The Sedona Method: Your Key to Lasting Happiness, Success, Peace and Emotional Well-being. Hale Dwoskin

      When we experience apathy, we feel as though desire is dead and it’s no use. We can’t do anything, and no one else can help. We feel dense and heavy and see no way out. We withdraw and play weak so we won’t get hurt. Our minds can get so noisy that we may go numb. The pictures we have are limited and destructive. We only see failure and how we can’t do it and how no one else can, either. We have little or no energy to act on our pictures and thoughts, because inwardly we are being pulled in so many conflicting directions.

      Cheryl was retired and had been living in the same house for over 30 years, a period she’d spent collecting all kinds of objects and detritus. Her house, in fact, looked like the junk drawer I described a few pages ago in reference to the subconscious mind. By the time she decided to attend the Sedona Method Basic Course, she reported feeling quite heavy and apathetic about the condition of her environment. Interestingly, during the course she never directly released on the issues of her accumulation or her apathy. She merely listed procrastination as one of her goals. But when she arrived for the second weekend of the course—looking much more alive—she excitedly told the story of how, as she released throughout the week, she found herself cleaning and throwing things out. As her surroundings became less cluttered, her energy and self-confidence grew steadily higher. Cheryl said that she’d been trying to force herself to clean her home for many years, but to no avail. When she lightened up by releasing, she found herself doing just that.

      

      Words and phrases that describe apathy:

      • Bored

      • Can’t win

      • Careless

      • Cold

      • Cut-off

      • Dead

      • Defeated

      • Depressed

      • Demoralized

      • Desolate

      • Despair

      • Discouraged

      • Disillusioned

      • Doomed

      • Drained

      • Failure

      • Forgetful

      • Futile

      • Giving up

      • Hardened

      • Hopeless

      • Humorless

      • I can’t

      • I don’t care

      • I don’t count

      • Inattentive

      • Indecisive

      • Indifferent

      • Invisible

      • It’s too late

      • Lazy

      • Let it wait

      • Listless

      • Loser

      • Lost

      • Negative

      • Numb

      • Overwhelmed

      • Powerless

      • Resigned

      • Shock

      • Spaced out

      • Stoned

      • Stuck

      • Too tired

      • Unfeeling

      • Unfocused

      • Useless

      • Vague

      • Wasted

      • What’s the use?

      • Why try?

      • Worthless

      

      Allow yourself to take a few moments and remember the last time that you or someone you know experienced apathy. Then give yourself a few moments just to be with whatever feeling this memory brings up in this moment.

       Could you allow yourself to welcome this feeling as best you can?

       Could you allow yourself to let it go?

       Would you let it go?

       When?

      Repeat the releasing process a few more times until you feel as though you’re able to let go of some or all of what you are feeling. Then move on to the next emotion.

      Grief

      When we experience grief, we want someone else to help us because we feel that we can’t do anything on our own. We hope maybe someone else can. We cry out in pain for someone to do it for us. Our bodies have a little more energy than in apathy, but the energy is so contracted that it is painful. Our minds are a little less cluttered than in apathy, but they are still very noisy and opaque. We picture our pain and loss, often getting lost in these pictures. Our thoughts revolve around how much we hurt, what we have lost, and whether we can get anyone else to help us.

      When Sarah’s aging mother had a stroke, she realized they had turned a corner. She felt extremely sad to be losing the relationship they used to enjoy when her mom was vital and capable. Because of how much help her mom now required, it was as though Sarah were taking on the role of being the parent while her mom was becoming the child, at least part of the time. Making a decision one day, Sarah dove into her grief and found a measure of peace. She understood that, as long as she used the Sedona Method, she could allow herself to grieve appropriately instead of being stuck in a constant state of sorrow. Although there was sadness, and the unknown, there was also a feeling of great relief and movement. Releasing made it easier to welcome the changes in her mother.

      

      Words and phrases that describe grief:

      • Abandoned

      • Abused

      • Accused

      • Anguished

      • Ashamed

      • Betrayed

      • Blue

      • Cheated

      • Despair

      • Disappointed

      • Distraught

      • Embarrassed

      • Forgotten

      • Guilty

      • Heartbroken

      • Heartache

      • Heartsick

      • Helpless

      • Hurt

      • If only

      • Ignored

      • Inadequate

      • Inconsolable

      • It’s not fair

      • Left out

      • Longing

      • Loss

      • Melancholy

      • Misunderstood

      • Mourning

      • Neglected

      • Nobody cares

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