Type of activity: Visualisation / Creative practical

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Location: Outdoors

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Materials: Gathered natural materials

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Length 45-60 minutes

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Take a walk outdoors and find an area with lots of space to move around freely.

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Stand up and close your eyes. Think back to a memory in your past, you may be able to see the memory in your mind or may hear it. Now point your finger to the past. Remembering where that is do the same with the future. Thinking of something which is going to happen in the future, point to where it is. Finally, bring your awareness to the present moment and point to where that it. You should now be able to draw a line from your past through the present moment and to your future. This represents where you experience your timeline.

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Now open your eyes stretch your imaginary line out across the space you are in. This can use as much or as little space as you feel necessary.

 

• Think about a few times in your past where you have been successful or have overcome something. This doesn’t need to be a massive success, just something that you were proud that you achieved, or something that you overcame the odds to succeed in.

 

• Think about a few times in your past where you made mistakes which you can learn from.

 

• Collect a few natural materials which can be used to represent specific memories on your timeline. For example, rock or sticks.

 

• Start by standing in the present moment on your timeline and walk back through the past, stopping at each memory of a time where you were successful or overcame something. Fully relive each experience, feeling the success.

 

• Place one of the materials you collected down on your timeline to represent each memory of success.

 

• Return to stand in the present moment and walk back through you past, this time stopping at each learning experience. Look down on each experience and remove all the negativity from it, leaving only the learning point.

 

• Place one of the materials you collected down on your timeline to represent each memory of the experiences which you can learn from.

 

• Return to stand in the present moment and look back at your past timeline and each of the memories which are now placed along it. Visualise each being surrounded by a glow of light.

 

• Now look along your timeline into the future, projecting all those successes and lessons along it.

 

• Walk along your timeline into the future, stopping at specific or events where you feel you will need to draw upon these resources. Visualise how your past successes and lessons will help you succeed.

 

• Return to the present with a refreshed outlook on the future.