Mindfulness & Eco-Therapy: Observing The Waves
Imagine you are looking at the ocean and watching the waves rise and fall, rise and fall. You are on the shore and you can sense the sand underneath you. You are able to just watch the waves, observing and noticing how they shift and change. If we are on a beach, this may feel easier to do than when the waves are emotions, thoughts, and sensations in our own bodies and minds.
For many reasons, such as our histories, identities, experiences, or environments, our nervous systems become activated by our thoughts, emotions, sensations, and experiences. This can be a really great thing if we need to react to a threat or a stressor in the present moment. This can be a really difficult thing if our minds and bodies are reacting to past experiences or anticipated future experiences in the present moment. The practice of observing the waves is not a “solution” or a one size fits all equation due to the diversity of our needs and experiences as humans. My hope is that it could be a practice to try on and see if it allows you to get a little space from the rush of thoughts, emotions, and sensations that may not be serving you in the present moment.
Observing the Waves
This practice is helpful to try out in a moment that you are feeling more present or where you feel calm so that you have experience using it before you encounter a stressor.
Begin by seeing if you can observe your experience in this present moment. Observation is an objective, non-judgmental lens that allows you to practice viewing things without predetermined stories, beliefs, and ideas. For example, I could observe that a flower is yellow. I may like or dislike the flower or the hue of the flower and may have all kinds of opinions and judgments. That’s fine but that is not observing. In observation, you are trying to simply notice what is here without judging it or trying to problem solve or force it to change.
If you are applying observation to your current moment experience, you could notice your thoughts, your emotions, your sensations, what is happening around you, etc. For example, an observation could be, “I notice my thoughts are moving quickly, I have some tension in my chest”. It could be tempting to try to jump into understanding and problem-solving these points of awareness. See if you can just stay with the observation and name what you are noticing to yourself.
The practice of observation is usually a process and can take time to develop. See if you could let yourself have time to practice this skill.
As you are practicing the skill of observation, see if you can also consider what resources you have available to you when you are navigating the waves (your metaphorical surfboard or boat). These are sometimes considered coping skills and can also be forms of self-care, self-soothing, and practices that support you in feeling well in your daily life. Some examples could be having a warm cup of tea, going outdoors, snuggling with a pet, watching or listening to something you enjoy, smelling a pleasant scent, talking to someone close to you, playing a game, doing a puzzle, cooking a meal you like.
If/when observing is beginning to feel more accessible and you feel like you have some resources on board, the next step is bringing it with you when you are feeling an increase in emotion, thought, or sensation. When this happens, see if you can observe the thought, emotion, or sensation in the same way. For example, “My heart rate is increasing, my face is flushing, I notice tension in my shoulders, I notice my thoughts becoming quicker and the content becoming hyper-focused”.
As you are observing and naming your experience, see if you are able to get any space to witness what is happening before reacting.
Also, if the experience becomes too intense, see if you can try to come back to the external world around you, recognizing colors, shapes, the ground underneath you, your senses and observations, even practicing a breathing exercise.
If you are able to stay with the observation of the increased feeling, thought, or emotion, see if you can imagine this increase as a wave in the ocean, noticing that you are on the rise and the wave will eventually subside and fall. I have worked with clients who have shared that picturing themselves on a surfboard while riding the emotional wave can allow them to have some fun with it or to feel more empowered in the experience.
Once it falls, you have more capacity and flexibility to respond to the present moment around you in a way that usually can better align with your values, needs, and goals instead of the initial reaction that may come.
This practice is not intended to be a replacement or alternative to therapy and if you are someone who has a history of traumatic experiences and/or struggles with regulating emotions, sensations, or thoughts, consider leaning into this kind of practice with a licensed mental health professional so that you could have additonal support with the intensity of emotions, sensations, thoughts, and experiences that may arise.