(This post is inspired by Reconciliation: Healing the Inner Child- Thich Nhat Hanh)
How noisy is your mind right now? Honestly? If you are still for a moment, if you take a moment to notice your breath, what is the drumming in the background? What is ruling your every thought?
Story.
Now more than ever before, we are being invited to slow down, To get out of the bus-i-ness of life, and we probably are, that's the irony. We feel more slow and restricted than ever before, so why is our mind louder than it ever has been before?
What if I shared with you that your mind has always been that way, the same thoughts, the stories, the worry, the self-doubt, all of it. This current situation hasn't created it, it's always been apart of you. The only difference is that we have never been quiet enough to hear it, we have ALWAYS been able to escape it.
This is your story. The story that finds its roots in a very young child, your very young child. The story that was and is designed by you to keep you safe, in a familiar place. One that isn't too adventurous, and one that isn't too free. The one that keeps all the raw emotions you have, tucked away somewhere safe so we never have to look at them and instead creates noise in your mind, continuously reminding you of things that will keep you alive. It's like a drumming in your mind, always surveying your environment to look for any threats, and it's having a field day!
What we have been able to do, up until this point, is fill our living room (our conscious minds) with stuff, with anything we can to escape feeling. TV, books, food, alcohol, our children, our partners, our work, ANYTHING. We can then safely keep all the things we don't want to feel safely in the basement (our unconscious). The truth of it though, is that no matter how much we run, our basement always overflows and majority of us don't know or have never been taught how to be with it. How to to BE with ourselves. This causes many of us to suffer from anxiety, fear, health related problems, insomnia, addictions and many other challenges we have as human beings.
So here is the invitation, can you really BE with yourself?
Peeping into the basement
Because for so long we kept all of this safely tucked away, appropriately as in most cases as we didn't have the tools, we need to go slow. Be gentle with ourselves and show ourselves compassion. Human Beings usually come to this part of peeping into ourselves because what we have been doing isn't working any more. Either all our escapes have been taken away or they have stopped working for or benefiting us.
So here are a few ways to start.
Begin to breathe. Breath is a powerhouse tool which we have right here, right now at our disposal. Take some time each day to breathe, into your belly and allow your body to begin to open with the ease of the air.
Journal- write down all your thoughts, whatever is plaguing you right now, day in day out. Allow them to be received by the paper instead of in your head.
Observe a pattern- can you watch your thoughts? Can you allow them to come and go and begin to notice any themes. When do they especially appear or take over, when do they become all consuming and at what moments can you allow them to release.
They feel real but are not true. Our thoughts may not be based on what is true, but they invoke a sense and a feeling that feels real. Take a moment to acknowledge them and the allow them to move through you with whatever emotion is attached to them without attaching a meaning. Know they feel real but are not true and will not consume you.
Find someone to talk to. If you feel like they are overtaking you and you need some space and someone to talk to there are so many credible helplines available, or phone a family member or friend you trust or get in touch with me. I am here to listen.
Get into nature- If you can go for a walk or simply get your feet on the grass. It is here to hold you, surrender to her.
Most of all, you are not alone. We are all in some way in this place, reach out, allow yourself to be seen and heard.
Sending you love and light always,
Ash