{\rtf1\fbidis\ansi\ansicpg1252\deff0\deflang1033{\fonttbl{\f0\fswiss\fprq2\fcharset0 Arial;}} {\colortbl ;\red0\green0\blue0;} \viewkind4\uc1\pard\ltrpar\qc\cf1\b\f0\fs44 Self-introspection Skills\b0\fs28\par \pard\ltrpar\par \fs32\tab\b GETTING IN TOUCH WITH FEELINGS \b0\par \tab When you feel a feeling, ask yourself where in your body that feeling is centered. For example, recently I felt anxious, and it was centered in my chest. Then, there are four main ways to process and clarify that feeling. One is continuous breath. \par \tab Two is VISUAL: Create a fantasy. For example, I fantasize that I'm sitting in the control room in my head. It's a round white room with a panel and chair like a space ship. I get up and walk down a spiral staircase into my chest. My chest is a greenhouse full of plants, lush and green. But a wind sweeps through the bushes and flowers. They tremble with fear and cold. Ah, I see, I'm afraid my girlfriend is leaving me.\par \tab Three is AUDITORY: Give the feeling a voice and listen to what it has to say. For example: "I'm feeling scared. I'm feeling weak and sad, because things don't feel right with my boyfriend. Ah, I see, he's been acting distant lately and I'm afraid I'm being abandoned."\par \tab Four is KINESTHETIC: Feel into the feeling. Immerse yourself in it like sliding into pool of water. Let it soak through you, and soak in it. Let it expand and enlarge until, ah, I feel what it is....\par \par \tab\b GETTING IN TOUCH WITH THOUGHTS\b0\par \tab Watch your thoughts. Explore your thoughts. Ask yourself what you think about various things. Use continuous breath to clarify your thoughts.\par \par \tab\b GETTING IN TOUCH WITH UNCONSCIOUS MOTIVATIONS\b0\par \tab When you want to find out why you do something, hold yourself back from doing it a bit, and see what happens. Your motivations for doing that will come clamoring to the fore. You'll notice them as feelings, images and thoughts.\par \par \tab\b GETTING IN TOUCH WITH DREAMS\b0\par \tab Train yourself to pause a moment when you first wake up and see if you can remember any dreams, rather than leap into your day. If you can remember any dreams, write them down. Keep a dream journal.\par \tab There's a gestalt trick that's used to translate dreams into waking language. In fantasy, be each thing in the dream, and describe yourself. "I am a school in the forest for teenagers. They come to me and learn and live here." As you do, you'll see what the image means to you. "Oh, I see. I see life as a school, and we're all immature and learning."\par \tab Perhaps you have lucid dreams, where you "wake up" in the dream, where you realize it's a dream and can take control in some ways and to some degree. Lucky you.\fs28\par \tab\par }