Leaves on a Stream

Our brains give us so many thoughts all day and we have the tendency to see our thoughts as absolute truths, which can lead to a lot of distress, e.g. when our thoughts don’t align with our values or we have big thoughts about some catastrophic future event. In Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), we would call this fusing with our thoughts, meaning that we are not able to see them as just what they are - thoughts. ACT has plenty of techniques to assist in defusing from your thoughts.

One that you can practice is a meditation called “Leaves on a Stream.” In this meditation you imagine your thoughts as leaves on a stream and practice watching them flow by, instead of disecting each of them. Some of these might be really interesting and you may imagine the leaf caught in a whirlpool, but if you are able to notice them sticking, you can watch as they continue on down the river.

The Eating Recovery Center has a YouTube video illustrating this mediation, to guide you through - click here. It is 6.5 minutes.

As always, take what is helpful and leave the rest. I hope you have the week you need.