Written by: Natalia Jansen, Executive Contributor
Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise.
One of the most extraordinary things about human beings is metacognition. We are the only species that can be self-aware. To notice our thoughts and recognize that we are not our thoughts, we simply have thoughts. Yet, most humans are not taking advantage of this extraordinary ability and thus live in a perpetual cycle of mindlessly and unconsciously reacting to outside conditions and stimuli. A person, who spends no or too little time figuring out how their mind works, is subject to a constant barrage of perpetually changing conditions, situations, and circumstances outside of their control. As a result, they experience more stress, and struggle, and are perpetually tossed around on the emotional roller-coaster feeling victimized and out of control.
Just a few minutes a day of becoming familiar with our thoughts and creating a little bit of space between the thought and response gives us a much-needed sense of empowerment and control over our behavior. A slight deviation in a trajectory would land the arrow far off target, so can implementing one small mindfulness habit change the trajectory of the course of one’s life over time. There are many ways to begin your self-discovery journey and the path is unique and custom tailored to each individual. I offer one such path for people who are creatively inclined and are open to embracing fun, imagination, and acting games as tools for personal evolution and transformation.
Whether you realize this or not, your life is a story and you mostly improvise your way through it picking up information, messages, and habits as you grow. We each start as a blank page, and as we experience the world observing our parents, learning from our teachers, interacting with friends, and millions of other stimuli that we are bombarded with daily in our modern-day tech world, we form patterns and habits accompanied by thoughts, emotions and ensuing reactions. Each new experience is a brainstorming session in which various drafts of the script are explored and as you move towards a satisfying solution the final draft is adopted. Once the script is in place, we play that scene out automatically without thinking next time a similar situation shows up. In order to rewrite the old script, we have to master the ability to become present and notice our thoughts, feelings, and actions in the moment, and pause long enough to examine them to choose a different response.
To help my clients begging the process of self-examination in order to discover their thinking patterns and better understand how their unique mind works, I like to begin by drawing their attention to their body through an activity called character walk. Many adults are wholly disconnected from their body awareness throughout their busy day, so this exercise can be a powerful nudge out of their comfort zone. It’s an exploration activity that’s designed to help a person be present in the moment and notice things. In some ways, it’s similar to a walking meditation, with added elements of fun.
At first, I have my clients simply walk casually across the room in any direction. Then I ask them to explore walking with their heads up as if they were proud and confident, then I ask them to lead with their forehead, then leading with one shoulder, or lifting their knees really high, etc. There are endless possibilities to explore. The goal is to be aware of open spaces and other people in the room as well as their bodies and feelings when they move across the space in different ways. If someone seems to be getting too close, they simply change direction. Many people feel awkward at first and tend to follow the crowd and begin walking in the same direction. That’s where I as a facilitator guide them with suggestions like find your own path, be a leader, and look for open spaces. After each different walk, we pause and explore what they observed and how they felt.
This noticing and paying attention is a fun way to begin developing the inner noticer, the ability to exercise mindfulness, and body awareness. Speaking and naming the feelings and impressions helps create a sense of control and separates the emotion from the reaction. It creates space for examination and rational thought.
Another great exercise in building one’s awareness and focus on the present moment is an exercise called a mirror. It’s a partner activity where two people face one another, looking each other directly in the eyes. One person begins to move their hands, arms, head, body or feet in a super slow motion and their partner using peripheral vision and focused concentration imitates the movement like a reflection in the mirror does. The goal is to move so in sync that the observers can’t tell who is the leader and who is mirroring the motion. The way to succeed in this exercise is total focus on what is happening right now in front of you. If you let your mind wonder with random thoughts or judgments, you lose synchronicity. It’s about feeling the energy of your partner and going with the flow.
There are numerous fun theatre games that I like to use to help my clients build self-awareness, master their concentration, and develop their imagination. Each game helps them discover more about who they are as human beings and what they are capable of. They learn from other people’s shares and discoveries as well, which enhances the experience exponentially. Once they begin to see the possibilities in this safe and supportive space that I hold for each and every one of my clients, they can easily transfer and apply these skills to their daily life.
Natalia Jansen, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine
Natalia combines her rigorous certification training with Brave Thinking Institute by Mary Morrissey, her 20 years of experience as an educator and theatre artist with her passion for personal development and spiritual transformation to her mission to teach women ‒ especially single moms ‒ to embrace their spiritual nature, re-ignite their dreams, take charge of their life, and design the life they truly love living.
