Hexaflexercise: Flower Vs Cactus

This brief exercise, derived from Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), is designed to evoke willingness (i.e. acceptance) to have uncomfortable feelings/emotions as they are. To this end, the viewer will be guided through an experiential metaphor involving the use of your hand and imagination.

Transcript

I invite you to take one of your hands, Palm up, And hold it in front of you like this. And imagine I'm placing a flower into the palm of your hand. What does that feel like? Soft, Light. And how would you like to hold that flower? Perhaps gently. The flower is like a feeling of calmness or contentment that probably feels nice to hold. However, Now imagine I take the flower and replace it with a small cactus. So you now have a cactus sitting in the palm of your hand. How does that feel? Prickly? Heavy? The cactus is like a feeling of irritability, Anger, Shame, Sadness. And if you were to struggle with the cactus, What would happen? You'd probably get pricked by its needles. So instead, Would you be willing to hold the cactus gently like the flower? That doesn't mean you like it or want it, But rather you're willing to acknowledge and honor it for what it is and as it is.

Reviews

Love this, being able to visualise and feel both in my hand and use the metaphor helps so much. Thank you.