Try this: Remove the lid of a Mason jar. Turn the lid upside down and fill it with ice. Pour about 1 inch of hot water in the Mason jar and place the lid with ice in it (upside down) on top of the jar. Observe (nothing will happen). Remove the lid and spray a squirt of aerosol (aerosol hair spray works well) into the jar then quickly replace the lid. Observe. A cloud will form and begin to thicken. After the cloud has thickened, remove the lid to release the cloud. You can blow into the jar to release it more quickly.
Why wouldn’t the cloud form before the spritz of aerosol?
Because the water droplets need something to cling to. That’s what the aerosol provided.
If you think of all the emotions that swirl through your mind all the time — irritability, worry, sadness, happiness, delight, anger –you might wonder why we’re not all a walking storm of emotions.
Want to know the reason? Just like the water droplets that form clouds, your emotions need something to cling to. Luckily nobody is spritzing of hairspray into our heads. However, our thoughts do make a convenient raft for our feelings. Once our feelings grab hold, they can begin to swirl and grow and quickly create a great big cloud. We might enjoy a cloud of happiness or delight, but a cloud of worry, sadness, irritability or anger? Not so much.
So can you stop of storm from brewing?
You absolutely can, if you learn how to let go of your thoughts.
This finger mediation can help you do just that:
Sit up tall and let the backs of your hands rest on your knees. Take a deep breath in through your nose and let it out through your mouth. As you do this, imagine any storm of feelings could escape with your breath.
Touch the tip of your index finger to the tip of your thumb and say “My.”
Next, touch the tip of your second finger to the tip of your thumbs and say “Mind.”
Touch the tip of your third finger and say “Is.”
Touch the tip of your pinkie finger and say “Clear.”
Repeat, saying My Mind Is Clear out loud three times. Say it three times in a whisper and three times silently to yourself.
The beauty of this mindfulness activity is that you can do it anytime you like and, if you do it just by saying the words to yourself silently, nobody will even know.
