Some snippets from Get Out of Your Mind

[Guest guest]

I may have mentioned that my first few times reading through " Get

Out of Your Mind, " I didn't seem to see all the words on every page.

There were quite a few passages I somehow " missed. " Only after I had

done a lot of work and gone back for a refresher did the words in

these passages suddenly become visible.

Maybe it's just me who's had this experience, but I thought I would

share some of these " revealed " passages. The headings I've added in

ALL CAPS are to remind me of what each seems to be focusing on.

No doubt there are countless passages in the book that speak to

people ... these are just a few that particularly speak to me.

THE POSSIBILITY OF TRANSFORMATION RIGHT NOW (p. 7)

When we are caught in a struggle with psychological problems we

often put life on hold, believing that our pain needs to lessen

before we can really begin to live again. But what if you could have

your life be about what you want it to be about right now, starting

this moment?

We don't ask you to believe that this is so, but merely to be open

to the possibility it is so, open enough that you are willing to

work with this book.

THOUGHTS ABOUT EXERCISES ARE ALSO THOUGHTS (p. 77)

Many times we become fused to a thought without even being aware of

it. Thoughts about this exercise can be especially " sticky. " If you

thought " I'm not doing this right " or " this exercise doesn't work

for me, " these too are thoughts that you may become fused to quite

easily. In many cases, you may not even notice them as thoughts.

WHO YOUR MIND SAYS YOU ARE IS NOT WHO YOU

EXPERIENCE YOURSELF TO BE (p. 97)

The next exercise will help you to momentarily contact your

observing self. We say " momentarily " because the observing self

cannot be looked at, by definition. For one thing, it is not

experienced as a thing. For another, if you could look at it, who

would be looking? You can only catch glimpses, like an afterglow ...

The battle finally will recede as you settle in to the vitality that

comes from being who you experience yourself to be (the observing

self) without demanding evidence from your mind that would consist

of seeing your observing self.

NO " RIGHT " WAY (p. 119)

There is no " right " way to be all of the time. Pretending that is

true will simply lead you back into the traps that your verbal

repertoire generates so well. Mindfulness is not the " right " way to

live any more than anything else is.

The practice is built to help you increase your psychological

flexibility; to allow you to broaden the repertoire of responses

that you can make to any given situation.

EMOTIONS ARE LIKE A RAINBOW (pp. 129-130)

One ACT client who had struggled for years with panic disorder and

who had transformed his life as a result of therapy put it this way:

" ... It's like I've been given color. I was seeing black and white

my whole life, and it's like I see rainbows now and stuff. A lot of

the emotions I thought I couldn't have and wasn't willing to have …

I can get as much enjoyment out of those now as anything else. "

DO IT AGAIN, JACK (pp. 151-152)

You can continue to repeat your exposure to scenario number one

until you feel able to open yourself to the experience and accept

what is given to you. This doesn't mean do it until your pain goes

away. This isn't about that. Do it until you can make more room for

all the thoughts, feelings, urges, bodily sensations, and memories

you have . . .

When you have accomplished that (it can take multiple exposures),

move on to scenario number two and do the same thing. If you hit a

level that seems beyond you, put the list aside and come back to it

after you've done more work in the final chapters of this book.

You can continue working with this process indefinitely, using this

list and many others. At some point, it may no longer be necessary

to list scenarios and then pursue them in this manner. Once you've

had some practice with your acceptance skills, you'll be able to

integrate them into your daily life, and life itself will give you

many chances to jump.

VALUES ARE NOT TO BEAT OURSELVES UP WITH (p. 162)

No one always lives according to his or her values. But that is

different than being a failure. If we use our values to beat

ourselves up, we are buying into the thought that we can't be about

the values we actually have, merely because sometimes we wander. Ask

yourself this question when you think you've failed: What is buying

that thought in the service of? What value does it comport with?

Being right? Never failing? Never being vulnerable? Is that what you

want your life to be about? If not, take responsibility even for

your mind chattering on about what a failure you are. Feel the pain.

Learn from it. Then move on.

When you feel guilt or shame at your limitations, it is time to use

your defusion and mindfulness skills to acknowledge the chatter that

comes in at those moments. It is time to use your acceptance skills

to acknowledge the pain that comes in at those moments. And it is

time to use your capacity for choice to reconnect with your chosen

direction so that you can once again begin moving in the direction

you choose to move, as the situation allows.

[Guest guest]

Thanks for the interesting and useful post!