Mary Hykel Hunt - Learning from the Future

My many thanks to the people who have explored their futures with me and allowed me to mention them. Id also like to thank John Hunt for his considerable patience and the team at O-Books for their professionalism.

And finally, thanks to my husband Peter for his support, belief and endless supplies of tea and Victoria sponge.

As a variation to the cross-roads visualisation, you might like to try the Hall of Doors method, as follows:

Make yourself comfortable, sitting or lying down, and close your eyes. Remind yourself why youre doing this and what your questions are.

And now begin by focusing your attention on your breathing just focus on your breath, letting your breath gently rise and fall noticing the ebb and flow of your breath and, at the same time, give yourself permission to relax just checking through your body for where you might be holding tension letting your jaw soften noticing where your shoulders are, and if theyre up underneath your ears, just let them relax, and let your arms and hands and fingers become heavy

[Pause]

And now just notice how youre holding your upper body if youre clamping your muscles around your ribs and shoulder blades, just use your breath to help them relax just breath ease and relaxation through your muscles letting your ribs relax, and feel each one of them give a little sigh of relief as they let go...

[Pause]

Allow yourself now to become aware of how youre holding your lower body, and again, if youre clamping your muscles around your tummy and lower back, just breathe through them, telling them they can let go for the time being and feel that girdle of muscles gently relaxing all the way round, across your abdomen and around into the small of your back ...

[Pause]

And now gently bring your attention to the muscles in your legs relaxing the muscles in your thighs, just noticing how the rest of the muscles in your legs let go, too feel any tension you may be holding in your knees just evaporate and let any little knots of muscles in your calves gently unravel feeling any tension in your ankles just dissolve away leaving your feet and toes feeling warm and heavy ...

[Pause]

And now just allow yourself to sit there for a moment or two giving yourself over to the support of the chair or the floor feeling yourself being held up by the chair or the floor just give yourself over to their support, just letting ... go

[Pause]

Now just imagine that youre floating gently floating gently floating down, softly falling, just like Alice in Wonderland falling down the rabbit hole its a pleasant experience just floating down until your feet touch the ground you gently open your inner eyes and look around and you realise youre standing in the middle of a vast circular hall, with a number of doors set in its ancient walls Notice how many doors there are and where they are in relation to you. Are they all in front of you? Are there any behind you? What do they look like? Are they old or modern? Large or small? What colour might they each be? Are they all the same, or are they different? Do they have any door handles? Just notice the details

[Pause]

Now ask to be shown the door that will be of most benefit to you to explore beyond on this occasion. You will be drawn to one of the doors

[Pause]

And now imagine yourself opening that door and going through it. What lies beyond? Is it a room? If so, what kind of room? An office? A ballroom? A cellar? Or do you find yourself in a landscape? If so, what kind of landscape? Open fields? A mountain top? A forest? Where do you find yourself? Is it night or day, summer or winter? Allow yourself to absorb the details. Notice, too, how you feel being here are you happy to be here? Do you feel safe? Puzzled? Curious? Again, just accept the feelings you experience ...

[Pause]

Now, you see someone or something coming towards you. Let the image become clearer as this entity comes closer. You know this is your Future Self from years hence, the Future Self who dwells in this dimension ... As the image draws closer, take in the details. Notice how your Future Self presents, because the imagery will have meaning

[Pause]

And now your Future Self comes up and greets you, and you respond. This is your opportunity now to talk to your Future Self and to ask the questions you want answers to. Take as much time as you need to do this, allowing your Future Self sufficient time to respond as well, either in words or thoughts or pictures or symbols. If youre confused by anything your Future Self gives you, ask for clarification. Take as much time as you need

[Pause]

Your time is drawing to a close but before this experience comes to an end, just take your consciousness, your awareness, your sense of yourself, and lift it out of you and drop it into your Future Self, so that you are looking back at your Present Self through your Future Selfs eyes Notice what you see or feel as you look back at your Present Self how do you look? What do you need? Let your Future Self supply the answers to your awareness and then allow yourself to come back into your Present Self

[Pause]

And theres one more question you might like to ask. Just askyour Future Self what she or he did when she or he was whereyou are now. What was the first step she or he took when they were where you are right now? Allow yourself to hear or feel or sense or just know the answer

[Pause]

And now your Future Self has a gift for you a symbolic gift that will help you on your way again, just take the first image that comes into your head. It can be anything, so allow it to be what it needs to be. If you need more information about it, ask your Future Self to explain it

[Pause]

And now its time to say your farewells, so thank your Future Self for coming to see you and now just allow your Future Self to merge with you notice how you feel as he or she steps into you and just melds with you really allow yourself to feel this experience

[Pause]

And then come back through the door into the great hall, which represents your present and all its possibilities. Check whether you need to go through any of the other doors. If you do, just go through this new door as you did before and find yourself in whatever lies beyond when its time to return to everyday awareness, then just allow yourself to start coming back through the different levels of awareness, as though youre a diver, swimming back up slowly to the oceans surface. Dont come up too fast take your time and surface slowly slowly coming back to everyday awareness, bringing back with you the memories of what you heard and felt and saw slowly surfacing until you feel ready to open your eyes and are ready to be back, present in this room, at this time, awake and refreshed.

Take a sip or two of water and then make notes on your experience.

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