Need a Perception Makeover?

Have you noticed lately that your optimism is looking a little dull and limp? Or that your enthusiasm for life is sagging, and may be showing a few gray hairs? If so, it’s definitely time for a perception makeover!

All parts or elements of your being – body, mind, emotions and spirit – contribute to how you perceive your life. Having even one out of sync or shut down will affect your life experience. If you’ve been depressed or stressed for a while, it’s likely that all four of your elements need a tune-up – at the very least.

Sure, it’ll require time and attention, but you’re guaranteed to end up having more energy, mental sparkle, emotional well-being and spiritual attunement, so it’s the one of the best investments you can make.

Body
Because your body’s distress can undermine everything else, it’s a good place to start your makeover. Exhaustion, tension, or constant pain all create stress for your mind and emotions. And if they’re bad enough, they can override every other part of your daily experience.

You probably already know what to do about your tension or exhaustion. Most of us have both traditional and alternative remedies that we rely on. But if your usual resources aren’t helping, you might want to try something new – such as aromatherapy, Tai Chi or acupuncture. It’s important to take the time to do it, because this is the foundation of your perception makeover.

Mind
Your mind is the storehouse for expectations, beliefs and desires that control how you interpret your experiences. Science has shown that brain patterns respond the same way – whether you’re imagining something (good or bad), remembering it, or actually experiencing it. Just think of it! The brain, which provides neurochemicals to induce emotional and physical reactions, will send its directives in response to a fact – or a fantasy.

So what do you do when body, mind and emotions are in a funk? Jump-start your mental makeover by spending some time with beautiful memories, imagining a favorite scene, or engaging in a refreshing reverie. If you really want to amp up your level of engagement, include all your senses – remembering or imagining sight, sound, taste, smell and touch.

When your mind is refreshed, take a look at some of the things that are bothering you, and ask yourself if there are different ways to look at them. When you find new, reasonable interpretations that also ease your stress, paste these viewpoints over the old ones in your mental notebook.

Emotions
Your emotions are in direct response to your perceptions – your interpretation of what’s happening to you, what has already happened or what might happen. Even if you’re making progress with your mental makeover, however, your emotions may lag behind a bit, and they might create drama and uproar simply out of habit.

To break the fight-or-flight pattern, find something quick and easy that you can do to stop the anger, tension or depression from taking over. Simple things such as a rubber band around your wrist (which you snap when a habitual reaction starts up), can be very effective. The snap reminds you to focus your mind on its new viewpoints, and calms those reactions. In other words – snap out of it!

Spirit
When you have a regular spiritual practice such as yoga or meditation, or a strong set of beliefs, it is here that you will find the ultimate resource for your perception makeover. When you remember to move into your daily life from your connection with a higher power, it’s easier to stay centered – and to keep your body, mind and emotions in harmony.

Full circle
Here’s a quick-and-easy meditation that we use to restore spiritual focus. You might use it to complete your perception makeover.

Imagine your higher power as a brilliant white light that surrounds you. Breathe in the white light. As you exhale, simply send the light from your lungs out through your body.

Continue this until your body is so full of light that the rays are coming out of the palms of your hands, the soles of your feet, and the rest of your skin.

Keep on breathing in white light, letting it fill, next, the layer of your energy field or aura called the mental body. As you imagine the white light filling it, feel your perceptions being softened and expanded by the presence of spiritual energy. Then, finally, as the light expands into your emotional body, feel yourself relax into well-being and trust.

When you end your meditation, allow yourself a few moments to realize how your perceptions of your own life experiences have been changed by this spiritual infusion of well-being, kindness and compassionate understanding – both for yourself and for others.