possibilities

2 posts

Unplugging

emotional health fulfillment Kindness Mind-Body Healing mindfulness possibilites Serenity

I have the profound good fortune to have an EMF (electromagnetic field) emissions sensitivity severe enough that I avoid over-use of technology.  It was quite a trek of research to figure out the source of my symptoms, but it turns out this malady has proven to be a blessing.  For instance, it protects me from the incessant “junk-food” of the mind through taking in too much media. I notice a fair amount of the anxiety in those I know and love is fueled by the mental toxins taken in through technology addiction. 

My EMF sensitivity also means, when I am on the phone with someone, I am tied to the landline and actually attending to the conversation.  Almost every person I know is casting about for what else to be doing while they’re on the cell phone – and not really attending to the person with whom they’re conversing. I hear it in the neutral “uh-huh” – and lack of response to what was actually just said. Or the pots and pans rattling or water running.

If you just can’t shake an inner restlessness or sense of unease – start by stopping.  All social media or any media input. No. more. “stuff.” Crammed into your mind space.  Focus on a few good deep clearing breaths, then ask your deepest most innocent self what would be nourishing to your simple joy-state right now.

I hear from some that they fear losing track of what is going on if they’re not “plugged in” all the time. How can you keep current with media and keep sane and not do anxiety and fear? Spend two to five minutes inside – find a spacious calm, THEN – read the news and take in what you must.  This helps you broaden your perspective as you read.  And if you’ve already seen it – get off!

It seems we’ve forgotten how to be deeply present with this or any moment. Fueled by an ever-increasing incessant hum of activity – virtual and otherwise- our neurons are too excited to take a seat at the table. An interesting medical fact is that the leading cause for insomnia these days is use of technology – “screen-time” – too close to bedtime.

Above all else, practice kindness. To your own precious self.  CHOOSE what you take in – from amongst the abundance of possibilities.  And – for an experiment – try completely unplugging for a stretch of time.  Decide in advance how long you want to try this – and just see how you feel. Ask – what is nourishing to you – and do that for a period of time. I’d love to hear how that goes.

Face, Embrace, Allow Space

change Divine Grace emotional health fulfillment Happiness Inner Value Mind-Body Healing MindBody Medicine mindfulness possibilites True Self truth

I’ve been using the FEAD technique a lot lately.  This came to me in a meditation many years ago and has stood the test of time in my life.  I find there is no limit and nothing too big to apply this to.  Divine Grace can transform anything – any obstacle or concern we have – into an easy flow.  I call this my “True Self”.  It is the barnacles of confusion of our minds that distort an inner urge into a contorted concern.  What do I mean by that?  If we couple a natural and healthy impulse for fulfillment with a belief that is counter – such as “it is impossible” or “I am not worthy/deserving/capable” it creates an inner tension that is painful.  To open this to Divine Grace is to allow for the possibility of something you have not yet been able to see from the contorted space.  This allows for the fulfillment of the original desire because there is Space.  Room to move, grow, expand, negotiate, fulfill.

FEAD yourself differently. Here’s what I mean:

1) Face it: Whatever is troubling you; wherever you feel the tension, anxiety or pain inside – pause right there and see if you can get a deeper, more full sense of this place in you. Relax all around it and let it be. Face it squarely, with full permission to be there just as it is. Approach this place of discomfort with a sincere curiosity. There is something awry here, in this which is you, and you want to know at a deeper level what that is. Amazingly, as we do this, there is safety around a part of us which has historically felt rejected, shut off and abandoned. Simply because we approach this area of ourselves and lives with interest, the pain often begins to abate.

 2) Embrace it: Go one step further. Approach this place of pain and offer it loving acceptance. Let it be there with the full understanding that pain requires kindness, not rejection. Treat it as if it were a hurting child. In many ways, it is. The healing begins here. As that which has been rejected feels itself being pulled back into the fold of the living with your warm embrace, it instantly begins to relax in a way that is uniquely healing and nurturing.

3) Allow Space for it: As you continue to breathe deeply, embracing that which is hurting, begin to loosen your grip somewhat. Give it permission to be there and simply allow space for it. Not the space of abandonment in which you turn your back on this part of you which is suffering – but a warm fully loving and safe space. Compassionate space. Within you, develop the capacity to love each part so much that there is room to breathe, be and evolve. This means dropping the self-criticisms and judgments which have been aggravating the problem all this time. It means allowing room for change where in the past you may have begun a cycle of self-punishment. Try this: just focus all your attention on breathing into a compassionate space around the area of pain. And watch with gentle curiosity.

4) invite Divine Grace: A last important step in this process is to invite an awareness that surpasses what you have known to be possible to this point into the picture. We want to change old repeating patterns that have caused you and others harm. Sometimes this means not only allowing space, but inviting new ideas to enter into that space. Whatever your belief system, invoke that which is beyond what you currently know to be possible. This expands the space into dimensions of possibility that your conscious mind has not yet realized, and is the basis for deep and lasting change of what has heretofore been a stuck place in your life.