Welcome,
My name is Melanie and I'm a professional certified NLP coach.
And today I wanted to have a conversation with you about what to do to stop rumination.
The act of ruminating is a powerful form of diluted thinking.
You think about the past obsessively,
Despite the fact that you could not change what happened.
You stew in your resentments,
Replay conversations,
Beat yourself up and relive an event over and over.
It happens to all of us,
However it can be quite painful at times.
Mindfulness practice helps to see those patterns clearly and respond to them with patience,
Understanding and to begin to detach yourself from their power.
Ruminating often shows up as background noise,
A constant stream of obsessive negativity shadowing you throughout the day or even keeping you up at night.
This practice will help you bring that inner voice into the light and unravel it and hopefully diffuse a little of its power over you.
And so I invite you to write down if you wish the phrases that I will repeat shortly to be your guide in stopping rumination.
Or if you wish,
You could close your eyes and allow your body to relax.
I also wrote out the phrases in the description if you wish to simply listen and live out the present moment.
As I continue in this talk,
I would encourage ease in the body by using the breath.
And as you focus on the breath,
You are stopping obsessive thoughts about the past.
With each exhale,
Soften the muscles of the body a bit more.
May bring special attention to the abdomen,
Shoulders,
Face and jaw.
Look at the thoughts going through your mind.
If you have been ruminating about something specific,
Acknowledge the event or situation about which you are thinking.
Turn this over to the mind,
Examining it from a place of curiosity and interest.
In the midst of charged emotions,
Cultivate equanimity,
State of balance and non-attachment.
Ask yourself if you were able to change your emotions from the past experience.
Your own personal emotions and actions.
And offer some phrases of calm and compassion.
I cannot change the past.
I would like to be at ease with my mind.
In what manner may I care about this issue?
And if this issue is important to me.
After a few minutes of this,
Turn your attention towards the present.
Always focusing on your breath and if need be,
Do another body scan to relax the body and be at ease.
If it needs to be repeated,
That's just fine.
Although you cannot control the past,
You have the power over your actions right now.
Replace the rumination with the recognition that you can choose to act in ways that encourage happiness.
And so I offer you these phrases silently to be repeated in your head.
May I act with wisdom?
May I respond with compassion and kindness?
May I move forward?
And continue the phrases for five minutes or so.
Repeating them at your own pace.
And if your thoughts wander,
Come back to the breath and come back to these phrases silently.
May I act with wisdom?
May I respond with compassion and kindness?
May I move forward?
When the rumination recurs,
Maybe from another event and another time,
These phrases could be done silently wherever you are.
It could be maybe in your office,
Maybe at home,
Maybe during your travels,
Maybe happening shortly after the event.
Take a step,
Take a breath,
Encourage ease into your body and return to the phrases and your intention to move forward.
And after finishing your period of practice,
Carry these phrases with you.
Whenever the mind falls into the patterns of thinking about the past,
Offer a phrase of calm or wise action.
Thank you for your presence in today's conversation.
May you bring light and love to your day.
