The smallest of thoughts can change life…
The stories below illustrate how different people have used Thoughtful to create a new direction in their lives.
Typically they have found breaking inspiration in a single section - giving them a deep understanding about what they can do with their thoughts in critical situations.
Others use the whole Audio library and braids it all into their personal world-view & life.
The stories have been anonymized.
Boy with nightmares - so bad he did not dare sleep in his own room. His mother read to him the story of The House of Thoughts. He used this inspiration to create his own Thought-House in his imagination. He placed his nightmares in a Nightmare room and decorated a whole new room in his Thought-House: The SLEEP-WELL room. In both rooms there were doors that could be closed and locked. In that simple way he could control his nightmares. It was a huge victory for him - that he had solved the problem himself. Then he slept again safely inside his own room.
Tool: Pharmacy of the Brain.
Woman with severe pain after radiation therapy for cancer. She had been treated with morphine and other heavy medications for months with only moderate effect. She started to use the Thoughtful Audio Pharmacy of the Brain and experienced within 2-3 weeks an improvement in her condition so she could reduce her medication gradually to a much lower dose and resume daily activities.
Violent young man in high school. This young person had PTSD caused by war trauma when he was a child. As a consequence he could easily become very violent if he was teased by somebody.
He was given half an hour basic Thoughtful knowledge about how thougths work in a brain sensitized by trauma. The session helped him to change his behavior so he no longer went into uncontrollable anger any more. So there was no need for follow up.
3 years later he asked for a new session. He was in a difficult life situation and felt he needed a refreshment of the knowledge. Which was arranged - with succes.
Tool: Basic knowledge about thoughts & Learning & wellbeing tools.
In a kindergarten a pedagogue used Thoughtful to tell the children about thoughts. The children made cardboard thought-bubbles with different thoughts. A 5 year old vulnerable boy put his thought-bubbles in his drawer in the wardrobe. Time after when he became sad or angry he ran out to the wardrobe. He took the thought-bubbles in his hands and played with them until he calmed down. He had moved his thoughts out of his head - to manipulable forms. That helped him to cope with difficult situations.
Young teenager with suicide attempt. She had childhood trauma caused by neglect. The day after the attempt she was offered vital knowledge about life-threathening thoughts - so she could protect herself in future stressful situations.
A Thougtful session was arranged two days later with her, her parents and a girlfriend who also had attempted suicide 6 months earlier - and her parents too. A local social worker was also present.
They were given knowledge and Thoughtful stories about how to use thoughts as tools to prevent and to handle dark thoughts. In the following months the social worker used the new framework and imagery about thoughts in her talks with the girl.
She reported later that after some time the girl had started to read aloud some of the Thoughtful stories for friends who were in trouble - to help them cope with their situation and their dark thoughts.
Tool: Basic knowledge.
AyYoung woman was severely affected by workplace bullying. She was a completely normal and resilient person who had become very chocked by the experience on her work. As a consequence she went on a sick leave - but was still severely affected also at home - so much that she found it difficult to take care of her children in the same way as she used to.
She was recommended to explore Thoughtful.
2 weeks later she reported that she had solved the problem because she now understood what to do inside her mind when she was overwhelmed by the fear and dispair related to the bullying. Based on her new knowledge she had developed a personal strategy to cope with the situation. She used Thought-Medicine from the Thought Audio in the Basic theme. Not long after she had a meeting with the manager in order to discuss solutions for the bullying culture in the workplace.
Tool: Lecture for 50 9th grade teenagers
After 1,5 hour lecture some of the teenageres stayed - just talking with us about their thoughts about Thoughtful - for 2 hours.
Here are some of their reflections:
I really like the story of the House of Thoughts ... It's hard to say why ... I just want to tell you that I'm really happy about it ... You can’t find words for everything, some things you just have to feel with the heart - and feel what it means to you :-)
My mom thought I was listening to music too much. I actually thought so myself, but I do not know what else to do ... Maybe we can listen to the Thoughtful stories instead.
I did not know that pain is in the same place (in the brain) as when I feel alone and sad ... Did you know (... questioning a friend standing by)?
We just want to tell you that it has touched us to listen to you today. Usually it's boring to be into something like this, but this was different because I could suddenly understand myself in a new way.
I could recognize myself in what you told me about what happens inside, when for instance being bullied. I hadn’t thought of it that way before.
It is important for me to help my friends but it can be hard to know how. Now I have got great ideas on how I can help my girlfriends and others who are having a hard time.
I can feel very scared when it is dark outside. I get scared that there are people who are not nice will follow me. I can get it so bad that I start shaking. What I need to do is move my scary thoughts to a good thought that tells me that not all people are evil.
If some kids tease others or do things that are not nice, then adults often say that we should just let it be, because they will stop when they do not get the attention. It just feels wrong to think like that, I can get completely upset, and angry inside.
Subsequent conversation: It is not true that you just should let it be. If you do it gets worse inside. You can use Thoughtful knowledge to prevent bullying and create a safe community.
I had a teacher who would not help me when I had difficulty understanding the language in this country. I got upset inside and I felt like I might not be worth helping, and then the thought might come that I might not be worth anything in life. It did not feel nice.
When I was teased a lot, I had a very hard time with my thoughts. It became so dark at a time that I thought about how it would feel like to die and not be here anymore. It scared me. I do not want others to have that kind of thoughts. I want to help them.
Tool: Thoughtful basic knowledge - contagious in a local community
Knitting cafe - “Contagious” Thoughtful in the local community:
We were about 15 women who gathered in our knitting cafe. At some point, a woman arrives who earlier in the day had attended a presentation on Thoughtful for school teachers and tutors. I had also participated myself, and when she sees me she immediately exclaims "WASN'T it amazing?" I confirm and the other women at the table begin to inquire curiously into what she has experienced.
She talks about Thoughtful and how it has given her tools for talks with the children. Another woman tells that her daughter in 9th grade had been completely engrossed in Thoughtful when they had had a Thoughtful theme-day. The daughter had now started writing songs with a friend inspired by Thoughtful. The mother decided to go to a public citizen meeting to hear about Thoughtful. She was also very excited.
After the table-talk in the knitting café had been going on for some time with enthusiastic voices, the women at the other table turn around. None of them have been to presentations or citizens' meetings, but they were interested and asked what we were talking about. The Thougtful talk went on for the whole evening.
Tool: Eczema Audio for children.
A seven year old girl with very severe eczema listened to the eczema Audio in the Child theme. She practiced with this tool for 3 weeks. This led to major improvement in her condition. In the time after if she felt the eczema would return she went into her room, closed the door, and started to do magic with her thoughts again.
8 year old orphanage girl. Intelligent and empathic - but she often ended up in chaotic situations and emotions. Her pedagogue read The Story of the House of Thoughts. They played with this story for a long time. Suddenly she got a revelation: I can decide myself what thoughts I want to have! This led to a profound positive change in her wellbeing and behaviour.
Tool: Basic knowledge.
Middle age woman with depression: “This has completely changed my life - I am a happy person again - also in the morning”. She is doing a lot of work now to tell her fellow citizens about Thoughtful.
Tool: Pharmacy of the brain.
A person with a life sentence for murder - suffering from severe mental disorder and substance dependency. After 3 weeks using The Pharmacy of the Brain Audio he reported back that he no longer felt any craving for drugs. He commented that this was a better fix than heroin and it worked better for him than mindfulness. Several years later he still uses the Audio on a nearly daily basis.
Tool: Basic knowledge.
4 year old severely neglected orphange boy. He had no language and he became very upset and destructive whenever one of his many rituals were broken even to the smallest extent. Because of his behaviour he was scolded a lot. He was lonely and isolated and no one knew what to do about the situation.
Using the Thoughtful Basic theme the orphanage staff was told about alarm reactions in an over-sensitized child brain. That helped them to understand the boys situation and what he needed. So when they changed their behaviour and made sure that the boy could feel safe throughout the day he completely calmed down and his language started to develop.
Tools: Basic knowledge & The Pharmacy of the Brain.
Elderly woman with Asthma, Arthritis and Anxiety. She used the knowledge and inspiration from Thoughtful to understand how to choose thoughts that could support her wish for a healthy life style and anxiety control. Through this she succedded to change to a healthier lifestyle which improved her wellbeing.
Tool: Basic knowledge.
Prison Manager statement: Our Thoughtful workshop is the most powerful protective initiative I have ever remembered from my time in this prison - and by far the one I have got the most positive feedback on from my employees.
Tool: Basic knowledge.
A mother who had attended a Thoughtful Course told that she had never thought about her thoughts in this way before - that thoughts are something one can think about and change.
A few days later she had a conversation with her adult daughter through an entire night. Her daughter had experienced a major traumatic event a few years ago but they had not managed to talk about it. The daughter had closed down and could not accept help. They both cried with joy and relief during this night conversation, because they had been able to use the knowledge and stories from Thoughtful to understand the daughters situation and what to do about it. The mother experienced for the first time in a very long time that she could give love and protection to her daughter.
Tool: Basic knowledge.
After a suicide attemt on a school a Thoughtful emergency lecture was arranged for all parents and teenage students.
After the lecture one father commented: This is the most important knowledge I have ever heard on this school.
Tool: Basic knowledge.
A woman with schizophrenia studied Thoughtful in a very curious way - in cooperation with her mother - in order to understand what thoughts actually are and how they work inside her mind and brain - to better understand herself and her disease.
Tool: Basic knowledge.
Adult man with severe suicidal thoughts - triggered by double suicide in his family. He was introduced to Thoughtful for self-study and reported back weeks later that he now understood how his thoughts - and his suicidal thoughts - worked in his mind and brain. And he understood that he actually could decide what thoughts he wanted to have. So he simply made a big decision inside himself that he no longer wanted to be dominated by suicidal thoughts. That was it…
Later he used his new skill to seek a new job - also with success.
Over the years many people with very stressful jobs - prison guards, social workers, teachers, pedagogs etc. - has reported back that they have used Thougtful tools successfully to protect themselves from overload, stress, burn-out and PTSD. Read about our research in the Science theme.
Similarly, Thoughtful has been used by a number of international production companies as a work environment effort.
Tools: Basic knowledge & Pharmacy of the Brain.
Middle age woman with a substance abuse problem (Marihujana). After a presentation of the basic concepts in Thoughtful she chose to try The Pharmacy of the Brain Audio for a couple of weeks. Long after she reported that she had stopped using Marihujana.
Tool: Basic knowledge.
A participant in a Thoughtful lecture says: Thoughtful has opened my eyes to the things I already knew something about. I have read several theories about the functions of the mind and the effects and consequences of human relationships, both for better and for worse. But it is only now that I fully understand most of the things I have read about. Because Thoughtful explains these things in a clear and simple and comprehensible way. The inspirations I got are: To use the new knowledge in my work and in general in life, to inform the people I meet and my family and acquaintances and friends who I think need Thoughtful knowledge. I always have something that I cannot understand in some people. Mostly in their behavior or in the background of their behavior and my own, and now I have finally gotten answers to most things. And I am determined to test this new knowledge on myself and others who I think need it.
Tool: Learning & Wellbeing tools.
A group of social street workers use laminated Thoughtful print images (Alarm cards, Brain images, Thought bubbles), which they carry in their pockets when they are out at night and talking to young people in the nightlife. See the Theme Learning & Well-being Tools.
Tools: Basic knowledge and the story of The House of Thoughts.
A residential institution has built a wooden Thought-House (like a dollhouse) - inspired by the Story of the House of Thoughts. They have put small LED spotlights in the rooms (= Attention - Brain Spotlights). Each child had a drawer with small personal notes / drawings / pictures which they could put into the different rooms in the house, where different kinds of thoughts live. They talk about the thoughts in the house - about how to take care of your thoughts - and how to get from one Thought Room to another.
A mentally disabled young man has a laminated print of the Thinking-Brain and the Alarm-Brain hanging in a string on his bag. One morning he comes to his school. He is very angry and threatening. A contact person calmly asks him - What's wrong? The young man grabs his Brain Picture, waves it and then says: You just have to let me be - I am completely blue inside my head… (In the print, the Alarm Brain is drawn blue = symbol of blue Emergency / Alarm flash).
Tool: Basic knowledge & Alarm-card print.
A special class with aggressive ADHD teenage boys. The teacher teaches about the Thinking-Brain and the Alarm-Brain from the Basic theme. All the boys get an Alarm-Card in their pocket. The boys use the Alarm-Card when one of the comrades is on his way to Alarm and becomes aggressive. After a few weeks, the number of conflicts is reduced dramatically.
Tool: Basic knowledge.
Young woman attempting suicide with pills. 1st interview at the round the day after hospitalization: She is informed that she and relatives must have vital knowledge about life-threatening thoughts because she is hospitalized with suicide attempts. This develops into more conversations. For each conversation on her own initiative she involves more and more family members and friends. For each new conversation, she tells about Thoughtful in her own words to her family and friends. She discovers that she has an important knowledge that she would like to pass on to the most important people in her life.