Sometimes it is the full moon, the kids, work, being cooped up, listening to the news, or just operator mental error, but whatever it is, the survival charade of intellectualizing, analyzing, aka being in our heads too much, is what most people say drives them nuts more than anything.
The alternative to the hamster wheel of thinking too much is to practice being in the moment. Easy to say right?! But actually it Is a simple habit to learn how to practice. It means, when we recognize we are up in our heads, do something that brings you back (via the senses) to the present, to feeling in your body:
Examples of using your senses to stay present include:
- Squeeze your arm
- Breathe slowly and deeply
- Eat a pickle
- Smell something you like
- Look at the sky and watch a cloud pass
- Breathe in the smell of the outdoors
- Run your hands across the grass
- Snuggle a pooch
- Ride a horse
- Look more deeply at whatever you are looking at
- Listen to that one song that brings you home inside
Any song you love will do and here’s a suggested one from Van Morrisson:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F34zwWJ4bP4
There’s an old ‘70’s saying;
“Wherever you are, that’s where you are at.” This is a simple truth about being present to where we are now. After all the past is over and the future isn’t here yet so why not revel in the now. A book that discusses this further is Michael Singer’s:
The Untethered Soul.
Wishing you a beautiful winter solstice.
A Wellness Article Offering
By Daniel Blackwood
Director of the Evolution Group, Inc.
