Sunshine, Lollipops and Rainbows
Working with Thought Forms
Everything begins with
imagination. In any given circumstance,
for the most part, your mind has assessed the situation and spun a story (aka:
thought forms based on experiences from your past or on what you anticipate for
the future) around everything you are feeling and sensing. It is your way of making sense of the world
around you so that you are able to function effectively within it. This process
is so automatic that few of us stop to consider the process is even taking
place, let alone dare to experiment with it.
Below is a playful,
practical and surprisingly effective way to intentionally work with what your
mind does automatically, create thought forms:
1) Imagine with as much sensation and feeling as
possible pleasant images in your immediate surroundings
2) Continue until you feel
differently somehow (note: until YOU feel differently)
This technique is best
explained through example, so I’ll provide a few. My mentor, Serge Kahili King, uses a story of
when he and his wife were once travelling.
They approached the ticket gate at a busy airport only to discover that
the entire itinerary for their two week vacation had been deleted from the
computer system. The airline
representative was harried and not particularly invested in taking the time and
energy necessary to recoup the extensive information and rebook every
flight. As I recall Serge King
explaining it, he and his wife, Gloria, began to mentally surround the airline
representative with pleasant scenery imagining the glorious scenes from their
native Hawaii all around her. They also
mentally sent her blessings and affirmations of her competence. As the story goes, they not only made a
friend but she was kind, gracious and efficient in rescheduling every inch of
their much anticipated vacation.
As another example, I
offer a personal experience with this technique. Just weeks before my mother’s death, I went
(as I did regularly) to visit her in the nursing facility where she was living
at the time. There was never any question
that she did not want to be there; nor was there ever a question as to how
stressful the situation had become for everyone involved as the slow decline of
her body and mind had been taking place over several years at this point. When I arrived on that particular day, she
was sitting in her wheelchair in the middle of her darkened room. As soon as she saw me, she began to rant and
rave in a manner that she would never have allowed anyone other than her
closest family to witness. “I hate
living here”…. “This is not a nursing care facility but a concentration camp”.…
“All I want to do is die”…. and on it went.
I took a silent and deep breath and began to fill her room visually with
all the lovely memories I had of a previous visit to Hawaii. I filled the room with waterfalls, rainbows,
and lush landscapes all the while listening attentively to her vent. Within a few minutes she became quiet and
reflective. She then apologized for the
outburst, thanked me for visiting and we went on to have a pleasant visit. If my imagining changed her in some way, I
will never know. (Remember the note
above: until YOU feel differently) But
it did change me and how I might have otherwise reacted to the emotionally
charged encounter with my mother who we both knew was dying.
The title of this article
“sunshine, lollipops and rainbows” comes from a song I learned many years ago
as a member of the high school choral group.
It is the song I often sing in my head when at work in a pediatric
hospital. When interacting with a
patient, the song reminds me to fill the room with delightful child friendly
thought forms: sunshine, lollipops, rainbows, puppies, butterflies, etc. Whether it influences the kids is a mystery I
don’t anticipate understanding. I can
say that it keeps my spirits lifted even in the midst of some pretty heart
wrenching situations. I am fairly
certain that everyone in the room can “feel” the vibe as well. Sometimes, when the situation warrants,
rather than sunshine, lollipops and rainbows it is a quiet, peaceful lagoon I
envision, or a peace-filled sunset or meadow, or maybe just a pleasant color.
When working with this
thought form technique, it helps to imagine them with as much “reality” as
possible. Make it so real in your mind
that you no longer doubt that what you are imagining isn’t there. And just to be clear, this technique is never
about changing someone or something else.
At best you can influence others but never change them. Working with thought forms is about
consciously choosing which thought forms you entertain in any given situation,
rather than letting your mind select the though forms for you usually based on
mishaps of the past or fears of the future.
In working with thought forms, you stay present and open to new ways of interacting
with your world. Try it sometime and see
what happens! Enjoy!
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