This past week I led several meditations in my online yoga classes. Our last meditation focused on the phrase "And this too". I learned this phrase from Tara Brach one of my favorite meditation teachers. This simple phrase has been monumental in my work as a somatic psychotherapist. I often talk about "brackets" when working with clients. A bracket is a phrase which contains our thoughts; it helps us to let go of a thought we are attached to or stuck on. The brackets redirects our mind, it is a bit like a detour sign.
Because our thoughts contribute to fight or flight in the nervous system which manifests as anxiety, stress, obsessive thinking or depression, redirecting our mind becomes useful in managing the above mental and somatic states. This is an example of the tools based way I work. Brackets are a tool to get control over our thoughts and gain freedom in our lives- it does work!
The idea is that we decide a certain experience is the only experience we are having. For instance, I am sad. Being sad becomes the only experience I am having and will ever have. It feels like it will go on forever. It is overwhelming to think I will be sad forever, so I panic. But if, the moment I acknowledge I am sad, I also say "and this too" then being sad is just another transient experience. The bracket redirects my mind to letting go. We can string experiences together like this throughout our day. This allows us to step back from what we are feeling and not attach to it. These are the steps I like to take when I am having an experience that I am becoming entangled with in my mind:
1. Acknowledge it.
2. Say "and this too".
3. Remind myself that this too will pass or change.
4. Redirect to a different, positive experience or thought.
FUN FACT: Everything fluctuates. Because we are living beings, all things are constantly changing for us; cells are renewing every second. So nothing ever stays the same. New thoughts, feelings and experiences are on the horizon. Try applying the bracket "and this too" and see if it helps you avoid getting stuck in one thought or experience!