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It takes imagination and creative interpretation of experiences to find the gleaming opportunities that can be turned into fantastic memories. Practice fantasy, mental imagery; speculate on impossible possibilities; use both sides of your brain; suspend your disbelief. You'll be opening your life to more possibilities for positive experience. Explore books or software programs for boosting your creativity.
5] Review and analyze your positive experience memory bank and the KPEI.(Kall Positive Experience Inventory: see Appendix)
Identify which positive experience areas you tend to focus on and which areas you neglect that are worthy of additional attention. Maximize your positive experience opportunities by identifying PE's that:
a. you can build into your regular daily, weekly, monthly or annual schedules
b.you enjoy but don't make happen often enough
c.you rarely or never have (but could)
d.you are usually too busy to connect with (you rush past them)
e. you should avoid because they are bad for you-- physically, emotionally or spiritually.
The Next Phase is PRACTICE. Try these exercises to boost your positive experience reflexes.
Develop your sensory skills to become more sensitive to smells, tastes, sounds, and sights. The more you cultivate your senses to discern subtle differences, the larger a selection of sensory experiences you'll have to enjoy. Listen to the sounds of nature-- birds, wind, water gurgling in streams-- and all kinds of music. Listen to the sounds of happiness, pleasure, enjoyment, peace, enthusiasm, and ecstasy.
The ability to smell is the most primitive sense-- one closely tied to sexual reproduction, hormones and pheromones-- the naturally produced perfumes that function as sexual attractants for creatures at all evolutionary levels. Even insects and amoebas can detect odors. Unlike the more evolutionally advanced senses of sight and hearing, which are processed by the higher parts of the brain, our sense of smell takes a short cut directly to the limbic system-- the emotional part of the brain. As Diane Ackerman describes in her book, A Natural History of The Senses-- (an excellent users manual for the human senses I strongly recommend you consider if you want to learn how to tweak the most out of your senses)-- "When the olfactory bulb detects something--it signals the cerebral cortex and sends a message straight into the limbic system, a mysterious, ancient, and intensely emotional section of our brain in which we feel, lust and invent." Ackerman quotes Kipling, "Smells are surer than sights or sounds to make your heart strings crack." Every breath we take-- about 24,000 a day, draws scents and aromas across our olfactory sensors. Smells can influence your perceptions and memories whether you notice them or not. Cultivate your awareness of different smells. Actually practice recognizing the smells of many different scents-- flowers, foods, cleaners, spices, trees-- different kinds of trees, etc.
Routinely practice strong smiling.
Pump smile iron in different smile combinations. This will prepare your muscles and reflexes to make the most of, to pounce upon and embrace each PE opportunity. It will also get you into the habit of smiling more throughout the day. A well-worn smile acts like a magnet, attracting warmth, friendship and happiness.
Do some emotional stretching.
Before and after you exercise, you must stretch to loosen your muscles and stay flexible, so you may do more and hurt less. Use emotional stretching exercises to prepare yourself for times when you expect to have a PE opportunity. You can prepare for a party where you'll see old and new friends by mentally and physically rehearsing. Pump some extra smile iron. Shout for joy, scream "Fantastic," "great to see you." Mentally rehearse warm greetings. You will be more relaxed, prepared and ready to make the most of the event.
Develop a schedule which allows you to learn and play.
