 |
| Gardeners must always check and adjust; moving plants for better light or drainage... removing plants that no longer fit, trying new things... |
One way I do that is to repeat the phrase, 'my future calls me in.'
But even though I set goals and practice visualization, make vision boards of how I want my life to look and what I want to create, and actively do the other work necessary to grow—forgiveness (particularly self), release, and gratitude—I'm not sure I've known exactly what that means, feels like, or looks like in practice.
You read that right. Three weeks. Doctor said it's a tension headache. Just today, the start of the fourth week, it subsided. For three weeks, every day, I woke up at 4 a.m. with blinding pain, which then subsided by 10 a.m.
And yes, this is relevant.
I attribute my headache to a number of things, but mostly to computer use. I had a few highly intense weeks at work with crazy deadlines that required doubling down on writing, editing, and online reading, which added a new level of tightness to my already-tight traps across my upper back. Couple this with some emotionally taxing events, an out-of-alignment atlas, and bad sinuses...
When the headache hit, I was six weeks into a new morning routine and loving it. Waking up a little earlier to start my morning with 50 reps each of squats, push ups, and crunches (and trust me, I had to modify), a green smoothie, water, meditation, a hot/cold shower, and more... that 10-day challenge I wrote about previously.
But the headache caused an abrupt halt to this, and just this weekend I found enough breathing space to think about what's possible in light of my circumstances.
When things don't work, check and adjust
Borrowing a phrase from my almost-former colleague, the president who retires at the end of the month, I had to check and adjust.
On Sunday I decided I could still do this, I just had to do it differently. So I further modified, including my timing. Before bed, I:
And my mornings: On Monday, after hitting snooze twice, I stumbled into the living room, unlocked my phone and went straight to Insight Timer for a previously selected breathing meditation. I did not pass go, nor did I collect $200... and I did not look at any of the notifications. And after 10 minutes of focused breathing, I wrote.
That's where the magic happened.
First, let me say that all this did not make my headache go away. I had a massage on Saturday (love me some Two Smiling Feet), and tortured myself with the foam roller a few times. I'll credit these, along with the newly added stretches, to booting out the headache. As noted earlier, today was the first morning it didn't cause a rude awakening.
My future calls me in...
I've read a lot lately about versions of 'future self journaling' (and here's one example from the Holistic Psychologist) and I thought that's what I would do on Monday morning. But what showed up was "the remembering process," a type of journaling I learned about while taking a class a couple of years ago at the spiritual center I go to.
The book didn't move me; I found it tedious. And at the time, the process didn't come easy.
But this time, it flowed.
I wrote as though it was two-and-a-half years into my future, when the changes my partner and I have set in motion finally reach fruition, when those long-ago set dreams are at last fulfilled.
It was so freeing. I felt light—something I haven't felt in a very long time.
I wrote about our travel plans, about our house, our work lives, our health. In detail. For pages. And as I wrote it, I felt it as though I really was writing from the future.
We must feel the change we want to create
A lot of us get this wrong. We're familiar with the new age-y, pop culture phenomena, 'change your thoughts, change your life,' and while that's important and it does create change, there's more that has to happen for real and lasting change.
Creating what we want requires us to feel the changes to match the thoughts, and believe they're as true as our present moment. Where we're often tripped up is getting stuck in our heads, and not diving deep and uncovering those beliefs that undermine us. But when we do this, we can change anything. We can change our experience of our past so we're empowered and not victims. We can create from what we dream about rather than our previous experience.
Our minds are pliable...
While by no means a neuroscience expert, I love reading about neuroplasticity and how our minds are capable of far more than we ever thought possible.
Our minds can't differentiate between the immediate now and the 'now' we're feeling as though it were true. That's why the remembering process works. Our minds think this has already happened, so it, or the energy we are at our most base element, aligns with what we feel.
The science is more complex, but the concept isn't. Give it a try and see what happens. Write as though you're already living your future—the delicious realization of your dreams, achieving your big, hairy, audacious goals (yep, that's BHAG), and believing it's as true as the air you're breathing this very moment.
What would you write if these were true and done? If you feel like it, share your experience in the comments. I'd love to hear about your experience.
Yesterday morning, I got it.
Here's what happened, and how you can benefit, too...
I've had a headache for three weeks.
You read that right. Three weeks. Doctor said it's a tension headache. Just today, the start of the fourth week, it subsided. For three weeks, every day, I woke up at 4 a.m. with blinding pain, which then subsided by 10 a.m.
And yes, this is relevant.
I attribute my headache to a number of things, but mostly to computer use. I had a few highly intense weeks at work with crazy deadlines that required doubling down on writing, editing, and online reading, which added a new level of tightness to my already-tight traps across my upper back. Couple this with some emotionally taxing events, an out-of-alignment atlas, and bad sinuses...
When the headache hit, I was six weeks into a new morning routine and loving it. Waking up a little earlier to start my morning with 50 reps each of squats, push ups, and crunches (and trust me, I had to modify), a green smoothie, water, meditation, a hot/cold shower, and more... that 10-day challenge I wrote about previously.
But the headache caused an abrupt halt to this, and just this weekend I found enough breathing space to think about what's possible in light of my circumstances.
When things don't work, check and adjust
Borrowing a phrase from my almost-former colleague, the president who retires at the end of the month, I had to check and adjust.
On Sunday I decided I could still do this, I just had to do it differently. So I further modified, including my timing. Before bed, I:
- Do an adapted exercise routine with stretches
- Made my green smoothie for the next morning (for maximum nutrient retention, fill a jar to the rim and cover tightly)
- Continue my gratitude practice, sharing what I'm grateful for that day with my gratitude partner
- Take my hot/cold shower
- Place a hot pack around my neck
- Leave my phone in the living room and read a book instead—a change I wanted to make anyway but wasn't really motivated to do
And my mornings: On Monday, after hitting snooze twice, I stumbled into the living room, unlocked my phone and went straight to Insight Timer for a previously selected breathing meditation. I did not pass go, nor did I collect $200... and I did not look at any of the notifications. And after 10 minutes of focused breathing, I wrote.
That's where the magic happened.
First, let me say that all this did not make my headache go away. I had a massage on Saturday (love me some Two Smiling Feet), and tortured myself with the foam roller a few times. I'll credit these, along with the newly added stretches, to booting out the headache. As noted earlier, today was the first morning it didn't cause a rude awakening.
My future calls me in...
I've read a lot lately about versions of 'future self journaling' (and here's one example from the Holistic Psychologist) and I thought that's what I would do on Monday morning. But what showed up was "the remembering process," a type of journaling I learned about while taking a class a couple of years ago at the spiritual center I go to.
The book didn't move me; I found it tedious. And at the time, the process didn't come easy.
But this time, it flowed.
I wrote as though it was two-and-a-half years into my future, when the changes my partner and I have set in motion finally reach fruition, when those long-ago set dreams are at last fulfilled.
It was so freeing. I felt light—something I haven't felt in a very long time.
I wrote about our travel plans, about our house, our work lives, our health. In detail. For pages. And as I wrote it, I felt it as though I really was writing from the future.
We must feel the change we want to create
A lot of us get this wrong. We're familiar with the new age-y, pop culture phenomena, 'change your thoughts, change your life,' and while that's important and it does create change, there's more that has to happen for real and lasting change.
Creating what we want requires us to feel the changes to match the thoughts, and believe they're as true as our present moment. Where we're often tripped up is getting stuck in our heads, and not diving deep and uncovering those beliefs that undermine us. But when we do this, we can change anything. We can change our experience of our past so we're empowered and not victims. We can create from what we dream about rather than our previous experience.
Our minds are pliable...
While by no means a neuroscience expert, I love reading about neuroplasticity and how our minds are capable of far more than we ever thought possible.
Our minds can't differentiate between the immediate now and the 'now' we're feeling as though it were true. That's why the remembering process works. Our minds think this has already happened, so it, or the energy we are at our most base element, aligns with what we feel.
The science is more complex, but the concept isn't. Give it a try and see what happens. Write as though you're already living your future—the delicious realization of your dreams, achieving your big, hairy, audacious goals (yep, that's BHAG), and believing it's as true as the air you're breathing this very moment.
What would you write if these were true and done? If you feel like it, share your experience in the comments. I'd love to hear about your experience.
If you like this post, or this blog resonates with you in any way, please feel free to share it, comment below, or send me a message. I'm also available for one-on-one coaching—you can find me here.
No comments:
Post a Comment