A Simple Practice That Helps Me Step Out of the Darkness

What If Hope Was Just One Question Away?

There are moments when the mind feels like an unsafe place to be.

One thought leads to another, and then another—each one darker, heavier, more convincing than the last. Before you realize what’s happening, you’re no longer just thinking about what’s wrong; you’re living inside it. Fear tightens its grip. Hope feels naïve. And the future looks like a long, shadowed hallway with no visible door.

If you’ve ever found yourself caught in that spiral—knowing, on some level, that you want things to change, but unable to reach for anything that actually helps—you’re not alone. I’ve spent much of my life there, too.

What I’ve learned, slowly and imperfectly, is that the mind doesn’t always need to be fought or fixed. Sometimes, it simply needs a different question—one that interrupts the downward pull and opens a small window of possibility. A question that doesn’t demand belief, positivity, or certainty… only curiosity.

This essay is about one simple practice that has helped me step out of the darkness again and again—not by denying pain, but by gently reminding my mind that another story is possible.

When the Mind Starts Spiraling

It’s so easy for our minds to doom scroll, thinking—obsessing—over all the things that are wrong with our lives, or what we’re doing wrong. We go in circles. One thought leads to another that’s even worse, until, if you’re like me, you end up curled up in a ball, crying.

Life feels unfair. You see other people thriving and enjoying their lives. And you’re miserable. Nothing works out for you. Your life is a mess—from your health to your relationships, to doing work you hate. Money is tight. Everything seems like it’s dark and drab, perhaps even dangerous. You’re always in fright or flight mode, and your adrenal system is in shambles because you can’t ever relax. You’re too worried about what’s going to happen next to throw you into another tailspin into the murky swamp of your mind.

I know this feeling well. I’ve lived it—for longer than I’d like to admit. For years, I struggled with the doom-scroll mindset even after learning about the Law of Attraction and that we are the deliberate creators of our realities. I couldn’t seem to stop my mind from going into a downward spiral into depression. Often, suicidal depression, wishing I was dead. Even to the point of trying to find a way to end my life. I was always stopped by trying to find a way that didn’t involve pain. (My soul protecting me because it knew this wasn’t my truth—just games my mind was playing.)

All it would take is one thing to happen, or more often that didn’t happen in the way I wanted it to, for my mind to plunge into the murk. And I’d stay there for weeks, sometimes months, wallowing in the mud of my sorrow and unhappiness.

A Gentle Practice for When Your Thoughts Turn Dark

When negative thought spirals take over, the mind often needs something gentle—not forceful—to interrupt the downward pull and create space for relief.

Slowly, over the past thirteen years, and especially in the past five, I shifted and changed. I started with doing inner healing work, transforming my perceptions of the past, and forgiving myself, my parents, and even the Divine. I worked on changing my mindsets about my life and what was possible.

Now that I have many tools, exercises, and practices, including knowing my Human Design, I rarely fall into the deep depression I suffered from for most of my life. When I do start to fall, I can shift my perceptions, and the down cycle only lasts a day or two. In addition, because I now know my Human Design authority is emotional, I understand these down cycles are simply part of my design and how I process. I don’t have to stay in the low cycle for months.

One of the mind-shift games I’ve played that has helped me tremendously is the “What If” Game. This simple exercise stops my mind’s doom scroll and lifts my spirits and emotions. I begin to feel hopeful and excited about the future. I start experiencing joy and gratitude.

This is a simple mindset shift practice where you intentionally replace worst-case thinking with curiosity about positive or supportive outcomes.

As an author, one of the games I play with my stories is “What If… Then what…” What if xyz happened in the story or to my characters, then what happens and how will that play out and affect the story or character? This leads to some amazing plot twists and storylines.

We are the authors of our lives.

We can play this same game to change our life story. Instead of going down into the swamp of thinking of all the ways your life could go wrong, change this to what if the opposite happened? What if your life was good, then what? What’s the BEST that could happen?

This practice can be especially helpful when:

• Your thoughts keep looping toward worst-case scenarios
• Anxiety or fear makes it hard to relax
• You feel stuck in a negative mindset spiral
• Traditional spiritual tools feel overwhelming
• You need a gentle way to reconnect with hope

Here are some ideas for playing the game:

• What if your stories started to sell? Then what? What’s the BEST that could happen?
• What if you found the job that fulfilled you and paid you well? Then what?What’s the BEST that could happen?
• What if you went on that retreat to Bali? Then what?
• What if you were healthy? Then what?What’s the BEST that could happen?
• What if you were happy? Then what? What’s the BEST that could happen?

Just writing these out raised my energy and vibration, and I’m soaring in good feelings and vibes!

A natural progression of this questioning is: How would it make me feel? What would I do differently or change in my life? How would my life change?

Why This Practice Works

Your subconscious mind immediately begins trying to find an answer when you ask these questions. You have the choice of whether your mind doom-scrolls (what’s wrong) or flies high (what’s right). When you ask the question with curiosity and anticipation, it signals to your subconscious you want good, even amazing ideas. Now instead of spiraling down into the swamps of despair, disappointment, or fear, you’re spiraling upward to hope, excitement, and joy.

When you’re in this high-flying, hopeful, joyful state, your subconscious mind looks for things in your environment to support it. Ideas, situations, and events will show up in your life in serendipitous—even magical—ways.

You can use this practice any time your mind feels overwhelmed, anxious, or pulled into negative thinking.

I invite you to take five minutes today and ask, “What if ____, then what? What’s the BEST that could happen?” Fill in the blank of what you’d like to have or do or be. You can do this exercise any time you have a quiet moment to let your mind wander: while in the shower, driving, in meditation, or doing the dishes.

My life has changed drastically since I started doing this exercise, along with other practices. Self-improvement and evolution are ongoing processes. It isn’t one-and-done. One small thing you do to shift your mindset or your energy, such as doing this exercise, leads to another step, and another. Life DOES become better and better! I’ve seen this in my life, and it’s my deepest desire for you to thrive, too.

The “What If” practice doesn’t erase pain, fix your life overnight, or guarantee that fear won’t visit again. Life is still life. Emotions still rise and fall. And some seasons ask more of us than others.

But this practice does something quietly powerful.

It reminds your mind that it isn’t trapped in a single story. It creates just enough space for hope to breathe again. And in that space—however small—it becomes easier to feel curiosity instead of dread, possibility instead of paralysis.

When you ask, What if… then what? What’s the best that could happen? you’re not pretending everything is fine or gaslighting yourself. You’re making the choice to not let fear be the only voice narrating your life. You’re inviting your subconscious to look for light instead of shadows—to notice ideas, openings, and moments of quiet magic that might otherwise pass unseen.

Change doesn’t happen all at once. It happens in gentle pivots. In small acts of inner kindness. In questions that uplift instead of weigh you down.

So the next time your thoughts begin to spiral, I invite you to pause—just for a moment—and ask a different question. Not because you have to believe in a better future, but because you deserve a mind that feels a little safer to live in.

And sometimes, that’s where everything begins.

1. Give yourself permission to dream—without worrying about what’s realistic, acceptable, or practical. What do you truely want at a soul-deep level? Drop into your feminine divine presence (this exercise helps), and allow your soul-dream to percolate to the surface. Then ask, “What if it happens? What then? What’s the best that could happen?” Journal about whatever unfolds for you.

2. After doing this exercise, pay attention to your day, and over the next few days. Look for any ideas, events, or thoughts that support your “what if” dreaming. Pay attention to any intuitive prompts or hits to do something you’ve been thinking about or even something totally new. Take the inspired action. Notice how your body feels as you take these inspired actions. You may want to journal about, or keep track of in another way, your intuitive hits, ideas, or actions.

3. This is a great journal prompt. Instead of thinking the question, “What if ____, then what? What’s the BEST that could happen?” write it in your journal. Let one thought lead to the next, and the next, and see where the journey takes you. Pay attention for any ideas, solutions, or actions to take that flow onto your pages.

I invite you to join the conversation on my Substack, Lunar Ink & Alchemy, to share your experience and insights from doing this exercise.