Editorial by Suzanne Haskew, VFAA Founder
There is so much stored in our brain, much more than we ever use. Like favorite books we read and cant bear to discard, our memories sit upon the bookshelves of our mind gathering dust and taking up space, silently calling to be rediscovered. Each one of these episodes help make us into the person we are today. I propose that we take them out and review and renew. In so doing, it helps us understand ourselves and eventually heals old wounds. It allows us to visit the person we were as the person we are today.
Our brain is much like muscle. It responds to exercise much the same way a muscle will react. If the arteries pump blood into barely used veins and the blood gets a warm flowing path established, the brain can then expand. Some of the lessons learned and long forgotten will help bring judgment to today’s decisions. The most ideal time to begin is when you are ready for bed. Just before you turn out the lights choose and arbitrary date and write it down on a piece of paper.
Evening #1
In my mind I have chosen the spring of 1956, lets make it April. It is a warm day and I am walking home from school. I am 16 and a junior in High School. I am going steady. My boy friend has a new 56 Chevy. He is blond and has high cheek bones. We like to dance and when we dance close I can smell the starch in his shirt. He is on the high school newspaper staff and will be the editor next year. He cant drive me home today because he has a staff meeting. I work hard to remember the house we lived in at the time. I try to envision myself on the front porch. I open the door and enter. I see the mirror on the wall.
Look at the carpet on the living room floor. I see the stairs off to the right with the iron railing. The more details I can remember the stronger the memory becomes. I try to recall the color of the walls. Are there any paintings on the walls? Where are the lamps? Is there a ceiling fixture? I see the couch against the windowed wall and the coffee table with the glass top. I mentally measure the room and as I do I see the huge forced air register in the center of the floor.
As you work your way through your visionary trip you will most likely end up sleeping soundly right about now. That is why it is important to write the date you decided to work with on a sheet of paper next to your bed. The following night you will find you can very easily pick up where you left off.
All it takes is a couple moments and you are back in the living room. Sometimes the vision becomes so strong you can even smell the cigarettes from a full ash tray.
Evening #2
I am back in the living room. I am wearing my spring coat. I hang it in the coat closet and remember the tight packed closet. I can smell my Mothers perfume on the fur collar of her coat. I walk into the dining room and see the black telephone I take time to look at the photographs on the buffet. I push back the curtains and study what I can see of the back yard through the window.
I suggest you try this. Not only will you get a good nights rest but it will give you inspirations to create.
- Suzie