I am certainly not the first person to cover this topic, but I’d like to talk briefly about how to frame your current reality. So much of self-help literature and popular metaphysics focus how to create new things for your future. That’s fine, but that kind of focus also distracts us from being in the present moment.

Being able to create changes for your future actually demands that you evaluate how you view your present life. In other words, how are you framing your circumstances?

When we have a picture to frame, we have to make several decisions. First, what is it in the picture that we want the frame to enhance or downplay? Second, where do we want to hang it: in a high traffic area where many will see it, or in the laundry, the bathroom, or the guest room? Third, what textures do we want to bring out with our framing? Rough, smooth, rustic, elegant, or just plain invisible?

Likewise, what evaluations are we making about our own life, and how are we presenting that life to ourselves and others? Are we focusing on our emotional condition, our financial circumstances, our relationships, or our position in the workplace? When you think about your life, what captures YOUR attention the most? How do you present it to others? Do you display and share your life, dreams, joys and sorrows with many others, or do you try to hang back, hoping to not attract any attention at all? Do you feel your life has value and meaning, and as such is precious and worthy of protection? Or do you assess your life as just something that hangs in there, gathering dust or being exposed to the elements?

So, here’s a quick process I use to frame my current reality. I ask myself the following questions:

What am I feeling now?

What is this feeling connected to?

Is this feeling likely to support me in creating what I want, or keeping me further from it?

If the feeling is supportive, then the next question is, “how can I enhance, expand and deepen this feeling so it supports me even more?”

If the feeling is unsupportive, then the next question is, “what can I find in my life RIGHT NOW that will generate a feeling that will support me in creating what I want?”

For example, if I “tune in” and feel that I am stressed about money, I would conduct the process like this:

Q: What am I feeling now about my life?

A: I’m feeling stressed about lack of money.

Q: Is this feeling likely to support me in creating what I want (financial security), or keep me further from it?

A: Feeling stressed is not going to support me in doing what I can do to move towards financial security. Focusing on stress will make it harder for me to perform well at job interviews, make careful and thoughtful spending decisions, being willing to release personal belongings by selling them, etc. This feeling of stress is, therefore, unsupportive.

Q: What can I find in my life RIGHT NOW that will generate a feeling that will support me in creating what I want?

A: Right now, I can concentrate on the feelings I have when I realize that actually, I do have enough to eat, I have a place to live, I have my health, I have relationships, I have experience in getting out of tough spots financially, etc., etc. I am going to focus on the feelings of security I have now, and the knowledge that since I have been successful in the past, I can be successful again. I am going to focus on the fact that I have shown great creative ingenuity in solving problems, and that I can do that again. I can focus on the feeling of excitement I get when I face a big challenge!

In other words, I’ve reframed what I’m emphasizing and drawing out from the “picture” of my life as I see it. This reframing will also help you present yourself to others in an equally positive light, which will attract, in general, good things.

I’m sure I should acknowledge other writers for this process, but honestly, I can’t remember if I read about this process done in exactly this way, or if I’ve just adapted it my own way over the years. I do remember hearing Tony Robbins talking about reframing, though, and I know he drew heavily from the work of Richard Bandler and John Grinder, who dealt with NLP (Neuro-Linguistic Programming). Thanks, guys! And good luck to you, dear readers!