Courtesy of delaat.net

An Occupying Force

For a number of months now, I’ve had a dream image that recurs quite regularly. As I’m waking up, I picture in my mind’s eye sentences of words written in black lettering. The words appear to be ‘black thoughts’ which fill my mental space (a box).

Like an invading army, they take over the otherwise empty territory, and hold it for later use. The words themselves don’t know why they are there, just that they have a job to do, and this morning, one asked of another, “How long have we been here?” The answer was four weeks.

Wordle as Symbol

We are often not aware of our own thoughts. They come and they go without any ‘conscious’ effort on our part. When asked why we think the way we do, we have to admit that we really don’t know, it’s just something we’d been told once upon a time.

That is how hypnotherapy works: suggestions are planted in our subconscious, to be activated later as the situation requires. But the hypnotherapy client might not even be aware that they are there.

Are our thoughts actually someone else’s download into our brains? I wonder.

Conclusion

In my dream imagery, the thoughts are never clear. The words are negative in content and their meaning is obscure. In other words, I am holding onto some thoughts and ideas which are not necessarily good for me. That is an understatement.

My poem “Thoughts” written when I was a teenager is still applicable 50 years later.

Thoughts

They’re funny things, they don’t make sense, even when put in some pretense;

They say what’s nice, then make it bad, you’re so confused that you’ve been had:

By had I mean you just don’t know how sick they are, ’cause you’re so slow;

And even though you think they’re right, they are so wrong they can start a fight.

Then, oh, how sad your life can be if they get you, won’t set you free;

They make you do things that are wrong, if this weren’t true, I’d end my song:

But now, instead, I will just say, “Control your thoughts, don’t let them stray.”