I had a beautiful reminder this week during a client session that sometimes the simplest tools are the most effective, when it comes to invasive thoughts.
It was our first time working together, and as often happens in an initial consultation, there was a lot to be shared. Stories, struggles, stressors – all bubbling up and spilling out. I held the space, listened, took notes, and honoured their need to be heard. But as we reached the end of our time, I could sense their overwhelm hadn’t shifted – in fact, it seemed to be weighing even heavier.
Normally, I like to finish with a short progressive muscular relaxation – a way to settle the nervous system and ease the transition back to the world. But we only had five minutes left.
So instead, I guided them through a simple yet powerful five-minute meditation called Coming to Your Senses.
It’s a practice I first came across in the audiobook Stress Less, Accomplish More by Emily Fletcher. It’s deceptively simple: you simply guide your awareness through each of the senses – sight, sound, touch, taste, smell – with full presence. No judgement, no analysis, just awareness.
Afterward, they told me it was the first time in a long while they’d felt any real relief from their thoughts.
It brought me back to where my own spiritual journey began over a decade ago, in 2014, when I first discovered Eckhart Tolle. His book The Power of Now was like a transmission. He speaks often about the value of sensory awareness as a portal to presence. In his words, it’s one of the fastest ways to disrupt compulsive thinking and return to the here and now – where peace is always waiting.
You see, thoughts themselves aren’t the problem. It’s the overthinking about the thoughts – the looping, analysing, judging – that traps us in suffering.
But your senses? They live entirely in the present.
So the next time you find yourself spiralling into a “loop of doom,” take a moment to come to your senses. Literally.
What can you see? Hear? Feel? Smell? Taste?
Don’t just name them – really experience them. Let your attention fully rest in your body, in your breath, in the now.
That’s the invitation. That’s the path home.
And sometimes, that’s all it takes.
Your Invitation…
If you feel like your thoughts have got too much to handle and would like some help in creating more space and peace in your life then just book in for a free 20-minute call with myself and let’s see how I could help you.
