Yesterday I was searching for inspiring quotes to put on my Pinterest board and found one that said: “I am. Two of the most powerful words. For what you put after them shapes your reality.”
This reminded me of an exercise I did years ago while training to be an NLP practitioner. It was quite simple: you can try it at home with a friend. Sit next to each other, one close enough to be able to whisper into the other’s ear.
The whisperer begins by saying: “Who are you?” to the listener, who answers “I am….” and inserts whatever comes to mind. The whisperer keeps asking the same question, in different tones of voice and with different emphasis, for at least a few minutes.
The only rule is that the listener must not repeat the same answer twice. This is not as easy as it sounds, because once you get past the everyday stuff – for example, “I am Beverley”, “I am a coach”, “I am a daughter”, “I am a sister”, “I am a wife” and so on – you have to start relying on your intuition.
After several rounds of the same question, with any luck you find yourself saying: “I am peace”, “I am wisdom” and “I am love”. If you get to “I am fear” or “I am rage”, then there are emotions that have become suppressed in your body.
On a more mundane level, if you include such statements as: “I am a smoker” or “I am a drinker” then the depth of your addiction will become apparent. Because if you identify with such behaviours, they have taken root in your sense of who you are, and that’s not very helpful.
Get your partner to write down your list of “I am” statements to see where you might need to do some work. But if you drop down to deeper, transcendent levels without too much trouble, then you have few obstacles to deal with.
If you find yourself getting stuck in an uncomfortable place, remember to take a breath and say “I am heart”. That may fast-track you to a better reality.
Leave a Reply