EXERCISE - MINDF#CK
writing repetition
In your thinking and repetition of thought patterns, you will now start writing them down. They are there, they are always there and on a single day countless thoughts pass through your mind. They pass through our mind like clouds. They come and go. Now with this exercise you deliberately catch a hold of a thought and you write it down. So a certain thought comes in, and at the moment you remember this exercise, you become aware of your thinking then you write the thought down. That’s it.
Do it as often as possible. You are in the bed trying to sleep and a story about the future enters your mind. Now you stop, take your journal and write the thought down. After a couple of weeks you look at your thoughts in the journal again. You look at all the thoughts and see if you can find a certain pattern in what you say, in the way you think and talk to yourself. This exercise aims for you to start seeing, to realize coming from your own insight, that by repeating certain thoughts, those thoughts get reinforced. They becomes stronger and more “real”. The more energy you give certain thought pattern the bigger they become to start having an effect on you.
NOT INTERESTED
Practice today to not hold on to a thought by not being interested. Even if you would want to hold on to a thought, you couldn’t because they come and go. In this exercise however, when a thought comes, and the moment you become aware of it, the moment you realise that there is a thought or small story unfolding in the mind, then you say “I am not interested.” So when you see it, when you see the thoughts, immediately you turn away. You can laugh it away if you want or you can write it down in your journal: “not interested”. Don’t push it away, don’t start thinking about something else. Just see it and tell yourself that you are not interesed.
Thoughts are there but you are cutting off the energy they need to become bigger, to become big stories. You are cutting the connections, the power of it. In the beginning out of 100 thoughts you will intercept maybe just 1 and tell it that you are not interested. This is not to be dissapointed about. In fact, this is a moment of joy because when you can do it with one thought, it means you can do it with many more. Hence, step by step is key. And remember that it is normal in your position but also in todays society to have so many and such (crazy) thoughts popping up. You are not an exception so not to worry.
Make this a very specific and deliberate exercise you sit for. You are not able yet to intercept your thinking on a daily basis so for this exercise go sit somewhere and practice it. Don’t worry if after one minute your mind will already wonder away. Try it and make it a funny thing to do, don’t take it too serious, be cool about it.
MUNDANE intervals
When things become too much, the mind is too jumpy, you couldn’t care less about anything and you feel simply bad, or even worse than that, then become aware of the most simple and mundane things surrounding you. You bring yourself back to the here and now by using the environment you are in. This works good when you combine it with one of the breathing exercises. It is a very simple exercise you can do anytime anywhere, also when you wait at the dentist office or when you are in the camp cafeteria.
You check out the coffee pot on the table. It is there, with its shape and details. It doesn’t matter if it is ugly, you don’t judge the coffee pot no matter how ugly it is or no matter how bad the coffee is from the cafetaria. Judging is just one association away from moving back to a new storyline or negative thinking. So you simply watch, you check a plant or a clock on the wall and look into it with tremendous attention and great detail. As if it is the only object in this world. Wow! Even better than indoors is that you go outside and look at a flower or a tree with all its splendor and countless details. You can keep praticing your breathing and look around you.
If nothing works then count all the objects you can find as a soothing lullaby. Counting will not solve anything but this is emergency and thus use what you need. But if the emergency is real then it is even better to go cold! To get away from the thinking, the scene, and take an ice cold shower. This will put you right back in the present. You can also put your head in ice cold water, it will bring a reflex in your biology and will overwrite the existing thoughts. You go straight back to the body. There will be more emphasis on moving from mind to body in the next chapters. For now, use these mundane intervals, use the place you’re staying and observe with full attention to stop the wave of repetitive (negative) thoughts.