Do It for Yourself Now! - Tips on Self Help

Written by Ilan Shalif, Ph.D.

After doing the task once, it is recommended that you do it from time to time, while you read the following paragraphs. There are many difficulties you may encounter in this step - which seems so innocent at first - hopefully not all of them on the first day of focusing. Following are the most prominent ones and their remedies:

It is hard for anyone who is not skilled and experienced, to continue concentrating on a point of the body without drifting into some other physical or mental activity. Sometimes, the focusing itself arouses a chain of associations or other cognitive processes. This might interfere with the ongoing focusing or even prevent its continuance.

Following are three options one can implement when this happens:

1. Give in and change what you do for awhile.
2. Intensify the efforts of focusing to overcome the distractions.
3. Choose any simple word or a syllable that first comes to your mind and repeat it silently many times. This repetition paralyzes the distracting thoughts and enables you to continue focusing during the recitation*.

* In their verbal games, children find that the fast repetition of a word obliterates its meaning and stops all other thoughts. Scientists have found the same effect in their laboratories, during cognitive studies and call it semantic satiation. The Mantra of the Yogi has the same use in the various Eastern meditations. This tactic is also recommended to stop unpleasant or disturbing thoughts occurring in other circumstances.

Sometimes, because of the expedition of the processes of the natural biofeedback, the effort to perform the first step may cause the unpleasant sensation to migrate. In that case, one can join the migrating sensation and "escort" it along its course. In such a case, you can substitute the task of demarcating a course for that of locating a point.

The general tour of the body itself, and especially the effort to locate the precise address of a sensation, may cause a swift and uncontrolled process of natural biofeedback. In this case, trying to implement the second step may cause a weakening, flickering, or even disappearance of the sensation, before completing the mission of finding the exact address.

This can happen due to the regular ("spontaneous") work of the relevant activation processes and programs - as in normal daily life. It can also be the result of the intensification of natural biofeedback resulting from your unintentionally "meddling with the natural flow of the emotional stream". This is the usual outcome - whenever one increases that part of the resources of the brain and mind which one dedicates to any sensation of the body (through intentionally or unintentionally paying it more attention than before).

Though this lengthens the time needed for the location of the address, it is not recommended to rely on memory while trying to locate the address of an evasive sensation.

When meeting an unstable sensation, do not panic into hasty activity, as it is not the last time you will "hear" from it. You are bound to meet with this unpleasant sensation again and again during the following weeks. Only numerous repetitions of the drill can cause a common unpleasant feeling or sensation to change into an infrequent visitor.

As mentioned above, it is sometimes hard to find a sensation to focus on. Usually it is the work of the cover-programs and only very seldom the result of other mechanisms. Both of them restrict the ability of emotional processes to breakthrough to the conscious without "a proper invitation", as if they "know better" what is good for us.

Sometimes however, the opposite is true: the failure of the cover-programs to regulate the entrance of the felt sense to the awareness results in the intensification of the unpleasant feeling to an almost unbearable level. Following are a few corrective measures.

If a sensation becomes too strong, beginners are advised to refrain from being "heroes" and do one of the following instead:

1. Focus for a while on another feeling or sensation.
2. Do something else for awhile.
3. Do something to curb them. For instance:

   a) Rub the palms of the hands intensively against each other in order to "trim" the inflated unpleasant sensation to a bearable level. The quick palm rubbing floods the brain centers, which create the too intense sensation, with sensory input. As a result, their ability concurrently to create the unpleasant sensation is weakened. The same palms when held together as if in prayer - help to regain concentration when focusing is disturbed.

   b) Constrict the muscles of the mouth and press the lips against each other. The mouth - which is activated by many supra-programs, is the most useful eraser for emotions and other felt sensations. The pressure of the two lips one against the other activates the restraining and inhibiting functions of the mouth on the creation of the felt sensations. It serves the conscious when applied intentionally, and the unconscious - when done spontaneously.

   Certain patterns in which the muscles tense the mouth, inhibit specific feelings and sensations. The introduction of a gap of only a millimeters between the lips - with or without the added intrusion of the tongue between the frontal teeth - will cause a progressive relaxation of the mouth muscles. This causes a decrease in the ability of the lips, as well as that of the other muscles of the mouth, to erase or inhibit emotions and their felt sensations.

   c) The other important "eraser of emotions" and felt sensations is the "nape of the neck" and its muscles. The Biblical nickname "stiff neck" for stubborn people is an example of popular knowledge. Hardening the muscles of the nape of the neck blots out the current emotions and feelings.

   The voluntary hardening of these muscles - just before, or in the early stage of the development of bad feelings - helps us to repel the induction of unpleasant feelings. We usually do it without being fully aware of the fact.

   Mainly we do it before a painful medical treatment or when unpleasant feelings are imposed on us by those wishing to intimidate us. The conscious hardening and relaxing of those muscles, will enable you to regulate your sensations without too much effort.

   Prolonged focusing can be perplexing because of its peculiarity - even after being experienced many times - especially for those who are not used to paying attention to mild and weak sensations of their body. A few trials will be necessary before you get used to it and even love it.