There’s a hidden secret that has been yours since the day you were born. Your tender heart was meant to be reminded of it daily. It should have been repeated to you each night as you were rocked to sleep, every time a new strand of hair appeared on your head, and with each centimetre taller you grew. Although you felt it deep in your bones, over time, this secret faded; the treasure chest was buried. Some are fortunate to rediscover it, but many spend a lifetime trying. This revelation?

You deserve endless joy.

You ought to be tended to.

You are the most important thing under the sun.

Client: I feel overwhelmed by everything that’s going on in the world. I’m noticing myself being reactive, irritable, and fatigued. I probably shouldn’t spend as much time online getting caught up with stuff, but it’s hard. Lately, I just feel like I’m angry a lot of the time.

Therapist: Where do you feel this experience of anger in your body? How would you describe it?

Client: In my chest. It’s like something’s squeezing. And it’s as though my diaphragm feels it too.

Therapist: Would it be okay with you if we stayed with those sensations for a moment? And even give it more attention, as though we’re charging it up a bit? What does that feel like for you?

Client: There’s a surge of heat spreading from my stomach towards my throat. It’s thick and kind of sludgy, but there’s a vibration to it.

Therapist: It can be helpful to allow this energy to move through, to give it somewhere to land. Follow that for a moment.

Client: I have an image of my little girl’s face. I feel sad. I want to protect her from the world, but sometimes my focus is too much out there, not in here (placing hand on heart). I don’t want her to be like me, to worry all the time. She’s so beautiful, like a beam of light.

Therapist: When you hold that image of your daughter’s face, what sensations do you notice in your body? What happens to that charge?

Client: (Sighs) There’s a softness. My chest feels warm, but it isn’t linear, more evenly spread throughout my limbs, almost like a sphere that wants to expand.

Therapist: If you could follow that glow, where does it want to land?

Client: (silence for a moment) Onto her. I want it to cradle her and tell her that she deserves nothing but happiness. But it’s strange because in my mind I see her playing joyfully. She’s safe. She’s curious. It’s as if that glimmer is already in her. Like it’s been there all along.

Therapist: I’m curious, is there anywhere else this gentle radiance wants to land?

Client: (eyes close, holding back tears) In me.

Therapist: Allow that. Notice what that feels like in the body, here in the present as you see that image. If there was something this glow wanted to share with you, perhaps even something it wanted to say to you, what would it tell you?”

Client: (silence for a while, then a soft smile) Pay attention to your treasure chest. (Aha-moment!) I think I’ve been looking outwards a lot lately – at what everyone is doing and following everything that’s going on and I think I’ve been using that as a distraction, you know, for what I’m avoiding.

Therapist: What do you think that is?

Client: To tend to myself. Your attention is precious. Where it goes, it grows. Are you conscious of where your attention is being pulled? Of what you’re inviting into your mind? Does the content you look at each day propel you to feel healthier, happier, and more engaged with your life and your loved ones? Does what you watch, read, or listen to leave you feeling energised and replenished? Take notice of how your body feels. If it’s not leaving you shimmering like a treasure chest of jewels, it’s likely depleting your exquisite life force. Where would you like your energy to land?

You deserve endless joy.

You ought to be tended to.

You are the most important thing under the sun.

Did you know that humans are now believed to have a shorter attention span than that of a goldfish? The goldfish has an attention span of 9 seconds, and studies show that in the last 20 years, people’s attention has dropped from 12 to 8 seconds. In a world filled with constant distractions and non-stop exposure to bite-sized information, maintaining attention can be challenging. Exercise, spending time in nature, and personalising cognitive-behavioural techniques are some of the ways we empower ourselves to glow.

Annia Baron is a Clinical Psychologist & Mindset Coach. Want to create a life you desire and deserve? Get in touch on Instagram @anniabaron or visit www.remindyourself.com