Hi,
Today I'm gonna lead you through a gentle mindfulness exercise where we will observe our thoughts,
We will see them for what they are,
Which is mere stories and when we do that,
When we create a distance between us and the stories that are played inside our heads then we have the space and the freedom to be fully engaged with the world.
We are not just victims or actors in the stories.
But if it's your first time here,
My name is Spiros from Coaching Under the Tree and I help people to overcome the frustration and anxiety of day to day life,
Of their daily routine and I do it through a blend of coaching and meditation.
So if you are ready,
I would like you to find a comfortable position,
You can sit down on the floor,
On a chair or you can even lie down on the floor.
I would suggest you to close your eyes so you don't have any visual distractions and to begin with I would like you to take a few deep breaths as a way of settling down your mind.
Inhale deeply and exhale.
Inhale deeply again and exhale.
One more deep breath,
Inhale and exhale.
And then let the breath move on,
On its own accord.
You don't have to control it.
Just let your body breathe.
And I would like you to imagine that you are sitting by the side of a small river,
A gentle stream and from where you sit you can see leaves flowing on the surface and moving with the stream.
I will leave you a moment to picture this and do it however you like,
It's your imagination.
And now I would like you to take every thought that pops into your head and place it on a leaf and let it move with the stream.
And I want you to do this regardless if the thought is negative or positive.
Even if it's the best thought that you ever had,
The most wonderful thought,
I want you to gently place it on a leaf and let it go.
Let the leaf,
With the thought,
Move with the stream.
And allow the stream to float on its own rate.
You don't have to speed it up.
You are not trying to wash the leaves away.
If your thoughts stop,
Just watch the stream going.
Just watch the leaves passing by.
Sooner or later a thought will pop up.
That's the nature of our mind.
Even if your mind goes,
This is stupid or I cannot do it,
Just place that thought on a leaf and let it float away with the stream.
If a leaf gets stuck,
Let it hang around.
You don't have to force it.
When it's time for it to go,
It will go.
When we calm down our minds,
A lot of time difficult emotions arise,
Like boredom,
Impatience.
When you notice that,
Acknowledge them and say to yourself,
Here is a feeling of impatience and place that on a leaf.
If your mind is distracted and you lost track of the exercise,
Just acknowledge it and return back to the exercise.
Remember that you are sitting in front of a small river and as leaves flowing on the surface and moving along with the stream,
Just place your thoughts on the leaves and watch them pass by.
You can do that regardless if the thought is negative or positive.
Slowly,
I would like you to take a few deep breaths.
Deep and long breaths.
Start moving your fingers and your toes and when you feel ready,
You can open your eyes.
I really love this mindfulness exercise.
I found this exercise in a book about acceptance commitment therapy.
There are many ways to do something similar.
You can place your thoughts on the clouds as you watch them coming and going.
I would really like to hear your thoughts about this exercise.
Were there any thoughts that really hooked you?
Were you able to let go of the thoughts,
Especially the positive ones?
And were there any thoughts that you really wanted to get rid of them?
Please let me know about your experience in the comments.
Thank you for being here and take care.
