For this diffusion exercise,
Work with a thought that is troublesome for you.
You might hear the words of your thought,
Read the words of your thought,
Or see images,
Or perhaps all three.
This thought might stem from a painful memory or from a strong unhelpful belief or fear.
Taking a few moments to slow your breath and relax any tension in your body.
Now shifting to the perspective of the observer,
Visualizing a screen in front of you that will play your thought on repeat,
However you perceive it.
Sit back and watch,
Listen to this thought.
Remember that it is inside your mind and it cannot harm you.
Notice if you have the urge to avoid this thought.
Acknowledge any feelings that come up,
Breathing into them,
Allowing feelings to simply be there without needing to change them.
Now as you watch or listen to your thought,
We're going to apply something that is out of character to it in order to help you stand back from it and see it for what it truly is.
Pictures and words generated in your mind.
Let's start by adding some music to this thought.
Choose some music that's entirely out of context for the thought you're having.
Perhaps circus music would be out of character,
Or classical,
Children's music,
Or game show music.
Choose something light-hearted and play it along with your thought for a few breaths.
If you still have strong feelings related to this thought,
That's fine.
Remember we're not trying to get rid of those feelings.
Just breathe into and around them and allow them to exist.
Perhaps trying another type of music.
Now stop the music and have the thought return to its original form on repeat.
This time we'll insert some sound effects.
Use whatever comes to mind as something completely different to what would be expected.
Try animal sounds,
Instrument noises,
Or sounds from a game show or a news program.
Once again,
Returning your thought to normal.
Next we want to manipulate the image of this thought.
If you don't see an image associated with your thought,
Just see the words.
First,
Try playing your thought in reverse.
Now put it upside down as well.
Now try speeding it up.
Now put it upside down as well.
Now try speeding up the playback of your thought until it's so fast you don't recognize it.
And returning to normal again.
This time stretching the image with ways.
And now just play with the image however you like.
Spin it around,
Fold it in on itself,
Paint it with different colors.
Notice what happens to your feelings around this thought.
Returning to normal once again,
And this time focusing on the words in the thought.
If there are no words,
Simply continue with the music,
Sound effect,
Or visual manipulation.
If you can identify words in your thought,
Try singing them to the tune of Happy Birthday in your mind.
Repeating the words,
Repeating the song.
Our aim is to recognize this thought as something which does not control you or need to be feared,
But is simply something we can stand back and observe without applying any unhelpful meaning to it.
Focusing again on the words,
See them scrolling across the screen,
This time manipulating how the words appear to you.
First,
Try stretching the letters right out so they no longer look like letters at all.
Make the words into a shape,
And then give that shape a movement around the screen.
Notice how when you play with these words and become less fused,
Less caught up with them,
That they lose the power they once held over you.
You'll find that with practice,
When this thought arises,
You will instantly revert to one of these playful techniques,
Allowing you to focus on what is truly important in life,
Rather than being a victim to your thoughts.
Choose one technique that we've worked through that was most helpful for you,
Either adding music and sounds,
Or manipulating the image or the words.
Choose the technique that you felt most comfortable with that allowed you to stand back and see this challenging thought as nothing more than a thought,
No more capable of controlling you than any other thought you have,
Such as a memory of what you had for breakfast today,
Or the last conversation you had.
Use your chosen technique every time this thought pops up for you.
Notice how often it was distracting you from what you wanted to be doing,
And then diffuse from it.
Put it on a video screen and sit back in observation.
But right now,
Letting that thought go,
Bringing your awareness back to the sounds around you,
Opening your eyes,
And coming back into your world,
Mindful and present.
