When we take whatever’s going on simply as information or data, we can be curious about it. Amused even.
Normally, we might get sucked into how we feel about whatever’s going on – the weather, failure, illness, insomnia etc.
Lying in bed awake when you really want to sleep? Starting (and maintaining) a Sleep Log can help you identify the routines and other things that help you sleep well and that get in the way of a good night’s sleep. You can find out more about my work with sleep issues HERE (including details about tomorrow’s Sleep Yoga Workshop in Westport.
Embracing your inner detective means you can be curious around what works – and doesn’t – for you. It’s essential for self care. There is so much advice out there. But YOU know yourself best.
Being curious about our feelings – even when they’re the kind of feelings we’d rather not be feeling – helps us get to know ourselves better. We gain more understanding about everything.
By pausing and digging deep (with a hefty dose of self compassion), we can use that information to make positive changes.
Instead of beating ourselves up for having feelings we’ve judged ourselves for like jealousy, pain, sadness, loss, self-loathing or anything else we don’t see so much of on social media, we can reflect. Really feel them.
You may be itching to journal around them and process them. Alternatively, staying with these uncomfortable feelings may be the last thing you want to do. You’re human!
If this is the case, simply taking three complete breaths as you acknowledge the feeling can be enough to bring you some insight and (I hesitate writing this as mindfulness is so much about acceptance and yet the improvement in our feelings HELPS) also shift the feeling.
This is another of the blessings of mindfulness – the recognition that everything changes. If we let it.
Feeling furious at x because of y might have been the exact prompt you needed to set a stronger boundary.
Lying awake instead of sleeping might have been the cue you needed to do something as prosaic as curbing your midnight coffee or maybe lead to a greater insight about something you’ve literally been losing sleep over.
That pain – physical, emotional, mental or spiritual – may be the catalyst for you to do something different and set you on a whole new course.
‘Everything’s information’ has been one of my little mantras for YEARS (I still hear Joan Wilmot’s voice in my head as she said it a lot during my integrative clinical supervision training) and it’s one of those little reframes that truly can shift everything.
What’s your biggest bugbear right now?
What happens when you get really curious about it? When you wonder what it’s trying to teach you or how it’s trying to help you?
What other information springs to mind?
If you’d like my support as you reflect and process, get in touch to book your free telephone consultation.
Big love,
