Ideas for practicing Wise Mind

 

Marsha Linehan advises practicing Wise Mind skills when you DON'T need them as it is easier that way. She states that this skill requires A LOT of practice, so when you practice it in easier situations, you will be able to have this skill when you really need it. 

Wise Mind skills can be a meditation exercise and the one that I use is imagining I am at my grandparent's former lake place on Mille Lacs. I picture the day as being sunny, the wind blowing softly, hearing the birds and the waves coming into shore. I am standing by the dock area and I am barefoot. I can feel the concrete slab under my feet that leads to the dock, and I am watching the lake. I go on the dock and feel the warm wood under my feet, also the wind softly blowing in my hair and on my face. I slowly slide into the lake from the end of the dock, and the water is cold. It is cold enough that it takes my breath away. Eventually, I get used to it, and then I plunk myself fully into the water. Again, it is a shock as my whole body is immersed.  I can feel the cool sand under my feet and can see that the water has a green hue to it. I see plants waving in the lake, and fish swimming by, and it is silent under the water.  I come up for air after a while and coming up, I feel the air and it is cold. I am used to the temperature of the lake and I want to stay in it, so I lay back and just float, letting the waves carry me. 

This is my own meditation and you can come up with one of your own. Do this once with your eyes closed, and again, when they are open.  

There are other suggestions that Linehan gives for practicing Wise Mind, like going down a staircase you can picture in your mind, breathing in "Wise" and out "Mind" or any other thing you want to do, such as your favorite quote, or for example, breath in "Earth, Air" and breathe out "Fire, Water." 

She suggests even dropping into pauses between inhaling and exhaling or counting to 5 on an inhale and counting to 5 on an exhale.  When you feel upset, count down 5...4...3...2...1, and breathe slowly and deeply while doing so. Or start at 10 or any number it takes for you to just cool down and relax.

These are only a few things to practice Wise Mind and there are many more. Do the skills that work best for you, to get out of your Reasonable Mind or Emotion Mind, to center yourself.