The Power of Working with Symbols
If words create symbols; mental images we input into the computer of self-hood, they create a corresponding cascade of emotion, thoughts, beliefs, hormones; neurotransmitters and a wide variety of other physical and emotional reactions. WHEW! Let’s simplify. What are the images in the Cinderella fairytale? First, we see the solitary appearance of Cinderella scrubbing a vast island of floor, her hair falling into her eyes, her back bowed under the strain of her efforts. All her features, her body language, tell us she has been scrubbing for a long time with more to come.
The Fairy Godmother’s appearance is in stark contrast to Cinderella. She sparkles with star shine. She carries the tools of her trade, a magic wand, filled with the radiance of a million stars, designed to amplify and focus her power. One dip of the wand at the floor has it shining clean.
More images are the pumpkin transformed into a carriage. Rats and mice transformed into horses and coachman. These images remind us to look for resources available in our environment we can re-purpose. Creative utilization of resources reflects our resiliency and resourcefulness. Qualities we need to succeed in any quest.
The Prince symbolizes a good man who takes seriously a most important quest of his life, finding his life partner and wife. He is not the kind of man who will get drunk, steal money or encourage Cinderella to buy on credit cards luxuries she cannot afford. The Prince will not abandon his wife. He will not strand her to manage a life built for two all by herself. He will not gamble away their child’s college fund. The Prince symbolizes the trustworthy man.
Cinderella’s beautiful ball gown symbolizes her personal growth reaching the point where her outward clothing matches her pure nature. She is no longer a young girl struggling with self- esteem. She is claiming her identity as a woman. Her character is the match of her beautiful clothing. It is the combination, the congruency of inward integrity with outward poise and beautiful clothing that is attractive to the Prince.
I invite you to begin to understand the powerful effect of the symbols we absorb, create and project. This terrain is mapped out with words. Each are embedded with a corresponding visual picture. Images carry specific energetic resonance. Let me say that again, Images carry a specific energetic resonance. Every single molecule of our existence is affected by the mental images we create. Each image washes through all that we are. Holy Cow! The implications are enormous. The effect of images we create can be positive and productive or depressing and destructive. A life filled with visions of failures is preparing us at the cellular level for more failure. Stop! I’m not going to burden us with a further description of the erosive effects of negativity.
Let’s observe the flip side, positivity. What does well-being look like? People who feel happy, positive and well-adjusted stand tall. Feeling positive we are more likely to smile, make eye contact and we are better listeners. There is research suggesting when we smile our central nervous system is awash with a smile’s positive effects. Positivity has been proven to increase health, longevity, and reduce the course of illness. The attributes of positivity make us more creative and resilient. Creativity and resilience in turn facilitates a smoother ride on the bumpy road of life.
Engaged in thoughts, feelings, memories, vocabulary, hopes, motivations, desires, we are continually creating images. An energetic imprint lives in our body that matches the image. After millions of images have layered into our body-mind-spirit we find the corresponding attitudes and behavior expressive of the cumulative effect of every image we construct.
You’ve probably heard of the lemon example to raise your consciousness about the power of words as symbols. A lemon is an evocative tool to illustrate the power of the mind’s images and their effect on the body. Visualize a lemon. See the outside rind of the lemon and its bumpy texture. See the yellow color of the outside skin of the lemon. Feel the zesty oil that rubs off the lemon as you hold it in your hand. Now imagine peeling the lemon. Visualize the pulpy inside texture of the outer layer. Imagine the segments with drops of lemon juice clinging to the thin membrane of skin that separates the fruit and juice of this lemon. If I continue to describe the lemon’s color, shape, odor and texture, in a short time your mouth will begin to salivate and pucker as you envision this lemon. Our body responds to the pictures our mind is making. The body responds even when there is no physical lemon present.
This is a small example, a reflection of how the body reacts to visions and thoughts, memories and dreams we create in the mind. The human body responds to every mental picture and thought we manufacture. A sobering realization. We create experiences on the mental and visual level continuously with concomitant physical reactions throughout the body. In this way we are each the living experiment of our life.
Practice working with images and watch the effects. Before beginning visualization consider this cautionary tale: Early in my career as a marriage and family therapist I worked in a chemical dependency hospital. One of my duties was to present lectures to the patients and staff. One of my lectures contained the lemon example and information I’ve given here. At the end of the lecture I had each person focus their minds on a positive image and make an energy ball. This experiment takes place by simultaneously fixing our concentration on both the positive image and the energy ball. This exercise is harder than it sounds. To create the energy ball you are called upon to do something weird. Each participant is asked to claw the air while holding their concentration on the positive image. When the energy ball is formed then we pull it toward our heart or solar plexus. It’s an invisible but tangible experience. You can feel the stickiness of the energy attached to the positive image. It can have a dramatic effect.
One day there was a new patient, a particularly grumpy man watching me with the yellowish eyes of liver disease and contempt. He labeled my presentation “hogwash.” I encouraged him give the exercise a try. I gave the recommendation I’m giving here: “Concentrate on a positive quality.” The curmudgeon decided to prove to himself that I was wrong. He focused on a negative image. Creating the energy ball, he pulled the negativity into himself in the stomach.
All around the room people were exclaiming this was an amazing experience. Spirits were high—except for this particular man. After receiving the energy ball he staggered and sat down. His face went white. I was afraid when I saw his body crumple in the chair. I asked if he was okay. In a shaken voice he explained his negative experiment. It was a revelation for all of us. We can learn from his experience. Let’s prepare ourselves for happiness biochemically with the development of our positive images.
It’s exciting creating a symbol that reflects the achievement of our ambitions. A neurological short-cut, symbols penetrate all the aspects of self. WHOA! What a minute. Did you catch this information? The power of symbols is their ability to simultaneously inter-penetrate all the levels of our existence. When philosophy tells us we are each our own universe we really are! Here is my vision of the Fairy Godmother as my personal symbol. She is a magical being who visits our physical world. Her real home is in the energetically refined realm of the fairies. When I imagine the Fairy Godmother I see her glowing with radiance. She is so clear and vibrant her aura looks like star shine. Her dress—made from the silk of fairy dust spun together into living, oscillating threads of light—shimmers like the threads of a spider web glistening with the diamonds of a summer day’s rain. When she speaks sparks of ever-changing colors pop around her and the air vibrates with irrevocable happiness.
The Fairy Godmother’s joy is eternal, so unqualified and enduring nothing can disturb her radiance. In the fairy realm, nature explodes with prosperity. The entire population of Fairy Godmothers are aligned with the Universal Law of Ever Expanding Beneficence. Personal authority fuels her choices born out of her Deepest Desires to cultivate harmony and love. She is at one with her sovereign nature. She is at one with the totality of her authentic self. Just to look at the image I’ve created of the Fairy Godmother lifts my spirits and makes me hungry for more of her radiance. I want more of the ferocious peace and kindness emanating from her. I want more of the hope and graciousness that flows through and around her. When I draw my image of the Fairy Godmother into my heart I experience an entirely new kind of contentment. I know some people will read this laughing and ask, “What has she been smoking?” Sharing the tools of the Fairy Godmother is vulnerable. Despite being grounded in the biology of behavior, exposing the undergarments of a mythic symbol is fraught with tension.
I confess, I am a happiness coach sometimes plagued by anxiety. For me the Fairy Godmother is good, antidote medicine. I am enchanted. My Fairy Godmother overflows with the sacred. I am forever changed, captured in her eternal affirmation of life unfolding. Standing in her radiance, an explosion of life, I am calm and soothed. I realize there is more to the Fairy Godmother than I can fully comprehend. Part of her existence dwells in the Great Mystery. I only have a small peek into the world of the Fairy Godmother. Even so, after an encounter I return to my ordinary life prepared to deal with challenges. What would be different if every day I call upon the Fairy Godmother?
A symbol can speak to the mind, carrying information. This happens on the outer edges of our consciousness. For example, a woman wearing a diamond ring on the fourth finger of her left hand signals that she is engaged to be married. The diamond ring carries the symbolic information without the necessity of having a conversation to access this information. In this way a symbol can touch an atavistic chord of memory crossing the boundaries of time and space. The sighting of the American flag can evoke inter-generational memories of the United States continuing struggle for equality.
Symbols create brand recognition for a product or service. Consider designing a symbol. They are an effective, efficient way to express a multitude of information. Incorporate your symbol into reality as a logo for stationary or business cards. They are a shortcut to brand access. Think of the apps awash across the surface of your iPhone. Filled with multiple layers of information they represent services. Create a symbol that reflects your positive future, business, Deepest Desires. Fill your symbol with as much life and light as it can hold. Call in a spiritual radiance that dazzles you. Fill your personal app with so much energy it takes your breath away.
You can practice visualizing/meditating/conversing with your symbol. Your efforts may grace you with a new idea. The solution to a difficult problem may pop into your mind. Dream journeying with symbols can provide moments of grace that lift us from the ordinary and mundane into to the mystical. A mythic symbol is the icon transporting the conscious mind from the ordinary into the sacred realm where miracles are possible. The ability symbols have to penetrate all levels of consciousness is a powerful generator that can precipitate congruency and then success.
Spend time cultivating the language of associated images corresponding to your brand of happiness and ambitions. Happiness will have a biochemical, neuro-muscular, hormonal, emotional and spiritual basis paving the way for more literal happiness. This is the magic and mystery of the Fairy Godmother brought into everyday life. If you have trouble thinking of a symbol, borrow mine. Use the image of the Fairy Godmother.