OK, are you ready for your first emotion safari? All you need is 5 minutes of quiet time, an understanding of the Big Five primitive emotions, a name for your caveman, and an open mind 🙂 

It works like this…

Settle down in a quiet spot. Make sure you’re comfortable and will not be disturbed for the next couple of minutes. 

Slowly create a mental scene where you and your caveman (remember to use his name) are on safari in a weird and wonderful wildlife reserve. Your caveman is driving and you’re just along for the ride. 

Your mission is to spot the Big Five (Craving, Ego, Sloth, Frustration and Worry), enthusiastically point them out to your caveman, and then simply drive on. 

So, here we go. Just allow your mind to go wherever it wants (give your caveman the wheel). At first, he may just sit there, unsure what to do with this freedom.

If this happens, just relax and enjoy this little bit of mental peace. Then, when some thoughts eventually arise, just let them flow and gently scan the surroundings for any sign of the Big Five.  

Whenever one of them pops up, quickly get your caveman’s attention and point him in the right direction. Really do it like you’ve spotted a lion while on safari in an African wildlife reserve 🙂

From the safety of your rugged 4×4, patiently explain to your caveman what creature this is (they can sometimes be tricky to identify). If you’re lucky, you might even get to see two or three of the Big Five travelling together! 

Remember that the aim here is only to identify, not to analyse. So, when you’re done looking at this strange creature (or if it ran away), just give your mind free reigns again.

Then simply repeat the process. A quick five minute safari is more than enough, but, if you and your caveman are having a good time, feel free to safari a little longer!

So, that’s it. Weird, right? But just give it a try and see what happens in your head 🙂

As mentioned yesterday, the idea of this simple exercise is to increase mindfulness of the Big Five. This transforms them from some abstract feelings into concrete creatures we can see coming from a mile away. 

Training the mind in this way allows you to shine a light on these troublesome emotions whenever they approach you in day-to-day living. If you catch them with your mental spotlight early enough, they’ll retreat back into the darkness more often than not. 

And if you can do that, consistently doing the right things and avoiding the wrong things suddenly becomes a lot easier 🙂

It doesn’t happen overnight, but you should start to notice some positive effects quite soon. Give it a go and let me know of your experience!

Tomorrow, we’ll dissect the Big Five in a little more detail. See you then!