I spent a week in an English immersion program for Germans, where my only task was to talk and listen for 14 hours a day. It was fun, fun, fun, but exhausting at times. I do this three times a year, and am always happy to come back for more.
Why do I do it? For one, I love meeting awesome people from around the world. Truthfully, I’m always waiting to see the transformation. On the first day, students arrive nervous and self-conscious, wondering what they’ve got themselves into. They hesitate with pronunciations and search for words. By the end of the third day, something amazing happens. After dinner, I see two students speaking English with each other, like they’ve known each other for years - like they’ve spoken English for years. As I eavesdrop on the conversation, I listen for mistakes, but too tired to correct them anyway. Surprise! I can’t hear any mistakes.
Here’s what happens. They’re speaking English, totally immersed for 14 hours a day, for 5 ½ days. There’s no room for German in their minds. We’re not allowed to speak anything but English and no one is able to speak their native language. There is no time to sneak in a German conversation and little time to contact family or coworkers by phone. Eventually, the brain is programmed to think in English. Some of the students report dreaming in English.
At the end of the week, the students are amazed at how their English has improved. The volunteer native speakers are amazed too.
So what if this worked for other things…. Immerse your thoughts into whatever it is you want to accomplish, learn or create, and not let anything interfere or contradict from what you want to do. If we focus on one thought or intention and don’t allow anything else to distract, then how would it work for programming our minds?
It could be sort of like the Mozart effect, or examples of geniuses, such as Einstein, Tesla, etc.
When we meditate, we can repeat a chant or phrase over and over to keep our minds from wandering. We state affirmations over and over, (or perhaps just a couple times a day) to get a wanted result.
What if you concentrated for an entire week, all you’re waking hours only on thoughts and words that supported the outcome you wanted?
I was amazed to hear what a friend of mine has been doing the last couple weeks. She lives in a sort of parallel life: while she goes through her daily routines, she focuses her mind on the life she wants to be living, actually imaging herself being in that life. For example, she said yesterday, while walking with one of her elderly clients in the cold crisp Germany winter air, she felt the warmth of the sun and smelled the sea breeze - while she's over 400 miles inland! She maintains this focus most of the day, and has noticed a considerable shift in just a few days. I love the synchronicity that she was doing this at the exact time I was writing this blog! I'm starting to believe there are no accidents in the world.
I invite you to ponder upon this awhile, and see what might come up in your mind. If you have any thoughts to share, I welcome your comments below.
Why do I do it? For one, I love meeting awesome people from around the world. Truthfully, I’m always waiting to see the transformation. On the first day, students arrive nervous and self-conscious, wondering what they’ve got themselves into. They hesitate with pronunciations and search for words. By the end of the third day, something amazing happens. After dinner, I see two students speaking English with each other, like they’ve known each other for years - like they’ve spoken English for years. As I eavesdrop on the conversation, I listen for mistakes, but too tired to correct them anyway. Surprise! I can’t hear any mistakes.
Here’s what happens. They’re speaking English, totally immersed for 14 hours a day, for 5 ½ days. There’s no room for German in their minds. We’re not allowed to speak anything but English and no one is able to speak their native language. There is no time to sneak in a German conversation and little time to contact family or coworkers by phone. Eventually, the brain is programmed to think in English. Some of the students report dreaming in English.
At the end of the week, the students are amazed at how their English has improved. The volunteer native speakers are amazed too.
So what if this worked for other things…. Immerse your thoughts into whatever it is you want to accomplish, learn or create, and not let anything interfere or contradict from what you want to do. If we focus on one thought or intention and don’t allow anything else to distract, then how would it work for programming our minds?
It could be sort of like the Mozart effect, or examples of geniuses, such as Einstein, Tesla, etc.
When we meditate, we can repeat a chant or phrase over and over to keep our minds from wandering. We state affirmations over and over, (or perhaps just a couple times a day) to get a wanted result.
What if you concentrated for an entire week, all you’re waking hours only on thoughts and words that supported the outcome you wanted?
I was amazed to hear what a friend of mine has been doing the last couple weeks. She lives in a sort of parallel life: while she goes through her daily routines, she focuses her mind on the life she wants to be living, actually imaging herself being in that life. For example, she said yesterday, while walking with one of her elderly clients in the cold crisp Germany winter air, she felt the warmth of the sun and smelled the sea breeze - while she's over 400 miles inland! She maintains this focus most of the day, and has noticed a considerable shift in just a few days. I love the synchronicity that she was doing this at the exact time I was writing this blog! I'm starting to believe there are no accidents in the world.
I invite you to ponder upon this awhile, and see what might come up in your mind. If you have any thoughts to share, I welcome your comments below.
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