Is That True?

About 14 years ago, a close friend told me of a “letting go” technique called the Sedona method…it was a tool that was used to help people resolve and break up negative thinking patterns and emotional triggering.

In the Sedona method, the process involves the following:
 
1. Naming the issue and the emotions that you experience around it. In practice, some people are challenged by naming emotions, so just naming discomfort is enough. 

2. Ask yourself these questions: Can I allow for this feeling? Can I welcome this feeling? Am I willing to let this go? If the answer is no, or you are not sure, ask “would I rather have this feeling or be free?” This one is a harder one for me, I reframe it by asking myself if I am willing to relax and let go of the situation even for a moment. If the answer is yes, I move on to the next.

3. When?
No time like the present, right? Perhaps. I am not saying this would work for everyone. But it does bring to mind the validity of our thought forms around an issue. In Eastern traditions there is an emphasis on paying attention to one’s thought forms and perceptions, as they are a product of what we manufacture rather than what is true.
Thich Naht Hanh, Jonathan Foust (jonathanfoust.com), and other Buddhist teachers suggest that when we start to label ourselves or a situation ask, “Is that true?”. Very often we label a situation and act according to the story we generate around a situation. We say “I am sad” when in fact we are not “sad”, sad may be how we feel at the moment…I have sadness is more of an accurate descriptor. This of course is also a nuance, but it is an important distinction for those who tend to be more emotionally oriented.

As a movement based or kinesthetic person, the best way for me to challenge my thought forms and perceptions is by using tactile (touch) and movement. To gain insight on a thought form and perception, I elaborate the Sedona method/Buddhist approach by taking it one step further and adding in a tennis ball or something I can squeeze, label the ball, drop it, and walk away. For me that works.

For you, I hope that as we continue on this practice you can recognize your thought forms for what they are…not you…but only a descriptor of a moment…infinitely changing and moving, just as the sun and moon rises daily in the sky.

May we all be well and happy.