You’re a pro at navigating life, and have a tried and true way for dealing with stress. But is it your best choice? Sometimes, you may need to shake things up.
Overview of The Emotions Metaphor "Navigating Trails and Landmarks"
NOTE: The introduction is the same for each of the four intensities of the Navigating Trails and Landmarks metaphor. If you have already read it, you may want to click to skip.
Hi, my name is Karen, and in this series I help you to Locate, Describe & Transform™ (LDT™) the emotions that you have that interfere with your best decisions.
Your emotions present as images and metaphors, so each week I explore new imagery, always looking at it from four levels of emotional intensity: extreme, high, medium, and low.
This week’s metaphor is NAVIGATING TRAILS AND LANDMARKS, and while I was looking for imagery for this video, I found myself drawn to winter scenes, which is unlike me, because I’m not really a winter person. I’d much prefer it was warm and sunny all year round.
Four Emotion Intensities with Four Navigating Landmarks Images
- For extreme intensity, I’ve chosen an image of people impossibly trying to cross a frozen lake with the wind so strong that it’s pushing them back; they can barely even hold on to where they’re at.
- For high intensity, I’ve chosen a group of hikers in the winter on very frozen land with no particular path, but just following one in front of the other.
- For medium intensity, the navigation is happening by following footsteps.
- And for low intensity, I’ve chosen a clear blue sky, sunny day, following a trail that is well marked.
As we explore the four scenes, focus on transforming emotions that make your path more treacherous or challenging. Look for the positive landmarks, the simplest trails, and consider how, metaphorically or in reality, you might improve the trail to help guide other hikers.
In past videos, the focus has been transforming the image in order to transform your emotions [and leave or change the situation]. But it’s going to be about recognizing, with this video series, how you can transform your emotions while staying in the situation.
Navigating Life: Low Intensity Emotions
The low intensity image that I’ve chosen is a crystal blue sky, sunny day, and more than one person walking along a path that, if you look closer, does have some landmarks on it.
Even if the landmarks aren’t there, it’s very clear that everybody walking on this trail is walking in the same footprints. Walking here doesn’t seem to be adventurous near so much as it seems to be a natural activity for people who live in the area and are used to this type of climate.
Low intensity emotions: You’re keeping the emotions or the situation at bay. It’s farther away from you.
Navigating Life: Your "Norm" May Need Shaking Up
What I’m drawn to is the idea of a walking meditation. I see myself as the person in the middle of the image who’s walking to try and release any stresses or conflicts.
But in reality, as I say, that I’m feeling more tense. I want to tell myself to stop walking, to stay still and transform the emotions, so I can enjoy the hike. And that’s unusual for me.
My natural would be to walk or hike as a way of releasing emotions. So that already tells me there’s something different about this shift for me, and that’s something you need to pay attention to when you’re transforming your own emotions.
Something that might work for you as a normal response won’t work for you in some situations. So trust your intuition. Don’t let your brain go into overdrive and tell you that this is always the way it works, so I’m going to do it.
Trust what your body is telling you about what you need in any given moment.
Navigating Life: Transformation Example
In this moment, with this imagery, I’m drawn to stepping off the path, sitting down on the hill beside me, and taking a breather.
What that means, in reality, is I need to stop moving, today, or in this moment: whether it’s a few minutes; a few hours; a few weeks. I need to stop my forward motion, take a break, and look at the world, or the problem, or the situation, from a different perspective.
I’m aware that I’ve been feeling stressed, because I keep making myself move forward, because that’s what I always do, and that’s what always works. But it’s not working this time.
Think of it this way: In the real world, you have projects or tasks to do, and you’re trying to push through it, and get to the other side.
I’m having the sudden realization that where that might usually work for me, it’s not working now.
- It’s making me tense.
- It’s giving me stomach knots.
- It’s giving me a choking feeling in my throat.
Simply by putting everything down and taking a time out, my body relaxes. I will continue again going forward when my body says,
“Hey, getting a little bored, now it’s time to continue.”
Navigating Life: See The Good In You
I’m making sure that I’m taking care of me. I’m seeing the good in me, even as I’m giving myself permission to do nothing.
I’m following my own nurturing instincts, to take care of me, so that I can then be available to help others with their situations, their challenges, their problems, or even with my own future issues.
So if the navigating trails and landmarks metaphor speaks to you, if this imagery speaks to you – for a low intensity, or any intensity, stress or conflict – then look to your own body and your own transformations.
Where do you locate your stress or conflict? Where is that negative emotion?
Describe it and transform it.
Once it’s released, then you will know your next healthiest step.
Navigating Trails and Landmarks: Closing
In this instance, Navigating Trails and Landmarks has been focused on trails that you’ve chosen to be on. Your imagery, your emotions, can be quite different if you’re someplace that you haven’t chosen to be. But the point here is that even if you’ve chosen it, you can still have intense emotions that need transformation, for you to continue on your healthiest path and make your healthiest decisions.
Stay positive as you keep going forward, and trust that your decisions will be healthy, will be positive, will be productive, will get you to where you’re going.
I respectfully acknowledge that this video was recorded on the traditional territory of Mi’kmaq people.
If you want more information on transforming negative emotions and the LDT™ – Locate, Describe & Transform™ – process, check out the books at theEATprogram.com.