Teachings from Dr. P in the age of COVID-19
Author – Maggie Kestly
VCLA supporter Maggie Kestly recently added the below post to her Facebook page. Maggie and VCLA founder Dr. Priscilla Partridge de Garcia had a special relationship that was filled with mutual respect & admiration. Please take a moment to read her thoughts below and possibly use the tools that she learned from the amazing “Dr. P”. – Pattie Braga, VCLA Director
04/26/2020
“As the new day approaches with a beautiful sunrise forming I stepped out on our second story balcony to catch the sun coming up. I stood there listening to the birds chirping as my sign that the new day is beginning. Each day brings interesting observations about myself. I’m experiencing the ability to see patterns in my thoughts. Thoughts that can bring me up giving me hope and thoughts that bring me down becoming destructive. Patterns that are created by choice in where I allow my mind to travel.
An amazing woman named Priscilla came into my life several years ago. She gave me so many valuable tools to overcome patterns in my thoughts. One of them she referred to as her prisoner of war technique. She found that prisoners in war camps were able to survive some of the most extreme conditions by directing their thoughts. They survived being confined in boxes only to be taken out once a day to be tortured. The thought that any human being would be treated that way is beyond me however it is real and it did happen.
So how does one survive months or years of this kind of torment? They use their minds to take them other places. They tell their minds to STOP the focus on the confined area they are in and they STOP their minds from thinking only of the torture yet to come. Instead they seek visuals of where they want to be once they are freed. One man literally designed, purchased materials and built an entire house in his mind. This daily focus allowed him to survive his horrible situation as a prisoner of war.
The technique given to me simply allowed me to become aware of where my thoughts were traveling say the word STOP out loud then redirect my thoughts on a different path. For over a year I practiced this technique. It became ingrained in me to immediately use this when I was heading down a dark path.
The past few weeks of confinement has proved to be challenging at times. Enough so that pulling out this technique has been necessary so I could redirect my thoughts. In doing so I’ve found so much beauty just within the walls of my home with my husband, my dogs, our home and yesterday our backyard. I’ve been able to envision the gatherings that we will have once allowed to do so in the environment we are creating in our home. Focusing there has been the best way to stay positive through all of this and even see the value in having a chance to just slow down.
I’m grateful to wise people like Priscilla who provide tools for turning negatives into positives. She passed away not too long ago and I know she is missed by many of us.
