Up: [[Body Awareness]] Related: [[Treasure Hunting with Sensations]] Created: 2025-02-14 Updated: 2025-12-30 This is my name for the following combination of skills described by Mary O’Malley in her book *The Gift of Our Compulsions*. #### Steps 1. Close your eyes. Take a few deep breaths to focus your mind. Add a short pause at the end of the in-breath and end of the out-breath. 2. Ask the question, *In this moment, what am I experiencing?* 3. Be curious about your physical sensations. Allow your attention to be like a flashlight searching your body. Check in with three main areas in [[Treasure Hunting with Sensations]]. Stay in each area for no more than a breath or two, noticing what is happening. 4. Go back to a place that feels most constricted and allow your attention to rest there for a bit. What you’re experiencing will become clearer. OR Alternative Step 3 You can focus on sound around you, play of shadow and light, colours and shapes, or taste of food. When attention drifts back to your head, say “thinking, thinking” and let the story go so you can bring your attention back to the present moment. You can squeeze your left hand if thoughts were of the past, right if of the future. #### Tips from Mary - Don’t rush. Allow the sensations to come to you. - Be patient. The tension is beginning to release through your attention. - It’s normal if a sensation feels like it’s getting stronger rather than letting go. It’s not that your attention has amplified it. It’s just that you’re more aware of what’s going on. - It’s also normal if you don’t feel a thing. Ask yourself, *What is asking to be seen?* Then let it go. It will work its magic. - A catchy phrase to remember — *If it’s unkind, it’s of the mind*. - When writing what you’re experiencing, don’t use generics like “I am hurting.” You’ll lose perspective. A better way is, “My body is”, “My emotions are” or “My mind is.”