THE FLOWERBED METAPHOR (LEVELS OF THOUGHT)

The flowerbed metaphor is to help describe & visualise the different levels of thinking & how to approach tackling our thoughts.

The health of the soil can determine a lot when it comes to flowerbeds. What types of flowers will grow? How healthy will they be? No one flowerbed is exactly the same. The deeper soil might not always be the best & could be influencing the flowerbed. We can’t control what soil has been placed before, but we can alter the topsoil to help the flowerbed to prosper.

Core Beliefs – The central ideas we hold about ourselves, the world & others. These beliefs will act as a lens, by which everything we do will include these beliefs. These beliefs will be the driving force behind our thought processes, actions & emotions. These will likely be sweeping “I am..” statements that we have learnt through adverse life experiences. These might develop from one significant event, or multiple small events overtime.

Just like how the soil quality will determine what grows & where. Planting a seed of weeds in the deeper soil will create a strong network of roots that rise to the surface & keep causing weeds to burst through.

Rules for Living & Assumptions – These are the generic statements we hold about ourselves, the world & others. Rigid, fixed & inflexible beliefs about how things should/shouldn’t be. It could be something that you observe in others or the world, or it could be a cultural influence. The overall aim of the assumptions & rules that we apply to our lives is to survive & move away from our core beliefs. However, the moment those rules are broken or under threat the core beliefs start to get louder. So, these rules actually keep us trapped in a constant battle against the core belief.

Just like the shallow roots are trying to start a new flower, only to find out their root system is connected to the deeper roots of weeds all along.

NATs – Most of us will experience an internal commentary of thoughts which is ever flowing. This stream of thoughts will be good, bad & indifferent. However, when someone is struggling, they might find most of their thoughts lean towards negative. NATs are situation specific rather than a generic statement (e.g. “The dinner I just cooked is rubbish” as opposed to “I’m a rubbish cook”). These thoughts will also be automatic, meaning they will pop up unwillingly in your mind.

We often only see the weed & forget about where it all started. We need to remember the weeds have roots that will likely need to be removed with care, otherwise they will keep popping up. No matter how many nice flowers you try & plant the weeds will keep popping up & taking over the flowerbed.