The Cancel Sign
When we see this red sign we think ‘don’t go there, go back, danger’.
This is exactly what is needed for us to do when we either think a thought or
say words that aren’t useful for us. They take down our mood, undermine our relationships, self-esteem and productivity, and affect our health and energy. If we say life is hard, then it becomes more so, if we say life flows, then it becomes easier. Our subconscious mind is our servant. This tool negates our mistakes.
Draw The Cancel Sign up and out to your right, or imagine you are doing so, to practice. Start at 8 o’clock and go clockwise round the circle back to 8, then across the centre to 2. Then do this by your side, then mentally practice till this is easy and natural and you can do it anywhere unobtrusively.
So, Catch yourself when a negative thought or feeling comes to you. All those judgements can catch us out, like I’m too fat or too thin, I haven’t enough…, I can’t…, I/you should… etc
Then… Replace it with a positive, with helpful opposite words like I’m terrific as I am, I am plenty, I am clever, brave, fast, energetic, calm, healthy, strong.
Then…say ‘I release, let go and move on’.
Thinking again and again about a problem or situation that causes us grief or pain simply adds energy to it and makes it more powerful in our lives – it manifests more of the same. Instead, hold close that which you want in your life, fixate on the positive joyful and beneficial, and let go of everything else. Create what you do want.
Task: Take an hour to observe yourself – every thought and word. Taking notes helps. Use the Cancel Sign and find the positive. Release, let go and move on.
Repeat the exercise every day for a week at least, then regularly, keeping in mind that practice makes permanent! This can take a quite a time to become a habit, but the benefits are brilliant.
Prevention: This can be a prevention tool as, with awareness, thoughts and words can be anticipated and framed positively before they are uttered, and emotions monitored.
Memories: This tool combination can handle thoughts, emotions and memories of experiences that cause us distress.
To do that, visualise or think about whatever is negative, distressing or unhelpful. Put it up to the right and away from you. In the air, draw the red circle around it and put a red Cancel line right through it, saying ‘cancel’.
Emphatically say “I release, I let go and I move on”. Replace any negative words or thoughts with positive ones. Take a deep breath and as you exhale, feel the negativity releasing from you. Imagine a better scene to replace that.
It can take a quite a time to for these tools to become habits as we have lived one way for so long, however, the benefits are brilliant.
I can’t stress enough how vital this combination of tools is to mentally clean ourselves moment by moment.
Research: ‘It’s kind of like you are your own brain surgeon’ as Dr Caroline Leaf says.
Also, ‘Research shows that the most effective way to produce localized and specific changes to the brain is behavioural or mental intervention. If the brain can get worse by constantly focusing on a problem, then the brain can get better by understanding how to eliminate and replace the problem.
This is the key to switching on our brains. Plus, the fact that new baby nerve cells have been born while you were sleeping (‘neurogenesis’) and are at your disposal to be used in tearing down toxic thoughts and rebuilding new ones.’