What story are you telling yourself?

Last updated on: December 1, 2012 at 4:47 pm by Julie Colwell

What story are you telling yourself? 2012-12-01T16:47:03-05:00 Julie Colwell

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Recently, I’ve become fascinated by the stories we tell ourselves, and the impact they have on our inner states and on how we live our lives. Having been trained as a hypnotherapist, I understand the power of hypnotic induction in how we interact with ourselves and the world. I see how often my clients are unwittingly hypnotizing themselves with detailed stories of pasts that were full of pain, presents that are unfulfilling, and futures that will be scary and awful. Each of these stories mimic skilled hypnotic technique through active imagination of how bad things were, are or will be in how they look, feel, sound, even taste and smell.

Good storytelling also utilizes sensory detail to bring the listener fully into the story. Being transported into the storyteller’s reality is part of the thrill and enjoyment of participating in the story.

Humans organize our reality through an endless stream of stories we tell ourselves. From “I got up on the wrong side of the bed” to “I am destined to fail, just like my father” to “men/women can’t be trusted” to “I am unworthy” to “life is BEAUTIFUL!” could all be staged with song, dance, and a full screenplay.

What’s fascinating to me is how every story has a certain level of consciousness. If you download my Inner Map, you’ll see what I mean. For example, the popular story “I am unworthy” clearly lines up with Shame. “I am destined to fail, just like my father” might also be at Shame, or might be Frozen Fear. “Life is BEAUTIFUL!” goes way Above the Line, around Joy. And so on.

Once we’re in a certain level of consciousness, interesting things happen. Because, as David Hawkins says, “consciousness is innocent,” the level of consciousness we’re in is the only reality that exists for us. We can barely remember having experiences on the other levels. Then, as we fully inhabit the reality at this level, we build our world around it. We gather evidence that we’re right (if we feel scared we see scary things; if we’re happy, we notice what is wonderful about the world; if we’re ashamed we stack up all the reasons we’re basically flawed). Even more strikingly, the world cooperates with whatever vibe we’re putting out. Our fear of others brings out their scary selves; our view of others as trustworthy makes them want to be worthy of our trust. In other words, we train people to be great co-stars in whatever reality we’re spinning.

Suddenly, the stories we tell ourselves take on great significance. The level of consciousness of the story itself determines the reality we’re inhabiting, the data we’re collecting about our lives, and the roles that others play for us.

Take a moment to note the major stories that you tell yourself. They may be a bit difficult to unearth, as they may be so familiar that you’ve decided they are just the way the world is (or you are). Notice how much detail you’ve put with the stories over time, what you see, hear, taste, feel, smell when you tell them in your mind. Now, figure out at what level of consciousness each of these stories keep you, how you yourself are hypnotizing yourself into these levels of consciousness.

Would you like to change your stories?

Creativity

Energy

Manifestation

Taking responsibility

levels of consciousness

story

Previous Post

November 1, 2012

My manifesto

Next Post

December 11, 2012 Conscious Giving and Receiving

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Appreciation Authenticity Blame Blog Highlight Classes Co-Creativity Communication Creative Brain Creative Brain Communication Creativity Emotions Energy Essence Events Evolutionary power Generosity Health Inner Map Inspiration Integrity Love Manifestation News Podcast Presencing Reactive Brain Real Power Relationships S.E.W. Self-hate, self-love Taking responsibility Transparency Triangle Trust Unarguable truth Uncategorized video Workshops

Select a Month November 2017 October 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 January 2016 October 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 January 2014 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011 January 2011 December 2010 November 2010 October 2010 September 2010 August 2010 July 2010 May 2010 April 2010 January 2010 August 2009 February 2009 December 2008 September 2008 August 2008 July 2008 June 2008 April 2008 February 2008 January 2008 December 2007 November 2007

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

What is the biblical view on telling the truth?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Speak the truth in love Use flattering words Lie to help others Stay silent always