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Trigger Tamer Toolkit - Mindfulness 03 - Acceptance for chaotic times

May 14, 2024 • Andy Fermo • Season 5

Trigger Tamer Toolkit - Mindfulness 03
Strength & Anxiety - Acceptance for chaotic times

"Acceptance for chaotic times" focuses on developing awareness by noticing and naming thoughts, emotions, and sensations, treating them as transient experiences rather than defining oneself by them.

It emphasises creating a space between experiences and the self, recognizing all thoughts and emotions as transient, and ultimately connecting with a calm, witnessing awareness within oneself.

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Andy Fermo: 0:00

For chaotic times. The purpose of this meditation is to make your usual unconscious stream of thoughts, emotions and sensations conscious. The way that we feel and act is often hijacked by thoughts and feelings that happen so quickly we're not even aware of them. All of a sudden, we're upset. or anxious or angry in a situation that needs our attention and care. First step, noticing and naming. Make yourself comfortable either sitting or lying down and close your eyes or take a soft gaze. Let your attention gently scan the body for physical sensations like cold or heat or tightness or relaxation. Then, Start to notice any thoughts or emotions that might be passing through. Whenever you notice a thought or an emotion, you've already started the practice. You noticed. And once you notice, name what you noticed with one word. Thinking, or feeling, or sensations. It's really important to notice any judgement or criticism of your efforts. Just add one of the labels. Congratulate yourself for noticing, and then watch for whatever comes next. This seemingly simple step of naming and noticing creates just a bit of space between you and your experiences. You notice that thoughts and emotions begin, and, if you let them be, they end. And then you create a place where you can choose to follow them or not. I am breathing in. I am breathing out. Second step. All thoughts are just thoughts. The next part step is to do your best to notice and name all thoughts as just thoughts. And all emotions as just emotions. A thought about forgetting to pick up dinner on the way home and a thought about your loss of income during the pandemic are just noticed and named. They're both just thoughts that come from somewhere and then disappear again. Or if you remember the irritation at your partner not letting you know they'd be home late is treated just the same as feeling lonely because you just can't see your family. They're both just emotions that come from somewhere and then disappear again. So, what good does this practice do? It'll help you notice the acts of thinking and feeling themselves, instead of the content of individual thoughts or feelings. Thoughts and feelings, of all shapes and sizes, from mild to overwhelming, come and go. Try it. You might find it a relief to see that hundreds of thoughts that you have each day are just one thing. Thinking. And your thinking isn't you. I am breathing in. I am breathing out. Last step. Noticing the one who notices. This step is hidden in the first two. When you notice a name. And do your best to treat all your thoughts and emotions the same. You begin to sense a part of you that is not in the thought. It is aware of your experiences, able to witness them, but not caught up in them. There is a place of clear, compassionate witnessing of everything that's happening. If you're someone who is sometimes overcome by troubling thoughts and emotions, this is really a relief. With a bit of practice, this witnessing of awareness becomes more familiar and has a kind of draw to it. There's a calm and peace to this place that is aware of your thoughts and feelings, but isn't part of them. I am breathing in. I am breathing out. Conclusion So the two wings of this practice can help you in challenging times. The first wing is the um, uh, Um, Uh, will show you how to have a lighter touch on your thoughts and feelings, to let them move rather than holding on too tight. And the second wing brings you into connection with a quiet, always present space of calm inside you that can be your oasis in hard times. And the more you practice, the more accessible that space will become. I am breathing in. I am breathing out. Ah. Did you notice a particular thoughtOr feeling that was hard to label and move from? Am breathing in. I am breathing out. This completes the session.

6:30

I am breathing in.