his hands on the wheel, the excitement coursing through his veins as he took over his opponent. To step in and enjoy FEELING these FEELINGS FULLY. Those tears became tears of JOY.
In order to truly make memories is to be in the present moment whilst making them.. this is what some people call MINDFULLNESS.
Next time you are immersed in nature, dancing with a loved one, embracing someone you care about, exploring somewhere new - take a mental snapshot so you can revisit it again in the future. Your mind doesn’t know the difference between real and imagined so you can go back and enjoy those feelings again and again.
Bless him, my patients are my teachers.