Everyday Practices
Stories for the Mind
For Seeing Yourself in Someone Else’s Story
US$4 4 practices · 6 tracks · listen or download
Get the pack · US$4Sometimes it’s easier to see our own patterns in someone else’s story. When it’s about us, we’re right in the middle of it. When it’s about someone else, we can step back a little and see what the mind is up to.
These are short stories about ordinary people with very human minds. There’s Jack, going through a tough time, who starts to speak to himself more kindly, and Melanie, who believes her judgemental thoughts say something about who she is. Two of the stories follow a relationship that falls apart when one partner can’t sit with his own fear and jealousy.
Each one shows what can happen when we take our thoughts as the truth, and what starts to change when we notice them as thoughts. You might recognise a bit of yourself in them. Most of us do.
There are four stories here. Jack’s comes in three versions: the story with affirmations at the end, the story on its own, and a short scene that goes almost straight to the affirmations.
What’s inside
When Times Got Tough for Jack
3 versions
Story and affirmations · 7 minStory only · 5 minAffirmations · 3 min
For when you’re going through a tough time and your thoughts keep spiralling. Jack comes across a few affirmations on his phone, and one lands: ‘I am the one person who knows exactly what I have been through.’ Over the weeks he starts showing up for himself the way he would for a good friend. The full version ends with the affirmations for you to take in. The story-only version stops at the end of the story, and the short one is a brief scene with the affirmations.
She Believed Her Mind
6 min
For when your judgemental thoughts make you feel like a bad person. Melanie secretly believes she isn’t very nice, because of the judgements her mind makes about friends, family and strangers in the street. She learns that these thoughts are automatic, picked up along the way, and part of an old habit of sizing people up. Now she notices them, says to herself ‘That’s what my mind’s saying. I am not my thoughts’, and sometimes even laughs at her mind.
She Broke Up With Him
10 min
For seeing how running from a feeling can cost us what we care about. Sam’s girlfriend Sally wants a little more time for herself. Sam takes it as rejection, and to get rid of his fear and jealousy he tries to change her mind, with words and actions that push her further away. I unpack what was going on: we’re taught that feelings like these are bad, so we reach for quick fixes. It ends with what might have happened if Sam had made room for his feelings.
Why They Broke Up
5 min
For a shorter telling of a similar story. When Emily asks for more time to herself, Jake feels rejected. Instead of sitting with his fear and jealousy, he uses guilt to change her mind. It brings him fleeting relief and pushes her further away. After the break-up, Jake looks back at how avoiding his emotions blinded him to what Emily needed, and sees that learning to hold space for them is the first step towards healthier connection.