Use this Courageous Being version of the 5-4-3-2-1 sensory practice, combined with Subject-Object-Subject centering practice from Dr. Sue Morter, when your thoughts are racing, your body is bracing, or the past feels louder than the present.
The practice helps shift attention away from the internal alarm and toward what is actually happening around you. Each sensory observation brings you into the moment. Each pause brings you back to yourself.
Begin by feeling your feet and noticing the support beneath you. Then identify (silently or out loud, but without further narration):
5 things you can see
Let your eyes land on color, shape, movement, light, or shadow.
Pause. Breathe. Feel yourself behind your eyes.
4 things you can feel
Notice temperature, texture, pressure, clothing, or the chair beneath you.
Pause. Breathe. Let your body register support.
3 things you can hear
Listen for sounds near you, farther away, and beneath the obvious noise.
Pause. Breathe. Let the sounds locate you in the present.
2 things you can smell
Notice something familiar, fresh, faint, or unexpected.
Pause. Breathe. Return to the center of your body.
1 thing you can taste
Notice what is already present, or take a sip of water slowly.
Pause. Breathe. Feel your feet again.
Finish by naming one thing that is true right now:
I am here.
This moment is different from the past.
The goal is not to erase what you feel. It is to help your body recognize that you are here now, with more choice than the alarm may be telling you.