Quote: Inhale the future

Inhale the future, exhale the past.

This quote speaks to me on several levels. The first is that it address the desire that most of my clients comet to me with, which is the desire to learn to let go of their past. When you have been through traumatic experiences or were raised in a dysfunctional family, the past is often something that is stalking you in the present and it does not really feel like it is truly the past.

The other level that this quote speaks to me is on the level of how do I teach my clients to let go of the pain of their past, so that they can live more fully in the present. And one of the basic techniques is mindfulness skills. The focus on the breathing, combined with the suggestion about exhaling the past is a powerful intervention.