You can sit quietly, close your eyes and take a few deep breaths. Now, think of an event which has caused you negative feelings and thoughts. Be very specific about the event.
Describe it in your mind as if you are undergoing it right now. Use all five senses to write the script in your mind.Note and get aware of any negative thoughts and feelings. Note the language of the thoughts. Try to identify if they are thoughts or emotions.
Bring thoughts to your awareness. Notice them separately. Notice the space between them. Hold each thought in your awareness.Now, bring your hand close to your face and move it away.Imagine the thought moving away from your mind at that time.Now, thank the mind every time a thought arises.Can you now mimic a thought-aloud in your favourite actor’s voice?These exercises will reduce the intensity of thoughts and let go of judgements.
A METAPHOR ( TO READ ALOUD) One way to think about barriers is to think about them as passengers on the bus of life. Imagine life is like a journey, and you’re your bus driver. You want to go places and do what’s essential for you. Throughout your life, various passengers have boarded your bus. They reflect your thoughts, feelings, and all kinds of inner states. Some of them you like, such as happy memories or positive thoughts, and some you feel neutral about. And then there are passengers that you wish had not boarded the bus; they can be ugly, scary, and nasty.
So, you are driving your bus of life with all sorts of passengers on board. The scary passengers can threaten you and make you want to be at the front of the bus where you see them. You take this very seriously and stop the bus to struggle and fight with them. You may try to avoid them, distract yourself, or throw them off the bus, but they are your inner states, so you can’t eliminate them. However, while the bus is stopped, you’re not moving in the direction that’s important to you. You may also try to make deals with the passengers; you’ll give in and do what they tell you if they agree to keep quiet in the back of the bus.
This may feel a little easier than fighting with them, but it means the passengers are in control of the direction your bus is heading. By fighting and struggling with the passengers or giving in to them, you, the driver, are not in control of your life journey, and, likely, you are not heading in a direction vital to you. But what if, even though these passengers look scary, nasty, and threatening, they can’t take control unless you allow them to? There can be different ways to respond to the passengers so you can head in the critical direction.
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