I have had to find simple sanity in chaos, This is because I have had so much change, adversity and chaos in these last years that if I were to take a stress inventory I would be off the Richter scale!
Since Covid began (as if that hasn’t been stressful enough), I lost my son, I got married, my ex husband died suddenly, and I moved both my home and office. I am also revamping my website and working with a marketing coach. I became a grandma!
So, people ask me: How are you staying sane? Well, I decided to share the 3 most important things I have been doing to keep sane in these times of Chaos.
Get into nature in order to find simple sanity in chaos.
Nature changes the setting on my body. It’s immediately grounding and comforting. However, how it’s done makes the difference. I like the forest bathing approach. Rather than just walking or hiking, I try to immerse myself in my surroundings by opening my senses. This time of year in the northeast is great for that; you can hear the wind rustle dry leaves, feel cool air on your skin and hear the crunch of acorns underfoot. The act of opening my senses helps me feel my body and let go of my mind. Ideas come to me. And insight as well but the droning nature of my mind disappears.
Another very powerful experience to be open to when you are in nature is the erlationship between our breathinbg and th breathing of the trees. There is reciprocity. Can you feel breath enter your lungs? Peraps you can sense it’s extended journey onto your heart. From your heart, oxygen will circulate toall the cells n your body.
Conversely, when we exhale, we carry our C02 from cells to blood through the heart ot lungs to the atmosphere and to our beloved trees. Feel that relationship and you will feel a connection to deeper things of the earth.
Try an embodied approach to meditation.
I finally found a pathway into sitting stillness that released all my struggle with mediation. It’s a shift that really resonates with my approach to embodiment with movement. Very simply, I practice feeling internal space or distance that is contained by the walls of my body. This simple shift has helped me stay grounded when mediating and helps me carry the calm of mediation into my ordinary life.
But this space is not just the space in me. As I sit inside my own breathing skin, I can feel that the space outside of me actually is a continuum into my space. And that space also permeates all living and inanimate objects in the world. We all share the same fundamental experience. Perhaps you may feel this as unifying consciousness.
Continue to Learn.
I recently bought a course on pain relief given by an Australian physiotherapist. Why, when I am so busy? Well, I wanted to see if there were cultural differences or differences in information when treating or experiencing pain.
Sometimes just getting even a slightly different perspective enriches my work. But this act of learning also keeps me on track with my life’s purpose. I stay connected to my values and my own embodiment practices.
It’s fairly easy for me to be distracted because I am interested in so many things. Also, I am not superficial in my study. I like depth. Luckily, I have the capacity to learn widely and deeply and yet streamline my knowledge for the benefit of others. My work helps my clarity, calm and contentment,
These practices bring simple sanity in chaos
Really, we can only navigate the difficulties we face if we feel some ground. If we feel some support and if we can let go of some anxiety. This feeling is the essence of embodiment. Here is a quick video to help you feel ground and alleviate anxiety.
Some say the definition of embodiment can be confusing. That is because it really is an experience not an idea. If you want to stay sane, alleviate anxiety and feel calm through the emotional difficulties of COVID, loss or grief, please contact me. I offer a free 15 minute 5 point whole body -mind assessment so we can see if we would work well together.
