Stop thinking. Start feeling.

As a chronic overthinker I spend far too much time in my head. From a young age, I’ve always been fixated on what could go wrong rather than what might go right. Living this way isn’t only exhausting, but it’s energy wasted, as many of our fears and worries fail to materialise.

Frankly, I’m sick of getting stuck in recursive, predominantly negative thought loops. Which is fortunate, because I’ve discovered a technique which has been surprisingly helpful in soothing my overactive noggin. Interestingly, I originally picked this up from an old manifestation book, and though I’m normally sceptical of such things, decided it would be interesting to experiment with.

The first step is to stop feeding thoughts with more fuel, which I do by moving attention out of my head and into my body, much like many common meditative techniques.

Secondly, I imagine the corporeal feeling I would have if everything in my life was perfect. Personally, this involves translating scenarios like the dream relationship, career, or health into embodied sensations, almost as if I was already experiencing them. The book I read made out that this activates our subconscious to bring about those very changes.

The main benefit for me, however, is the sensation that I have nothing to worry about, with no fictitious problems to solve. It’s not that I experience an unbridled sense of abundance as manifestors often make out, but that the knot in my head gradually unwinds. A degree of peace and presence slowly settles over my body, almost like I’m tapping into a more competent future version of myself.

I haven’t been practicing this for long enough to tell whether it will have lasting effects beyond simply doing something novel and feeling a short-lived benefit. However, I’m optimistic that embracing positive emotions over negative thoughts can become a reflex action. And if I magically manifest all of my desires in the process, then all the better.