Sit in a quiet room. Close your eyes and think of the color red.
Pause for a moment as you conjure that color in your mind.
Now, without opening your eyes, imagine things that are red:
a stop sign
the universal symbol for “no”
blood
an exit sign
a red rose
a red wagon
Stay with this imagination of red and things that are red for a few
minutes…at least 5 to 10.
Then open your eyes. What do you notice?
After you finish this part of the experiment come back to this page
and read the experiences (below) of some who have done it.
For some, all the red objects stood out. They immediately saw the red objects first. Their eyes were drawn to the red objects around them.
For at least one person, they reported that it felt as if they couldn’t avoid seeing the red items all around them. They said, “I never imagined the experience would be so intense and extreme. Objects I previously ignored became my focus.”
When we “see” things in our mind’s eye they have the potential to amplify: the student who is “always” off task; the colleague who “always” sees things a certain way (but of course you do not!); the lack of time; the problems with the schedule that isn’t the way it “should” be. I’m sure you have your own list of perceptions of the people around you.
As you begin to contemplate the coming day or week or year, consider how the way you see things might benefit your lived experience by changing the way you look at them. Make a list, focus on forgiving, seeing differently, and letting go.
You just might change your life!
