Hi and welcome to today's visualization exercise.
I'm Denise and I'm going to be your gentle guide today.
Before we begin,
I would just like you to find a comfortable position.
You can choose to close your eyes or gently defocus your eyes on a spot near you.
Good.
Now,
Let's begin.
On your next breath,
I would like you to inhale gently through your nose,
Hold the breath just for a few moments,
And then gently exhale through your mouth.
The key here is to do it gently.
Good.
There's no right or wrong.
So,
Whenever you're ready,
Let's do it one more time.
In through the nose,
Gently hold for just a couple of seconds and gently release.
Good.
Now,
As you are there with your eyes open or closed,
I would just like you to take notice of your body.
Just notice how your body feels,
If there is any tension anywhere,
And just allow the body to become more comfortable.
Maybe you have to change the position a little bit,
And that's absolutely fine.
Good.
Now,
Just sit with your body.
Good.
Today,
We're going to do a visualization exercise.
So,
Let's begin by allowing yourself to imagine a beautiful autumn day.
The sun is shining,
The air is crisp.
Just imagine,
Just for a moment,
Maybe believe that it's autumn and the leaves are falling,
And you're just walking through a nice row of trees.
Imagine you're walking towards a gently flowing stream.
You can picture the stream if you would like.
It doesn't matter if there are a lot of trees around it,
If it just is the stream.
It doesn't really matter if you just make believe.
The point is to try.
Imagine you're sitting by the side of this gently flowing stream.
There's a bench,
Or you're sitting on the grass,
And there are leaves flowing past on the surface of this stream.
Imagine it however you would like.
It's your imagination.
Now,
For the next few moments,
Notice each of your thoughts as it pops into your head.
Then,
Place it onto a leaf,
And allow it to come and stay and go on its own good time.
Don't try to make it float away.
Just notice what it does.
It may float on by quickly,
Or it may go very slowly,
Or it may just decide to hang around.
Do this regardless of whether the thoughts are positive or negative,
Pleasurable or painful.
Even if they are the most wonderful thoughts,
Place them one by one onto a leaf,
And allow them to come and stay and go in their own good time.
They might flow quickly,
Or slowly,
Or they might hang around.
Simply notice what happens without trying to judge it,
Without trying to alter it,
Without trying to make it be any different than it is.
Now,
If your thoughts stop,
That's fine.
Just watch the stream.
Sooner or later,
Your thoughts will start up again.
And that's absolutely fine.
Allow the stream to flow at its own rate.
Don't speed it up.
You're not trying to wash the leaves away.
You're allowing them to come and go in their own good time.
If your mind says,
Oh,
This is stupid.
Oh,
I can't do it.
Place that thought,
Or those thoughts,
Onto a leaf.
If a leaf gets stuck,
Let it hang around.
Don't force it to float away.
If a difficult feeling arises,
Such as boredom or impatience,
Simply acknowledge it.
Say to yourself,
Ah,
Here's the feeling of boredom,
Or here's the feeling of impatience.
Then place those words onto a leaf.
If you'd like,
You can imagine these thoughts as being written directly onto the leaf.
Or maybe they're floating above a leaf.
However you're imagining,
You're doing it well.
From time to time,
Your thoughts will hook you and will pull you out of this exercise,
So you can lose track of what you're doing.
This is normal and natural,
And it will keep happening.
As soon as you realize it's happened,
Though,
Gently acknowledge it and then start the exercise again.
Return your attention back to the stream,
Back to the leaves,
Back to the thoughts that are now on top of the leaves,
And you watch them float.
Again and again,
Allow your thoughts to be put on a leaf,
One by one,
And allow them to float away quickly or slowly,
Or go in their own time.
Again and again,
Your thoughts will hook you.
This is normal.
As soon as you realize it,
Just bring your attention back to the stream and back to this exercise.
And now bring the exercise to an end.
Imagine the leaves are slowly starting to fade away.
The stream is fading away itself,
And the picture in your mind is getting hazier and hazier.
You're moving further and further afield from that stream,
From those trees,
From those leaves.
You're looking back on a job well done,
And you start to feel a little bit restless.
You might be sitting up in your chair.
You might get up from your lying position.
Whenever you're ready,
Gently open your eyes.
Start to look around the room and notice what you can hear,
What you can see,
And take a big stretch.
Wiggle your fingers,
Wiggle your toes.
Take another deep,
Big breath,
Just like you did to begin with,
And welcome back.
