I’ve really been struggling with meditation lately. I have a bad case of the “I’ll do it laters,” and then I often don’t end up doing it at all. But last week I convinced myself to go sit down for just 10 minutes and be with myself. I settled in, using a mantra to anchor my attention, “I am breathing in. I am breathing out.” Once I got settled (and convinced Huehue to leave me alone), I put one hand on my heart and posed a question, “What do you want me to know?” 
I should preface this by saying that asking the heart what it wants to say is a practice I’ve learned from Dr. Betsy Rippentrop. I’ve tried it plenty of times, but I am usually met with total crickets. I was beginning to believe that this concept of the heart actually communicating to me is a myth. However, I just returned from 3 days of a deep dive into the Listening assessment technique taught by the Barral Institute, and what I learned there is that the more I can relax and let go of the anxiety about “doing it right,” the more I can actually feel. I brought that same Listening quality of diffuse attention and unbiased invitation to the questioning of my heart.
This time something different happened.
This time I heard a little soft voice say, “Everything is gonna be alright.”
And I got choked up.
Everything’s gonna be alright.
That’s it. That’s all I needed to hear.
Everything’s gonna be alright.
I spent the rest of the day singing Bob Marley and aching to go to Jamaica again.
I was blown away by the impact of slowing down, giving my inner Self a quiet moment to speak. These moments are so blessed, so beautiful, and too rare. And they are only too rare because I still struggle to prioritize taking time to allow them to happen.
If you struggle to hold space for yourself, as I do, here are a few tidbits that might help.
- Increase awareness by tracking behaviors. I borrowed a daily Habits Tracker from Mr. Money Mustache, and I’ve been tracking about 5 habits that I want to do daily. If I do that thing, I get a beautiful X in the box. If I don’t, it remains empty and unfulfilled. Tracking helps celebrate success and highlights opportunities to do better. If you want a copy of the tracker, respond to this email.
- Tune in to your Why. Why is this habit important to you? When I remind myself that I am a better therapist, better teacher, and more chill human when I meditate, then I actually TAKE ACTION (instead of procrastinate), and go into the room, sit on my cushion, and meditate.
- Work with someone who can hold space for you to slow down and listen to yourself. This is the heart of all the services I offer to my clients – let’s slow down and open up space for something new to happen! I have a hearty list of other practitioners who are excellent holders of space as well. Let me know if you need help finding someone who plugs into your energy well.
With that, I’ll leave you to your Sunday. And remember:
Don’t worry….about a thing… cause every little thing gonna be alright.
With love,
Heather
Space to be Human Lab
Here is how you can work with me:
- Bodywork: Do you want to feel more ease and softness in your bodymind and feel more connected to your life energy? In these sessions we partner together to listen to what your body needs and then provide it with the space and stimulus it needs to heal. You can book a session here.
- Coaching helps you reconnect with your Self, your needs, and your strengths – opening you up to new possibilities. My client, Brea, said it so well:
- “Sometimes you need the reminder to pause, to breath, to explore and how to hold space for all of that – Heather has helped me create that space and build trust in myself.”
- You can book a free consultation here. Through June 30, 2024 I am offering a 6-session coaching package for $240.
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