Focusing Tip #470
“It is always this discomfort in the stomach. Then the doubts come: ‘Am I making this up?'”
Pedro writes:
Regarding the body sense, it is always this discomfort in the stomach, that tends to increase when I check for it. Then the doubts come: “Is this simply a suggestion phenomenon?” “Am I making this up?” or “Is this an evidence that mind is the body?” It feels like a big struggle.
Dear Pedro:
Clearly your body would like to communicate with you! I say that because the discomfort gets stronger when it receives your attention.
The thing to do next would be to describe it, using words, images, sounds or gestures. Describing the sensation helps you stay in contact with it and connect precisely with how it is right now.
Ah, those doubts! They come from a part of you that wants to make sure you are doing it right and having a genuine experience.
But the doubts do not help you to know how to check IF your experience is genuine.
Say “Hello” to the part of you that is doubting. Say “Something in me wonders if I am somehow inventing this body sensation, and I’m saying Hello to it.”
Then go back to the body sensation, the discomfort in your stomach. Offer it the word “discomfort” and check if that word describes it well. Either there is a feeling of “Yes, it is discomfort,” or “No, it’s not, it more like _________.” Either way, the experience is undoubtable. It is just this way and no other.
It is through staying with the sensation itself that you will become more and more confident that your experience is real, and it will begin revealing more and more to you.
