Hi T & O!
Hey, you totally don’t want to hear a lecture from me, but I have so much to tell you before I get too old, or confused or can’t remember, so I’ll write it down. And, it’s not a lecture ?
Some people share what they know because they feel they’ve achieved some level of success, or happiness, or revelation.
I share what I know to help you to keep your head above water, and hopefully, shortcut your way to a fulfilling life. I’m less concerned with your “success” than your ability to live the life YOU want to live, so all my sharing comes from this intentional space. Do with it as you will (but I really hope you do good with it).
Feelings of anxiety and depression – and alienation – come from your head being disconnected from your body.
These things are typically your head lying to you, and if you’ve stopped listening to your body, you may believe them. Not listening to your body is the definition of “un-groundedness,” and being grounded means you are present inside your body and listening carefully to all forms of communication coming your way.
Nearly all mental discomfort like perfectionism, over work, loneliness, and not-enoughness also all come from this same disconnection. The thing is, our culture trains us to become more and more disconnected from our bodies as we get older. That’s because we use words and images as a means of sharing information, as we create common languages that move and shape people en masse.
But ideas & concepts, thinking & words happen in just small part of our overall selves, a powerful part that can also conjure up all kinds of feelings- eek! Unfortunately, the brain also is the ONLY part of us that gets engaged when we live a screen-based life (with the exception of porno perhaps, also eek). This is why ‘screens as central’ limits your authenticity and happiness, and is also a bit dangerous.
So, to be happy/fulfilled/authentic, we have to get grounded on purpose, honor the mysterious wisdom of our bodies and pay attention to what our bodies tell us. “Listening to intuition” has always been lauded (and comes only when we are grounded), but how many of us listen every day??
We can get grounded in a thousand ways, but I’m a fan of the easiest ones:
- Walk in nature. Having your literal feet on the literal ground makes you aware of your whole self. The ideas and thoughts that pop up while you are doing this are often quiet, but they are usually tied to the wisdom of your whole self. Walk, and listen, and act on them.
- Do something physically hard. Sweating, exerting yourself in a physical way makes you grounded in your body. You can’t do anything hard (like run fast, row for miles, or climb a mountain) without being grounded. If you try, you’ll get hurt. But don’t get hurt, stay grounded.
- Breathe with intention and/or concentration. I’d love to say meditate, but there’s so much baggage with that term. Basically, if you tune in to your breath– and practice keeping your attention there– you can stay grounded. If you do it enough, it becomes a kind of an undertone in your daily life. “On an in-breath or an out-breath did you send that text?” If you don’t know the answer, you’re ungrounded.
- Move! Stealing the idea from Tony Robbins: the most universal sign of life itself is being animated. Life happens in your body and is celebrated by movement. Conversely, death is sedentary- it’s the ultimate couch potato. You can’t be grounded in your body if it is sedentary most of the time. Laying around, sitting around, etc. is a message you’re abandoning it, and it gets sad ? then it makes you sick or uncomfortable until you pay attention again.
What else? I feel I’ve already forgotten a few gems that came to me during my morning walk in the fairy woods, but such is life. See, this post was sent from my whole self to your whole self.
And I love you so much,
Mom