Page 52 - Taming Your Gremlin A Surprisingly Simple Method for Getting Out of Your Own Way (Rick Carson)_Neat

Now I hear music in the background;

Now I am aware of the breeze on my skin;

Now I am aware of thinking about what to write;

Now I am aware of a tightness around my eyes.”

Your gremlin will want you to spend no time at all going slowly and
increasing your awareness. He knows the power of simply noticing as a tool
for taming him, and it frightens him. He will do his best to distract you. His

monologue, should you detect it, might sound like scolding, or disoriented
jabber, like advice from a true friend, or even like interesting intellectual
pontification. In any event, it is your gremlin. Simply notice him without
allowing yourself to become involved with him. If you find yourself
engaged with him, simply channel your awareness back to your body or the
world around you, using the words, “Now I am aware.”

SIMPLY NOTICING YOUR GREMLIN

Until now, observing your gremlin may have been difficult, perhaps

because of the enmeshed quality of your relationship with him. However, as
you increase your ability to center yourself in the here and now and to
control your awareness, you will begin to experience more detachment from
your gremlin. From a position of being centered, you will become more
aware of him. You can feel him, and though your experience of your
gremlin may be subtle at first, it is undeniable. You might notice tightness

in your chest, a queasy feeling or knot in your stomach, a tension in your
shoulders, neck, or back, or an unexplained anxiousness. As you begin to
simply notice him or her, you will begin to get a sliver of light between the
natural you and your gremlin.

In these moments, you are no longer enmeshed with your gremlin. You
are his observer. Notice the simple pleasure of this experience. While hardly
noticeable in the beginning, the experience is deeply powerful. Simply
notice it and simply notice your gremlin. Don’t fret or strain to get a sense

of what I’m describing lest you form an expectation of yourself. Your