What I'm thinking about...
Our inner energy is influenced by what we care about. Things outside of that don't matter to you because you don't care about them. If your team loses a big game you feel it. If you don’t watch sports you couldn't care less. We all aim for stability and our physiological processes are programmed to keep equilibrium in our bodies. Our bodies maintain exceptionally narrow ranges of everything from our body temperature to our blood pH.
We generally have 2 ways to stabilize ourselves.
We try to change the outside environment so that our inside energy is positively impacted (adjust the temperature in our home, remove ourselves from a situation that will make us react)
We go inside and try to get to a point where we are ok regardless of our external environment (practising mindfulness or meditation).
In both cases, energy owns you.
The key is to go beyond the urge to fix things. If you can reach a point where you are aware you are trying to fix something - this is a step in the right direction. The only way out of this trap is to be the witness. Do not interfere by trying to change things, but just watch yourself.
See everything as energy simply moving.
Watch your feelings come up.
Watch your urge to fix
Keep watching without intervening. Work on your tendency to control energy. Leave your energy alone. Relax, fall back and watch the energy disburse itself.
Quote I’m thinking about…
We have two ears and one mouth so that we can listen twice as much as we speak.
Epictetus
The word ‘I’ ranks second on the list of most used words in the English language. Our association with our ‘I’ is so strong that many of us have not even questioned who the ‘I’ actually is. Are we our thoughts or is there a level of consciousness that can witness our thoughts? Wherever you are on this journey, you may resonate with the above quote. When we listen and we can understand the words people use come from the sum of their experiences, we can appreciate why they are saying what they are saying. It is rarely about agreeing with someone. Let's simply start listening with the intent of understanding.
What I'm listening to.
Nature - Ram Das
I first heard this at the retreat Rx for Renewal recently hosted. It was played during a mindfulness session facilitated by Genia Klaiman. It moved me then, and it has moved me every time I have listened to it since. So much so that it has made it into my nightly routine with my kids. We close our eyes and listen to it as they repeat after Ram Das to connect with his words, but also the feelings of being connected to Nature. This is a loving creation that should be experienced in its full beauty. Enjoy.
What I have recently watched…
Barbie’s Dream Gap
Although this video was originally posted 5 years ago by the Barbie channel, it only recently came into my feed. Watch it here. Barbie has been on a mission to empower young females by challenging self-limiting beliefs that girls as young as 5 years old start to develop. As a parent of a two-year-old daughter, some of the statistics shared were concerning. Society conditions females from an early age and it is up to all of us to break down these barriers. Ironically enough, after watching this video I asked her what she wanted to be when she grew up. Her answer was 'I want to be a Zebra'. At first, I chuckled, but then I realized the beauty of her answer. It was full of possibilities because she had not been exposed to much conditioning at this point in her life. She thinks she can be absolutely anything she wants and this is a powerful dream I want to continue to nurture and support. Raise a glass to girl power!
Action Items
Observe more and fix less. When your natural tendency to fix things comes up, take a backseat and just observe. What you will notice is how fleeting most things are. They come and they go and if you become the observer, you stay grounded.
Listen to Nature the next time you go for a walk or before you go to sleep. Feel this wave of gratitude and connection fill your body, mind and soul. Learn more about Ram Das here.