Swish Technique

Type of activity: Visualisation

Location: Anywhere but preferably somewhere quiet and peaceful outdoors

Materials: None

Length 15-20 minutes

Find a quiet place outdoors. Perhaps under a tree or by a river.

Begin by following this simple meditation.

Make yourself comfortable, perhaps sitting cross-legged or lying flat on your back.

Close your eyes and start focusing on your breath. Notice the changes in your body as you breathe in and out. If your mind wanders bring it gently back to your breath.

Once your breath has settled into a gentle rhythm, bring your attention to your body.

Starting with your feet, explore any sensations you have – heat, cold, a breeze on your skin.

Slowly move your awareness up through your body, from your feet up to your knees, hips, belly, fingertips, arms, shoulders, back, neck, head, continuing to breathe in a gentle rhythm.

Remain in this position for as long as you wish then slowly bring your attention back to your surrounding and open your eyes when you are ready.

Now you are feeling relaxed and ready to start the activity. You will find this activity easier if you close your eyes.

Start by identifying the irrational or negative thought and decide and identify the replacement thought.
Close your eyes and identify a situation which triggers your irrational or negative thought and create a picture of it in your mind so you can see it in great detail.
Create a picture in your mind of your preferred thought and place it in a small postage stamp in the bottom corner of the original image.
Swish the images so the smaller image completely fills the picture, completely removing the original image. Try and imagine hearing a loud swish sound as the smaller image replaces the original image.

Repeat the process as many times as you need. Each time it should start to feel easier to replace the original image with the new one.