Hi,
I'm Dr.
Diana Hill,
And in this exercise,
You're going to practice the process of cognitive diffusion by allowing your thoughts to move in and out of your experience without getting caught in them or trying to push them away.
This is an ACT exercise,
And we're going to be using a visualization of clouds in the sky.
You can do this exercise with your eyes open or your eyes closed,
Either in a seated position or lying down,
Whatever's most comfortable for you.
Let's get started.
I invite you to take in a couple of gentle,
Long breaths in and out,
Letting your breath ground you in your body and in the present moment.
And as you land in your body,
In your breath,
In right now,
You can just notice yourself sitting or lying here.
Noticing the sensations that are on your skin,
Noticing what's like inside your body,
Any places of tension or holding,
Noticing any emotions that might be present for you right now.
In this practice,
You're going to begin to allow your thoughts to come and go like clouds in the sky.
So imagine that you are lying in a field,
A vast,
Spacious field,
Looking up at the sky that has clouds moving through it.
Imagine what it would feel like to lie here,
Letting yourself sink in to the ground below and just bringing your attention and your awareness to looking up at the sky,
Being present in the field,
Watching the clouds.
And as you lie here,
You may begin to notice that thoughts come into your awareness.
Each time you notice a thought,
Imagine placing it on one of the clouds and letting it float on by in the sky.
And you can place your thoughts on these clouds,
Whether or not they're positive thoughts or negative thoughts,
Pleasant thoughts or unpleasant thoughts.
Your job is just to be aware of the sky,
Noticing the clouds.
And when thoughts come into your awareness,
Place it on a cloud and let it float on by.
And if there is space between your thoughts,
Just notice that space as you would notice the space between the clouds,
The blue sky that lies behind it all.
If you have thoughts about doing this exercise,
Like this is boring or it's not working or I don't like this or when is it going to end?
You can just place those thoughts on clouds as well,
Allowing them to pass on through.
And if a thought gets stuck,
You don't have to force it to go away.
You can allow it to be stuck there,
Make space for it,
Let it settle on its cloud,
Let it hang around for a little while.
And all you're doing is just observing your experience.
There's no need to force the thought to go away.
And if you notice some feelings like boredom or impatience,
You can also just say to yourself,
Here is a feeling of boredom,
Here is a feeling of impatience.
And you can pick it up and put it on a cloud as well.
It's normal and it's natural to lose track during this exercise.
And when that happens,
You can just catch yourself and bring yourself back to lying in this field,
Looking up at the sky and placing thoughts.
You are becoming an observer of your own mind.
You are not your thoughts.
Thoughts are coming and going like the clouds in the sky.
Some are slow,
Some are fast,
And you are observing it all.
Notice the sky and place any thoughts or feelings on the clouds.
Let them gently float on by.
Bring your attention back to this image of the sky and the clouds and you lying in the field.
And you can allow that image to begin to dissolve.
Bring your awareness back into your body in this moment,
Feeling your breath inside your body.
Feeling where your breath moves in and out.
Feeling sensations on your skin,
The temperature of the air,
Your body touching the ground.
And feeling yourself fully present back in your body,
Back in this moment.
And when you're ready,
You can open your eyes and you can bring yourself fully back into the room.
Having had an experience of gaining a little bit of space between you and your thoughts,
Cognitive diffusion.
You are not your thoughts.
Your thoughts will come and go.
And you can allow room for them to pass on by without getting entangled in them and without forcing or pushing them away.
Thank you for practicing with me.
I hope that you can bring this practice into your day today and that it's helpful for you.
