is an approach to working with negative thinking, self-criticism, blocks to creativity and/or action, and difficulties with interpersonal communications. It is a five step process. Each step requires specific skills and techniques that are taught through a series of experiential exercises.
While each part of the process is important in and of itself, and can be done seperately with a certain degree of effectiveness, there is a tremendous synergy by combining them. Reframing, for example, is a skill that some people use without the other skills. This has less-than-satisfying results over a long period. Also, once you are adept at using the LEARN System, you find that the steps are more fluid and need not be used in order. They are presented in order below for purposes of clarifying and understanding the processes and skills involved.
| "With the gift of listening comes the gift of healing." --Catherine de Hueck | to what your thoughts are telling you.
Stop judging them as negative or positive, because either way, they're really there to help you. I like to refer to them as helpful messages, which creates some space to hear them without judgment. In this first step we LEARN to simply Listen to and accept what we are telling ourselves, without criticizing or judging, and without believing it is true. The effect is that we end up surfacing many thoughts we’re not even aware of having, and we stop criticizing ourselves for having the thoughts we have. This eliminates a lot of unnecessary negative thoughts. In order to do this we develop and use skills such as patience, acceptance, observation, and awareness. |
The mind's first step to self-awareness must be through the body. --George Sheehan |
the thoughts. In order to create any kind of lasting change, the body needs to be involved. By embodying our thoughts and feelings, we tend to slow down our process of generating them. We find a source in the body, and we find specific feelings, sensations and anchors of thought. In the process, we engage each one more fully. As a result, we often encounter our places of strength and draw upon them to create a state of peace and harmony within ourselves. Embodying ourselves is like being held by a Great Mother. In order to do this we develop and use skills such as relaxing, self-reflection, awareness, and perception. |
"The Sages say: 'The question of a wise person is half a response' " --Solomon Ibn Gabirol |
questions. Adopt an attitude of curiosity and endeavor to find out the intent of the thoughts and bodily sensations you've been having. Getting a clear sense of what this element of your being wants, is crucial to enlisting it in your bigger goals (or allowing it to enlist you in its goals). We do this through the art of questioning. Painting is an art that relies on the artist's skills and techniques such as brushstroke, color, etc. So too, asking questions involves skills. There is a systematic approach to developing the skills involved in the art of effective questioning. I’ve developed several paths of questioning, depending on what the presenting issues are. In order to do this we develop and use skills such as curiosity, acceptance, appreciation of differences, and knowledge of different types of questions. |
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"You cannot solve problems at the same level of thinking at which they were created." --Albert Einstein |
the problem. Once we’ve gathered information about what is wanted, we can begin to reframe the problem at hand into something tangible enough to approach. We can wrap our minds around it in a way that includes the importance to our being that whatever criticism or negative thought contained. We can align these different aspects of self, so that none gets lost in the mix. By doing this, we let go of a winner-take-all attitude in favor of a win-win attitude – with ourselves. At this stage of the process, we’ll often find energy releasing, tension dissolving, and a state of peace and ease arising. Skills here involve trusting the process, perception, understanding, compassion, persistence, confidence or trust in the process, and tracking energetic release. |
| "Let us never negotiate out of fear. But let us never fear to negotiate" --John F. Kennedy |
a solution. We want a solution that works for each voice involved. The idea is to find a variety of strategies that we can proceed with in order to bring each part into alignment. When we do this we have much more energy and committment because the parts that might be holding us back are now pulling us forward. For example, the energy we’ve been using to hold ourselves back to stay safe, and the energy exerted to push against safety for adventure are both released. As a result, we find an increase in energy, clarity of imagination, and the ability to move forward. Skills here involve engaging the imagination, creativity, problem solving, tracking, and care and support for each voice. |
By using the LEARN System and working with "negative" thoughts rather than against them, we release an incredible amount of energy that is otherwise used in an inner battle between the negative thoughts trying to be heard and we implement a strategy to meet its needs irrespective of the conscious goal at hand and the actions we are attempting to take in to meet it. A good example of this is "writer's block." There is a creative goal, but for some reason the creative juices aren't flowing; the mind is holding back because there is some fear of not doing it well enough, some desire for some sort of support, or perhaps the need for a topic that is more inspiring. Writer's block, like other situations where there is an attempt to simply overpower whatever negative thoughts are present, often leads to a sense of malaise, trying to write but not being able to.