After you’ve seen into the happiness you’re capable of holding in your own heart, you’ll want to create a daily practice so that the power you have in that place can be sustained, and summoned as needed. Self-Acknowledgement is the basis for this incredible tool.
One of the powerful tools that is at the heart of many of our activities in the Marilyn Initiative is the The Word of the Day™ Cluster Technique. Using this technique, you can more easily tap into the answers that you already possess. This is a multi-purpose tool that can help you organize thoughts and feelings quickly in any situation and connect you to your true self and your soul in the process. To live in a state of self-connectedness is a worthy goal.
Writing is a great way to get clarity and to solve problems. Whenever I get stressed, I perform the The Self Acknowledgement Hug™ and ask myself what is bothering me. I take a breath and wait until a word pops into my mind, or if I know what the problem, I create a cluster and then write about the words that come up, which connects me to my higher self. Once connected, I always find a solution for the problem. When I have a project with many steps and feel overwhelmed, I will create a cluster around the word, overwhelmed, and brainstorm all of the steps I believe I will have to do. Just having them on paper makes me feel better, and I will then go on and create a cluster for each step in the process. By the time I’m done, I feel relaxed and back in control.
Reconnecting with our natural creativity is an important process because we were created in God’s image and above all things, he is a creator. When you create, you are in touch with the godspark within all of us, and you’re in touch with your soul.
How to select a word
After doing the Self-Acknowledgement Hug, take a breath, grab your notebook, draw a circle, or use the one in the Word of the Day™ book. Take a breath, and let your mind go blank. Use the first word that comes in, however silly or weird.
- Keep a dictionary near, and if you draw a blank, open it randomly and put your finger on the first word you see.
- Choose a word that describes a problem to be solved, any concern, or whatever you’re working on. This is a powerful technique to use anytime you need to collect your thoughts or brainstorm about a project or a concern.
- Make a list of important words to pick from and keep it in your notebook.
Draw a circle on a piece of paper, large enough to hold a word, place five or six other circles around it and connect them to the main line. Or use provided.
Perform the Self-Acknowledgement Hug™.
Ask yourself for a word that will describe whatever is on your mind or use one of the prompts provided in this book.
Place your word in the center of the cluster. For example. If your word was “Faith.”
Set a timer for one minute.
Close your eyes and imagine an image that is created by your main word for example, if your word is “faith,” what image does that conjure? Describe what you imagined and define it in one word. Put that word in one of the circles of the cluster.
Repeat this exercise four or five times, so your cluster now looks like this:
Then set your timer for a minute and write about what the cluster brought to mind using as many of these words as you can. If you don’t have a timer nearby, find six words, and write two or three sentences.
This is not about how well you write, it’s about connecting with your soul. You can’t do this wrong, unless you don’t do it at all.
For example, when I clustered the word, “faith” and got those words in the cluster, this is what I wrote: When I sit in church on a sunny Sunday, I am filled with love and joy for my family. Sunshine is what faith looks like to me. I feel happy to be alive.
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