A Different Opener for the Matrix Instrument

Hi Folks!

The following is a new opening to the Matrix instrument that I have been working on. If you like, try it out and see how it works for you.

Kevin

_______________________________________________________________

Hello, I'm ____________, and I work from the psychological flexibility point of view. Would you like to hear a short story about the psychological flexibility point of view?

Most people like babies, and As a matter of fact, most people started off as babies. Now if you recall being a baby, especially when you were a newborn baby, your world was your five senses. Just think back to those moments when you came out of the womb. What were your senses experiencing? Even if you can't recall, imagine what you might have seen, heard, smelled, tasted and touched.

If we draw a line from top to bottom, and write 5-Senses up here, and then Mental Experiencing at the bottom, as babies most our experience is up here in the five senses. It takes time for the mental stuff to get going.

If you think about right now, where do you think you are more focused, your senses or your mind? Where might you put a mark on the vertical line to show about where your focus is now?

Now think about one of the first things you moved toward as a newborn. Maybe you rooted for milk? Maybe it was that first breath. Air and food are things you move toward to this day. Maybe you turned toward your mother or father’s voice; a sound you had heard while in the womb. You probably move toward voices and people now.

Now recall something you moved away from as an newborn. Maybe the pain of a needle? Maybe you cried in fear at unfamiliar bath water? It's natural for even a newborn to move away from pain and fear. Do you still move away from fear and pain now?

To represent moving toward and away we draw a horizontal line like this, and label the right side Toward and the left side Away. The arrow at each end represents movement.

For much of your life you have been able to notice the difference between sensory and mental experiencing, right here where the lines cross. For that matter, for much of your life you have been able to notice the difference between how it feels to move toward and how it feels to move away. So we draw a circle and write Noticing the Difference in the circle.

So that is the psychological flexibility story. At least it's sort of a story. This is the point of view I will be using as we work together. Would you like to work with me while I'm using this point of view?

After this beginning we then move on to the four questions, and from there increasing the discrimination skills by working on noticing the five senses, mental experiencing, toward and away moves in the service of learning of what works for valued living.