An Exploration
It's best to make a specific time period for this exercise, and to try to pay attention to it as much as possible in that time. Fortunately, you will still be able to accomplish other tasks at the same time.
For example, you could do it for a large chunk of time, an hour or two, or you could do it for 15 to 30 minutes every day for a week. Ideally you would do it when you are alone, and not at work – for example, doing chores at home, driving and exercising are all good times. If you’re not alone very often, you can try doing it around others. If you're able to do it easily, keep increasing the daily amount of time until it's a bit of a stretch but not overwhelming.
A place where many people go adrift with this exercise, is in not picking a start and end time, and sticking with that. I see that as a very important part of the exercise, because most of the value comes from doing it even when it's uncomfortable or boring or difficult. Pick a small enough time chunk that it's not too daunting--even 15 minutes a day is good.
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Start by noticing your body and what it’s doing and touching. You could pick one part of your body – your hands, your feet, or another body part. For example, you could notice that your hands are chopping carrots, or making tea; or you could notice the feeling of your feet on the floor.
During the time period you’ve selected, each time you notice that you are not in touch with your body any more and you are thinking -- which might occur constantly! -- you would:
***Drop the thinking as soon as you notice it -- go back to your body, noticing your body, e.g. what your hands are touching, your bottom on the chair, your feet on the floor, to bring you back into the present
Some thoughts are easy to drop (“I wonder where she bought that sweater?”). Others are more sticky and filled with energy (“why did he say that to me?” “how will I handle that situation?”). If it's difficult to just drop the thinking and come back to your body, or if the same topic keeps returning, do this further exploration:
***See if you can notice what emotion or discomfort keeps you from dropping the thoughts easily. Ask yourself if you are willing to feel that (e.g. Am I willing to feel...uncertain, angry, anxious, left out, insulted, hurt, grief, sad, hopeful, useless, stupid, groundless, longing, bored, annoyed). If you are, just be with that energy or feeling in your body and drop the thinking again.
If the feeling seems so overwhelming that you’re not willing to be with the raw energy of the fear or longing or whatever emotion it is, you can just acknowledge that: “I’m not willing to be with the fear” and go back to thinking.
If you can’t locate the feeling behind the thoughts after a few seconds, don’t worry; don’t strain after it; you can check again the next time to see if a feeling is clear.
Check freshly each time. Often the same situation brings up several different feelings that we are not aware of.
During the time you're doing this exercise, you will be dropping most of your thoughts that you notice, and even some of your talking if you aren’t alone, since most of THAT is also "story line". Some of the time you will be encountering some feelings you're not thrilled about, that are hard to feel.
What people usually end up noticing 'first-hand' from doing this exercise is: Most of our thinking is an attempt to avoid feeling uncomfortable feelings, so we layer thoughts and analysis over top to distract ourselves from the feelings. Once we accept the feelings into our bodies, the thinking around that issue often subsides or at least lessens.
I find if I do this exercise for a long time, or frequently, it can be overwhelming. It usually uncovers feelings I wasn't aware of, sometimes at a rate that is hard to absorb. It also moves me much more fully into the present, but I find I need to be gentle about how much I time I spend doing it.
To look at it metaphorically, perhaps even a bit whimsically, it almost seems like our thoughts are a kind of “parental” caretaker for us. They interpret events, reassure us and protect us, create an understandable world, and provide a buffer from the raw energy of the world. To have a period of time without that protection can leave us feeling bereft, naked, vulnerable, exposed, and very raw.
