Hi Allen,
You will probably want a couple of days to do the exercises given. We are having a close look at sensations. When sensations arise...remember to breathe like you normally would...in and out through the nose.
I don't currently meditate, but I can start. What are some of the other practices you refer to that quiet the mind?
I would suggest that you familiarise yourself with The Work of Byron Katie to investigate the ‘worrisome’ thoughts and any thought that SEEMS to create suffering ie fear, anger, disappointment etc. Whatever the situation is that is appearing at the level of form is not the problem. It’s our thoughts about them. There is an emotional attachment to the thoughts, and when we start investigate our thoughts/beliefs we start to cut the imaginary thread between the thought and the emotion. Trauma and conditioning do have to be investigated as a means for them to be integrated. Doing The Work of Byron Katie….called “The Work” is a great way to start.
https://thework.com/
Mindfulness is great to do when the mind is very busy, or even when emotions become overwhelming as it has a grounding affect. Just NOTICE thoughts and mental images as they appear, but let them pass on by. Observe thoughts as if you are observing a movie or observing clouds passing in the sky.
1. Slowly take in 3 deep breaths. Breathe in deeply through the nose, as if you are breathing into the tips of your toes, and then slowly breathe it out through the mouth.
Then place your attention on your feet and slowly wriggle and scrunch the toes - really feel and notice the sensation as you wriggle and scrunch.
2. Place your feet flat on the floor and notice for a few moments how solid the floor is under your feet and how that feels. Notice the sensations at the bottom of the feet.
Then notice how your backside feels in the chair you are sitting on. Notice how the chair is supporting your body and really pay attention to the sensation of the backside on the chair and your back against the chair. Take your time and really notice this. Remember just NOTICE any labels/thoughts or mental images that appear and let them pass on by.
Notice where your hands are placed and really notice the sensation of them wherever they are lying.
3. Take in a couple more deep breaths and start to pay attention to what is in the room. Very very slowly start to look around the room, noting the colour of the walls, the furniture, the floor. Then choose one object.
Really look at the object carefully noting its shape and colour and any textures, and just notice the labels/thoughts appearing about the object and let them pass on by. Bring your attention back to the object and simply notice the colour/shape and texture before moving onto the next object.
Do this with another 4 objects.
4. Listen carefully to what sounds you hear, both inside and outside of the room, and pay close attention to each sound for a few moments. Just notice the labels/thoughts appearing about the sound and let them pass on by like clouds in the sky and bring your attention back to the sounds.
5. Notice if there are any smells and taste - if any, do the same with them.
6. Scan the body and notice if there are any sensations happening anywhere and pay close attention to them for a while. Again just notice labels/thoughts and then bring your attention back to the sensations.
7. When you have done this, take in a couple more deep breaths and once again feel the firmness of the floor underneath your feet and your bum on the chair.
By doing this, it takes your focus off thoughts and onto your direct actual experience of the senses...with the noticing of thought.
I think there's a tendency for me to overcomplicate a lot of things, like with this exercise.
Yes, that is the impression I get.
So what is it that you are afraid of happening or not happening? Can you tell me why the tendency to overcomplicate comes about? What’s the fear?
If you don't want to express them here is an open forum, please PM me.
Can you see that both the ‘visual sight’ (colour) and the sensation appear simultaneously but ‘separately’, meaning that none of them is coming from the other or contained by the other?
Yes, I can see that they're not coming from each other even though they appear at the same time.
Lovely.
Here is a great clip which shows how there is no correlation between sensation and hand!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dphlhmt ... e=youtu.be
Do they just appear equally, ‘beside’ each other without any hierarchy or link between them?
There's nothing about the raw sensation or image that suggests they are linked to anything else.
Yes, it is only thought that suggests they are linked.
So, can you see how this would be the same between a thought and a sensation?
1) Imagine holding sensation in the right hand and thought in the left hand.
Does thought, on the one hand, and sensation, on the other, know about each other?
Is there a link between the two?
2) Imagine sensation and thought are resting on either side of a pair of scales. When sensation is looked at it gets heavier. When thought is looked at it gets heavier.
Is it possible to look at both thought and sensation at the same time to balance the scales?
A simple example is if thought appears saying “I am confused”. Does the thought “I am confused” contain any actual confusion? Replace that thought with “blahblahblah” and see what remains.
Let me know how you go.
I did this exercise with the thought "I'm worried". It helped to bring me back to "this" and out of the thoughts. It helped to show that what thought says is not really happening, although worrisome thoughts continued to pop up afterwards.
So look again to see if the ‘worrisome’ thought points to AE or points to thoughts about thought. Worrisome aka fearful thoughts aren't going to disappear. Eventually they do become less but do they all disappear forever? No. It's learning to see them for what they are that is the key. Keep the above exercise in your tool kit and use it often. I call it the ‘blahblahblah’ exercise.
The reason why thoughts keep regurgitating is because there is a feeling that needs to be acknowledged and fully experienced. It’s the not wanting to experience the feelings that is the problem.
Close your eyes and bring to mind, what you call a ‘worrisome’ thought…but not one that overwhelms you with fear…but one that you notice the sensation in the body. Worry is fear, so it’s a fear based thought. Notice where the sensation arises in the body and explore the following.
Divested of the story that is attached to that sensation labelled ‘fear’, what is the sensation itself?
Explore the sensation. Notice it, observe what it does.
It’s like the sensation is continually changing. It moves around, it becomes more intense, it becomes less intense; always changing its shape.
Go deeply into that sensation (ie the vibration)
How old is that sensation?
When you say it has always been there, you’re referring to time. That means you are referring to thought.
Refer to the sensation.
How long has this current sensation been present?
Just now. Right?
If you had to describe this sensation, how would you describe it? Is it describable?
It’s morphing, it’s changing, it’s vibrating, but the vibrating is itself a sensation.
Is it really unpleasant? Is the actual sensation itself unpleasant, or is unpleasantness added by thought?
Just leave your thoughts in the background, turn the volume down and refer directly to the sensation.
If you don’t think about it, do you know that this sensation is something called ‘fear’?
Is there any inherent fear in the sensation itself?
Go to the sensation at the soles of the feet. Would you label that sensation ‘fear’? Or is it just a neutral, undefined tingling sensation?
Now compare the sensation of the soles of the feet – which is just neutral sensation – and the sensation in your chest (labelled ‘fear’)…what is the difference between them?
A little bit more intense, but apart from that – any difference?
Report back on what you found when doing this exercise.
Kay
Nothing real can be threatened. Nothing unreal exists.
