Those of us who use the matrix will, as sure as the sun rises, experience “hooks”. Hooks are part of what comes into your life when you are struggling or chugging along. They are invitations to come to our  senses  or seek the seeming shelter and safety of avoiding unwanted internal experiencing. Whichever way you go hooks just keep coming at you.

So what is a hook? Here are some familiar scenarios:

Being stuck in a traffic jam on the way to work.

Not having enough books for reading group.

Faculty meetings

The student with the “I ain’t doin’ this!” look on his face.

History/Math/Science/English class (either students or teachers can pick one, two or all)

When hooks show up you can feel the pull of the hook inside of you, the twist in your gut, the flash of anger or frustration, the urge to move, yell or flee. You can  feel the lure of the hook as unwanted thoughts or sensations, invite you to spend time with them. When you “take the bait” you are hooked. You pay more attention to the unwanted stuff and less to what is going on around you. Things can get sticky and heavy since hooks don’t care where you are going.

So what do we do with them?

Well, we can keep struggling and biting on what’s hooking us or we can use the matrix to “notice the hook” showing up inside of us. For a brief moment we can “have’ the hook and notice how it feels inside and then notice what action we engage in. It can be either something done to move toward who or what is important to us or something to to try to get away from the hook which usually gets us…more hooked!

When we are able to notice our hooks as we move toward teaching or learning we muster up a little psychological flexibility and…

Notice our annoyance of not having enough books and either groan or ask others to share.

Feel the urge to complain at the meeting and either scratch that itch or offer a meaningful contribution.

Have the “Oh no, here we go again!” feeling and then either give our stuck student the “teacher face” or smile and say “would you like some help?”

Notice the urge to get happy feet and then choose to leave the class or decide it is more important to stay and keep moving toward meeting my graduation requirements.

The picture is the result of a collaboration with one of my creative colleagues (thanks Debbie) attached to my office wall. Whenever students or staff come to visit they can notice their hooks, write them down on the “bait” attached to the hook, and notice what they do next. It is also a great reminder to notice my own hooks. Most folks get a kick out of it. The best is when students notice the hooks of the teachers and everyone shares a laugh.