Sometimes when we try to relax, our thoughts are all over the place, keeping us busy and tense and even creating negative feelings. We can use imagery and mindfulness to calm our mind and slow the racing thoughts. This combined exercise is specifically aimed to support relaxation before going to sleep. If you want to use it during daytime, you might want to adapt it a little.
There are stars shining onto a beach, sparkling in the shallow water. The white sand is reflecting the silver light of the moon overhead. And through this scene there is a horse racing at high speed. Like your mind, it is strong and fierce, going in one direction. Let your mind ride the horse as it gallops across the beach, mane flying in the wind. See if you can make it run even faster, as fast as it can go. There is sand flying in all directions, as the hooves drum onto the ground.
Now you can slow the horse a little bit, not too much. Let it run in a light gallop, along the rim of the ocean… And after a few breaths you can slow it down a little more, into a smart trot… Take your time to go to an easy trot……. and stay with your horse as it enters a slow trot. At the far end of the beach you can see a lighthouse. And your horse slows down to brisk walking, hardly disturbing the sand anymore. It enters a slow walk and as you get closer and closer to the lighthouse it slows down more and more, until it finally comes to a halt right next to the tall tower.
At the very top of the lighthouse there is a huge spotlight that is taking its time to turn around and around, from shining behind you, toward the inland… to the beach at the far side… out into the ocean in front of you… and down the beach from where you have come. You can take your attention and your hearing and follow the spotlight on its way around you, listening into each direction. Listen to the noises that surround you… the loud ones, the little background noises… as you let your attention move in a circle around you like the spotlight… hearing the sounds from far away and from near you… steadily moving around in a circle… listening to the sudden noises and the steady ones… noticing what it is you are hearing and moving on with the circle…
And after a while you might notice the steady sound of the waves, rushing in to cover the sand… and withdrawing back into the ocean. And you can align your breath to the rhythm of the waves, letting the air flow in….. and out…. with the sound of the sea, steadily coming and going… you can feel the air fill your lungs, breathing deep into the belly, and flow out again… paying attention only to the movement of your breath… coming in and flowing out…
And if there are stray thoughts that enter your mind while you focus on your breathing, you can look at them from a distance, like they are up there in the night sky above you. They move through your head like shooting stars and you can follow them with your inner eyes, notice that they are there, and let them go. There at the beach you can hear the waves and breathe deeply and observe the dark sky and occasional thoughts like stars passing by…. Until your eyes get heavy and you can let yourself drift into peaceful sleep.
I find it easier to do my mindfulness when it is connected to imagery I enjoy. This is a chained exercise, which means that it is made of several aspects of mindfulness that are linked together. You could do each one as a stand alone exercise to interrupt an unhelpful line of thought and slow down your mind. We struggle with a short attention span and it helps us to switch exercises to stay focussed. If you have DID you will get the best results if you practice mindfulness together, syncing up by paying attention to your shared senses.
More about letting go of thoughts
The distant observer and
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