El modelo dos: NASDAQ, horizonte de inversión, día/ días

We will now analyze the Hexaflexercise, section by section. Please go back and reread each section of the exercise out loud before reading the explanation below.

SECTION 1: BE HERE NOW

Section 1 covers contact with the present moment. This section consists of the basic instruction at the core of all mindfulness exercises: “notice X.” “X” can be anything that is here, right now, in this moment. It could be your breathing, the sounds in the room, the tension in your body, the thoughts in your head, the taste in your mouth, the view from the window, and so on. Common alternatives to the word “notice” include “pay attention to,” “bring your awareness to,” “focus on,” or “observe.”

Note that the pauses at this point are brief—only five seconds. Later on in the exercise, they increase. You can easily adapt this section into a brief mindfulness exercise, suitable for any session as a grounding or centering technique.

SECTION 2: PURE AWARENESS

Section 2 covers self-as-context. Here we refer to it as the “observing self”: the part of you that does all the noticing. I originally came up with the Stage Show Metaphor specifically to facilitate self-as-context, but as we’ll see later, you can use it to enhance any other mindfulness process: accep-tance, defusion, or contact with the present moment.

Before you take clients through this section, it’s a good idea to give a brief explanation about the two parts of the mind—the thinking self and the observing self—so the term

“observing self” won’t take them by surprise. The following transcript exemplifies this.

THE THINKING SELF AND THE OBSERVING SELF

Therapist: So one of the things that’s important in our work here is to recognize that there are two very distinct parts of the mind. There’s the part we’re all very familiar with—the part that thinks, imagines, remembers, analyzes, plans, fantasizes, and so on. Let’s call that the “thinking self.” But there’s another part of the mind that virtually never gets talked about—we don’t even have a word for it in common everyday language. It’s a part of your mind that doesn’t think, can’t think—it just notices. It notices whatever you’re thinking and feeling and doing and seeing and hearing and tasting and so on.

The closest words we have to it in everyday language are “awareness,” “attention,” or

ACT Made Simple

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and for a moment, your thinking self goes quiet. There are no thoughts—you’re just silently observing this amazing sunset. That’s your observing self in action—silently noticing. But the silence doesn’t last long. Within seconds, the thinking self pipes up:

“Oh, look at all those lovely colors. I wish I had my camera. This reminds me of that trip to Hawaii.” And as you get more and more caught up in your thoughts, you start to disconnect from the sunset.

SECTION 3: KNOW WHAT MATTERS

Section 3 covers values: what matters enough to this client that he has bothered to come and see you? (Even if he was mandated by a court of law under threat of going to prison, he still didn’t have to come: he came because he valued being free.) Ideally we individualize this section to specifi-cally mention any core values already identified—for example, “Is it about being a better mother to your kids?”

SECTION 4: DO WHAT IT TAKES

Section 4 covers committed action: taking the action necessary to live by your values even when it’s difficult and painful. Here we acknowledge and validate that the client has committed to action even though it has brought up discomfort. This is a message we’ll reinforce throughout therapy: the actions we take to make our lives meaningful often give rise to pain. At times, we’ll feel good as a result of them, and at other times, we won’t. The question life repeatedly asks each one of us is this:

“Am I willing to make room for these feelings in order to do what matters to me?”

SECTION 5: BE HERE NOW (AGAIN!)

Here we’re back to the basic mindfulness instruction of “notice X.” In this case, “X” is the sensa-tions of breathing. Secsensa-tions 5 and 6 taken together constitute a quick and simple mindful breathing exercise that you can use in any session.

SECTION 6: WATCH YOUR THINKING

Section 6 covers defusion: putting some distance between you and your thoughts so you can let them come and go without getting entangled in them. We’re using three different metaphors here to facilitate defusion: (1) the notion of the mind as a storyteller and thoughts as stories; (2) treating your thoughts like passing cars; and (3) treating your mind as if it’s a radio playing in the background.

Any and all of these metaphors can be usefully added into any mindfulness exercise you do.

We also emphasize over and over that it’s “normal and natural” to repeatedly drift off into your thoughts (that is, to fuse with them). This is important because many clients (like many therapists) have a strong perfectionist streak, and they’ll be disappointed if they expect to maintain total focus.

Getting Experiential

Indeed, many clients (and therapists) are shocked at just how hard it is to stay focused for more than a few seconds.

SECTION 7: OPEN UP

Section 7 covers acceptance: opening up to and making room for painful private experiences.

(Note: Acceptance is short for “experiential acceptance,” the opposite of experiential avoidance.) Here we introduce the notion of allowing your feelings and sensations to be as they are without trying to change them or get rid of them. When you silently name and acknowledge a painful feeling, this often facilitates acceptance, so it’s a useful little technique to slip into this section. And you can easily assign it as a simple technique to practice in between sessions.

You’ll notice too that we emphasize that this is not a relaxation technique. This is important because many clients will find this experience calming, and they’ll often mistake relaxation as the purpose of the exercise when in fact it’s merely a beneficial by-product.

SECTION 8: WRAPPING IT UP

Section 8 wraps up the exercise with the Stage Show Metaphor to facilitate contact with the present moment and briefly revisit self-as-context.

Practice, Practice Practice

Now before reading on, I strongly encourage you to go back and read through every transcript in this chapter—but this time, read the words out loud, as if you’re actually speaking to a client. This is especially important for the Hexaflexercise. I ask you to do this because only through practice will you master this model. So why wait until you’re working with your clients? Start right now!

C H A P T E R 5