Sometimes there’s so much chatter in your head you can’t seem to do anything to stop it. It will keep you awake at night, stop you from concentrating on the task in hand and prevent successful meditation. This is a simple visualisation you can use where you literally empty your head and enjoy being in the space you create. Even people who have difficulty with visualisations find this easy to do, and very effective. Why not give it a try next time your head is full of thoughts you just can’t turn off? This is a good exercise to do any time, and you may find it particularly helpful if you have trouble sleeping at night.
- Sit in a comfortable chair, or lie down if you prefer. Close your eyes and consciously relax your body.
- Visualise the inside of your head. It’s full of boxes. (for the purposes of this exercise, the brain has left the building!)
- Observe the boxes. How many are there? What shape are they? Are they large or small? It doesn’t matter – it’s your head and your boxes!
- Don’t open any of your boxes. Instead, see them move out of your head, one by one, and make a pile with them on the floor. The pile is out of your line of vision, perhaps behind your shoulder, but you know it’s there.
- When the last box has moved from your head, examine the empty space that’s left behind. Enjoy being there, in the peace and quiet where no thoughts intrude. Spend as long as you like just contemplating the space you created.
- When you feel ready, open your eyes and come back into the room. There’s no need to return the boxes to your head space. They represent temporary thoughts and impressions and they will fade away of their own accord.
