I have been NC with all my family since 7th September last year, now 216 days and counting ... and I am now happier and more at peace than I ever thought would be possible. This in itself is like a miracle for me after 59 years of being trapped in their manipulations and abuse ...and without doubt my escape was due in large part to the amazing advice and support I had on the Stately Homes thread, so thank you Mumsnet. 
But, I have realised during my wobbles (and there have been a few, especially over Christmas and when family birthdays come around) that NC doesn't necessarily mean out of mind. I've also realised that what I really wish for, and maybe some of you all do too, is that I could actually forget them and all the destructive and hurtful things they have done and said over the years ... or at the very least that these thoughts wouldn't keep coming up and spoiling my newly discovered sense of peace. It feels like when I think of these people the thoughts bring not just bad memories but also open up a part of me that still cannot quite get rid of the old habits of feeling fear, guilt and a deep sense of failure and worthlessness. But, I have found something that is helping me let all that go, so I thought I would share it here and hope it might also help someone else.
I had always had an interest in Buddhism, and one aspect I read about just before the New Year was the use of water rituals to help attain clarity, purity and promote a deep sense of calm ... all the feelings I was fighting to achieve.
Now I don't claim to be Buddhist per se, but in a lightbulb moment I decided to create my own form of water ritual to help me deal with these intrusive thoughts and feelings. So this is what I do ...
When I am going to have a bath, or more usually a shower, I get my brightest, most vibrant red lipstick and I write their names on my body with it, usually down one leg or the other, then I write on my torso all the negative feelings that thoughts of them create in me. Then I look at myself in the mirror and acknowledge to myself that these words on my skin represent the internal hidden scars, wounds and memories I carry. Then I go into the shower and using the most luxurious shower gel I could find and with a really soft sponge I very gently and tenderly wash them away. I think of it like gently caring for an open wound. I don't hurry, or scrub hard, but gently stroke my skin and at the same time visualise my internal marks, scars and bruises fading away with the warm soapy water until I am fully clean, outside and inside.
I won't lie, I feel like many of you will think I am a total idiot for this post, 
and will think its an insane idea, but I will also say the first time I did this I ended up in floods of tears with the force of the emotion it brought out in me. But ... afterwards, when I was warm and dry, I felt so calm and tranquil it was amazing. I also got the best night's sleep I had had in years.
I don't do it every time I have a shower or bath, but I have been doing it 2 or 3 times a month for the past 3 months, and I do truly feel a lot better and the thoughts that used to pop into my head at least every few days are now reducing in both intensity and frequency.
I hold my hands up if you have read this and think I am a crazy fruitloop, but if you do try it I really hope it helps you as much as it has helped me.
Wishing you all strength, peace and healing. 