MEDS Day 32: Today I am letting go

NDE

The Breathing project is one I will need to keep working with. I realised yesterday, sometimes, I go without breathing! I think it had become worse because I had a cold for a fortnight or so. But really…. I will do well to really work with this over time. (As Mum always said, “Keep breathing in and breathing out!”)

With beautiful synchronicity, the first person I met at lunch yesterday, at the conference on the Value of Death, was a woman wanting to become an EOL Doula, who currently is a health research academic, and a yoga/breath teacher, wanting to bring her breath work to people at the end of life. I wanted to ask her more about the breath work… but really I know what the answer is: it’s about doing more practice of yoga, and qigong, and yogic breathing. This woman spoke beautifully about the unity of mind and body attained through yoga, allowing one to become quiet enough internally to get closer to those unseen, unknown dimensions. This was in conversation with a professor of Healing, who spoke about his research with ‘white witches’ and healers, people who simply seem to have better access to the unseen, integrated realms… Yes, if I can remind and reassure myself that healthy breathing is about (or offers a route towards) integrating one’s vision with the unseen world, I think I’ll have the motivation to overcome the discomfort that arises when one starts the practice! I know what my inner heart is looking for…

I’ve had a beautiful morning just reading Reality Transurfing (p545-574). There is so much there, especially on relationships, on ‘pendulums’ and on conflict. Here is the tiniest nutshell summary of what I surmised this morning, and would like to remember, in my words, not Vadim Zeland’s:

  1. Give what you would get (Frailing rule – let go of the intention to receive, & replace it with the intention to give; we are all seeking self-worth)
  2. Live and let live (Transurfing rule – reject the pendulum rule of ‘Do as I do’; be authentic and let others be authentic too; never try to change someone; drop importance)

I reflected on how I had separated myself from mainstream expectations in many ways, not on philosophical grounds, but because of my inability to tolerate certain arenas of life (eg of mainstream workplaces) and because excessive jazz-handing had brought me such strong ‘balanced forces’ (eg breakdown), but that nonetheless I haven’t fully walked away from the edge of the arenas, or owned my own truth at full expression… How better can I work with the Give and Live principles I state above, in order to better connect to the intention of my heart?

Your reality is constantly a reflection of your relationship to your heart and it’s intention. When you feel like you are straining, it is because you are walking in the opposite direction to your heart’s intention. You can get quite addicted to that straining sensation, and mistake it for the feeling of Working Hard. Only, the heart doesn’t seek to Work Hard. The forces of opposition are those that lead you to believe the illusion that hard work leads to freedom. Learn, dear one, to associate ‘Straining’ with the fact that you are thus walking in the opposite direction of the way of your heart. 

I genuinely feel that if I didn’t strain and hustle I would never get my work off the ground.

Lo ves? If you are honest, would you not admit that the best elements of your work have come to you indirectly, rather than as a direct result of your straining? In fact, we would even say that they have come to you ‘in spite of’ your straining. 

But all the teachings say 1) intend 2) act.

Many of the teachings will tell you that the ‘acting’ should feel affirming of the ‘prayer answered’. Sometimes you might make the request for, say, ‘a castle’, and then start earnestly digging the soil in the wilderness to excavate your own stone… 

Whereas you would suggest…?

Going for a stroll, so that you might stumble upon the castle. 

Ah. I see.

It’s about trust, isn’t it? Trust that we don’t have to do it all ourselves. Not ‘desperately hoping’ or ‘prayerfully willing it’… It’s about the poised sense of trust. Breathing through the arising sensations, with an underlying trust. 

I do have a tendency to try to control my reality. With efforting, jazz-handing, straining…

And your diligence is noted, loved, appreciated and adored, dear soul. Well done for all your steadfastness and stalwartness! 

And now we are here to tell you that physics (quantum physics) works differently to the way you think it does. When you pour your energy (diligence) into the system, you are not in fact stoking the flames of the steam engine boiler, as you think you are doing. In fact, you are creating ‘noise in the system’, dissonance, disruption, contestation, excess potential. You are creating leaks in the energy loops – energetic hernias, if you like. You are busting the gut of the system. You are blowing the gaskets of the internal engines. 

The true manifester of progress must lean back, lean out, like the sailor on the catamaran. This is trust. This is Gandhi meditating because there is so much to do. This is Churchill spending his wartime mornings in the bath. This is the seed spending time enough in the ground to put down roots. This is the tap root hitting the well of spring water.

‘Be still and know that you are God.’ 

Yes, trust. Trust in…?

Goodness. Wellness. Your self. The pure potential in every cell. The universe and its love for you. 

Without my straining.

Exactly. And instead, letting go of control of the script or the plan… Let go, let go, let go. Give when you would get. Be true to yourself, and let others do likewise. Trust, on the wings of faith. 

Ok, today I’ll work on the sensation of ‘letting go’. I’ll note when I’m straining, or trying to control the script, or efforting, or trying to pump-prime the system (and actually flooding it).  I’ll work softly with the tipping-over feelings of ‘vertigo’ that arise when I let go. Thank you. I am so grateful for these dialogues.

Nice. When you are appreciative of, or grateful for, something, you release control, even if for a second. You cannot ‘be grateful’ and ‘in control’ at the same time. So, you can always call on ‘appreciation’ to assist you in letting do today. Think of Abraham-Hicks’ ‘rampage of appreciation’ – that is a good game to play for getting in the ‘letting go’ mode.

Awesome. Thank you. <3 <3 <3

Today I am letting go

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A reminder arose later on in the day, from this NDE account by Jason Henry on Medium: https://medium.com/s/near-death-experiences/my-friend-choked-me-out-i-had-to-make-a-choice-4a3f44d914f6 (see images below).

The story reminded me that dying is essentially the enforced letting go of those old illusory reins on reality, and finding that all you were chafing for was always already resolved. Everything was always perfect. It was the human holding-on-to-control (or straining to achieve that impossible thing) that was the barrier between heaven and not. So…. the act of consciously letting go of the reins is a way towards sensing that bliss of release into perfection that people report at death. You’re dying to the old to be born to the new. Heaven is a place on Earth, as Belinda Carlisle wisely asserted.

?

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Meditation:

20 mins of MEDITATION? YES

Exercise:

ONE HOUR OF EXERCISE? NO

#STEPS – very few

Diet:

BRAIN-MAKER DIET? NO 

DRY today? NO

MORNING: My muesli, moussaka & veg & sauerkraut

EVENING: Chicken, chips & beans (restaurant), V&DC, red wine, cider… (?!)

Sleep:

IN BED WITH MY BOOKS BY 10pm? NO – Sat night..

Screens off:    12      Lights out: 12

Wake up the next day:         8.30           Total sleep: 8h

MEDS Day 31: Today I am breathing peacefully

I loved the sensation of swimming to shore on the tide. Beautiful and reassuring. It allowed me to take the edge off the pressure on myself along the day. I decided to give my talk at “50%” – and I think it helped me present better actually. I made decisions which would support my wellbeing, like not cancelling my GP appointment of today (which I was going to do because I got a ‘lucky ticket’ to go to a day-long conference today… so instead I’m going to go to the conference late morning now.)

It’s 9am. I’ve been awake since 3.30am, with a cortisol disco going on in my body! So much for the 10pm long sleep…! But the wakefulness gave time, at about 5am, for the heart to well up with that which needed to judder through it, and to call out prayerfully, and to affirm intentionally, and to weep out the pain, tension and distress I feel about this life we are all living. It’s such a hard run for so many, many people! May we be safe; may we be peaceful; may we be kind to ourselves and each other; may we accept ourselves and each other exactly as we are. (Kristin Neff)

Today I am going to a conference on The Value of Death. May I learn a great deal and be inspired, and meet the right people and find my place in this world. What is your advice for me today, dear heart of my soul?

How can you protect and enhance your health and your energy levels today? 

I can ask the GP to run tests!

Yes. That is good. How can you calm the cortisol system? 

Um, by breathing well? Stimulate the vagus nerve? Getting grounded wherever I am? Moving slowly and mindfully? Taking no more caffeine?

Today, steady, deep, rhythmic, comforting, gentle breathing is good. 

I will use the Insight Timer app today to work on my breathing, and see if I can get some regulation going on. Please God, may I do a good hearty walk this weekend, and fill my lungs, and give my heart a much-needed workout. May I give-in to good breathing habits.

Breathe is life. Think of it as prana – life-force. Drink in qi. Breathe in to those dear kidneys and adrenal glands. Softly. Slowly. Be peaceful. Breathe peacefully… and see what happens.

For those who intend to help and support others: gentle, successful, consistent self-regulation of the autonomous nervous system is the first port of call. ?

Today I am breathing peacefully

Image of sunset and text: a post by a dear, soulful friend (DLH), posted today. Serendipitous. ?

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Meditation:

20 mins of MEDITATION? YES – not formally… :/

Exercise:

ONE HOUR OF EXERCISE? NO – a sedentary day

#STEPS  – not many

Diet:

BRAIN-MAKER DIET? NO 

DRY today? NO

MORNING: My muesli, nachos in the car (I hadn’t had a big enough breakfast to see me through), GF sandwich & salad at the conference, fruit tea

EVENING: ready meal Moussaka (mucha patata), V & soda. Friday night partay..?

Sleep:

IN BED WITH MY BOOKS BY 10pm? YES!!

Screens off:       10pm   Lights out: 10.30pm (with a sleeping pill)

Wake up the next day:           8am         Total sleep: 9.5h YES! Phew.

MEDS Day 30: Today I am swimming to shore with the tide

So I did the prioritising thing yesterday… and sorted out my list, and categorised it in bunches of similar activities: 1, 1a, 2, 2a, 2b, 3, 3a (eg. 2a was for things that needed to be posted; 3 was anything to do with rates, quotes or invoices). But here’s the thing: my physical and mental energy is low. The guy opposite me at the co-working space was just pumping out phone calls, and they seemed to cost him no energy. I had three phone calls (2 interviews and a client call) and they wiped me out!

The idea behind ‘prioritising’ is to understand what you really need to prioritise. 

Well, I guess I need to prioritise my health and wellbeing.

And how would that change your To Do List? 

Interesting. I guess I would actually list/number/categorise the things I need to do for my health…

Almost. Beware making self-care the next chore on the list…

Oh, I know…! This:

  • I would set a much smaller To Do List (less threatening; more realistic)
  • I would take shortcuts to get things done (less perfectionist; more pragmatic)
  • I would say no to people (less obliging; more sustainable)
  • I would acknowledge what I can and can’t easily and effectively do each day (less idealistic; more self-compassionate)
  • I would schedule tasks in my calendar, so that I can take them off my dangling To Do List…! (better use of calendar)

Remember to ask yourself, “What am I aiming for?”

What am I aiming for? Three afternoon cases/sessions per week. At £x.

And for passive income?

Hmm? Ah… Yes. The books.

Focus, focus, focus… gratefully. Your capacity for gratitude is increasing, to your own benefit. Your suspicion is diminishing! Your belief is on the rise. You feel the tide of advantage picking you up and carrying you. Swim with the tide, dear soul. Swim with it, smilingly. See the land in the distance, and keep your eyes upon it. The tide will carry you in, if you but let yourself be carried by it. (aka: Stop swimming out to sea again!) Imagine your feet on solid earth again. Relish that anticipated sensation. Swim to shore, dear one, with the spring tide powering you forward. 

Today I am swimming to shore with the tide

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Meditation:

20 mins of MEDITATION? NO – but 40 mins of Insight Timer talks while walking

Exercise:

ONE HOUR OF EXERCISE? YES – walking to office and back

#STEPS: 9000

Diet:

BRAIN-MAKER DIET? NEARLY

DRY today? NO

MORNING: My muesli, chicken soup from Pret, Berocca drink, cup of tea

EVENING: salmon/egg/spinach pot from Pret, coconut bar from Pret, seaweed thins, celery and guacamole, G&T

Sleep:

IN BED WITH MY BOOKS BY 10pm? YES!

Screens off:     9.45pm     Lights out: 10.10pm – Boom

Wake up the next day:          3.30am!!!!!!          Total sleep: 5hours!

 

MEDS Day 29: Today I am prioritising

The ‘making progress’ feeling was good yesterday.

I had a successful conflict coaching case and then came home at lunchtime. Completely exhausted. A nap didn’t work, so I eventually deployed the ‘lying on the floor with legs on the bed’ technique for 15 minutes. It helped, and I got going. So much to do. The overwhelm could have grown, but once I got going, it improved. There’s just so much new stuff coming in at the moment. Complex new training commissions; invitations to contribute to (unpaid but interesting/meaningful) stuff; Christmas plans; financial things to sort out; interviews (today I’m speaking to GH magazine and the FT…). Maybe we’re all being swept up in the rip-tide of busy-ness. There is surely another way. There’s got to be. My body has absolutely no more beans left to service any further panic on the dance-floor…

Yesterday’s prioritisation system was good. ‘Here’s my list of actions, and here they are numbered in order of priority: Item 1, 2, 3…’

Yes, prioritising was good, though I ended up with a list of five ‘Item 0’s which I ended up squishing in as even more urgent than 1, 2 and 3!

Good. Do it again. A whole new list in your wonderful Planner. Bless yourself with the sequence of priorities. But for now…. today is a busy day. No more writing. Get to Priority Number 1, which is 20 mins of Meditation with Insight Timer, followed by a little stretch. And… go!

Today I am prioritising

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Kenneth Soares in Insight Timer
Kenneth Soares in Insight Timer

Meditation:

20 mins of MEDITATION? YES 

Exercise:

ONE HOUR OF EXERCISE? YES – walking to office and back

#STEPS: 8909 (6km)

Diet:

BRAIN-MAKER DIET?  NEARLY

DRY today? YES

MORNING: My muesli, probiotics/NAC, chicken stew from Pret, 100% choc, Berocca drink, seaweed crisps

EVENING: steamed kale & quinoa (at 5pm), cottage pie ready meal at 8pm, G&T

Pleased about getting supplements back in. I think the probiotics are starting to help clear the gut microbiome. Must remember to keep adding fermented food eg simply sauerkraut, ACV water. Get some cocount kefir? It’s all about the microbiome, people.

Also, I want to have a little think about the evening wagon fall-off – I’m doing really well in the day time and then falling for high-carbs (potato) or alcoholic drinks, and late-evening snacks. I wonder how I can really get closure on my evenings without gorging…? Need to invite the answers in. 🙂

Sleep:

IN BED WITH MY BOOKS BY 10pm? NO – got carried away with phone

Screens off:  10.50pm  Lights out: 11pm

Wake up the next day:             6am       Total sleep: 7h. Ok.

MEDS Day 28: Today I am making progress

Brain Maker trailer

Oh man, I’m so pleased to have slept over 8 hours…. What a relief.

I love these changes we’ve made to the MEDS tracking format: a) the colour coding and b) the ‘non-negotiable’ targets. So simplifying and clarifying. I now need to arrange my day’s schedule around the targets, rather than ‘see what happens’ and write it down later.

Review – are the targets right?:

MED: 20 mins of Med – feels about right

EXERCISE: 1 hour of exercise – hm, well, if I were doing HIIT, 30 mins might be plenty. But I can’t at the moment because of the adrenal fatigue recovery phase, so actually this stands for now. Another good target is number of steps, but until I can get a new Fitbit I’m a bit vague on tracking daily steps, though my phone does a reasonable job so maybe I should add that in anyway for tracking? Yes.

DIET: I fell into Brain Maker without checking back in on GAPS or Adrenal Fatigue diets… but they are all in the same direction. The thing I like about Brain Maker is the emphasis on repopulating the gut with good bacteria. I seem to be prone to gut candida (fed by carbs/sugar), so a low carb, high fat, high pre/probiotic approach seems good. Need to make a copy of the summary sheet I made. Also, need to really compassionately decide to be dry in the week (Sunday pm to Friday pm) – maybe need to track that too? Yes.

SLEEP: Yes, THIS is the target! ‘In bed with my books by 10pm’ solves everything. The books are the antidote to screen,  and the books also include my planner for the next day. By 10pm, and I am hitting my natural melatonin window, which means that my cortisol regulation is encouraged for the next day. Eight hours sleep is pretty much guaranteed. So… will I commit to it? Will I leave evening activities at 9pm latest, to be in bed by 10pm? Let’s see!

What thoughts for today?

‘I am making progress’

I am! It feels like I’m pulling my energy back in, and placing focus gently where it’s needed. Doing this process here helps, somehow… It makes me more compassionate towards myself. Less likely to cast impossible targets at myself. To make this all really work, I need to make similar progress in my work field… so that I am not bringing a n y more stress to my door. 

What does such progress in your work field look like? 

It looks like… rhythm and regularity. Me setting the timetable – like a dentist schedules available appointments. Me clarifying my offering and it’s boundaries, as well as its areas of flexibility. Why do I not finish my brochure?

Why do you think? 

Perfectionism? Fear of failure? Fear of success?

‘Perfectionism’ is a good start. Work with that, knowing that…

‘Done is better than perfect’ – or whatever they say at Facebook HQ. And also that, any brochure will always be a work in progress. It’s hard to plan to hand it over for design and print…as if that sets it in stone.

How about developing a template, that you can fill in with different services or for different markets, and adjust as you go….

Yes. I like that. That would overcome the perfectionism…if I can settle on a template. Two A4 sides. Or four. Brainstormed on paper.

‘Each day, I am making progress towards my goal.’

Ty. Yes. I know that if I can simplify my work offering, it will be a good thing. It will allow me to do all that I want to do in life, be of service sustainably, and develop the health and wellbeing of body, mind and soul. Three afternoon cases a week. Breathe…

Today, I am making progress

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Self-Compassion
Self-Compassion

Meditation:

20 mins of MEDITATION? YES 

So good to return to Kristin Neff, the queen of self-compassion. Listening to her audiobooks and meditations on long soulful walks in 2016 was so healing. Here on Insight Timer, her guided med reminds us to ask “May I be safe… peaceful… kind to myself… accepting of myself just as I am.” ?

Exercise:

ONE HOUR OF EXERCISE? NO!

#STEPS : 1717

Diet:

BRAIN-MAKER DIET? NEARLY

DRY today? NO (half a cider)

MORNING: My muesli, coffee with cream, snack box, pot of pea and ham soup

EVENING: chicken, beans, sweet potato fries, apple juice and soda, cider

Sleep:

IN BED WITH MY BOOKS BY 10pm? NO.. (choir night)

Screens off:     11.20pm     Lights out: 11.30pm

Wake up the next day:    7.30am                Total sleep: 8 hours! (again!) Yes!

Brain Maker trailer Brain Maker trailer

MEDS Day 27: Today I am composing myself

Adrenal Fatigue Recovery Plan

Yesterday was curious. While I ‘walked towards my future’ (holding the future vision in mind), we actually ended up going out and visiting the village where I grew up. I hadn’t been for years. It was good to retrace the footsteps of a time of innocence. This resonates with the RT concept of returning to your past mentally, to catch glimpses of the times when you were on the easier timeline, as it were – before the pendulum swings of adversity and challenge booted you on to lower frequencies. In revisiting the places of earliest innocence, perhaps the memory of the original timeline is evoked, and can be summoned for the future.

And today, with present realities still playing out, I wake to the realisation that my dear, kind patient body is back in full-blown adrenal fatigue. How did it happen, even while I’m actually doing this MEDS Project?! I worked soooooo hard to overcome it in 2015-17. I overcame it, and was fit and healthy again! It takes MONTHS and YEARS to recover from. How come I am back here?

I reckon these were the causes of the renewed adrenal fatigue:

  1. SLEEP: Not nailing the early bedtime. I know better. I need to nail being in bed by 10pm, with all screens off. It’s as simple as that. Without this, I can not hope to catch the melatonin window, and I actively summon a cortisol burst to keep me awake. It’s insanity.
  2. DIET: Carbs, caffeine, alcohol. In 2017, I spent 11 months alcohol-free. It reduced carb intake and it massively improved by sleep. It stopped night time eating too. I also followed the brainmaker diet. Come on, dear soul. We know this stuff. I know it all wound up because of meeting my lovely partner, who (though he understands and has practised all these protocols) can get away without following them. And I have followed him – partly out of succumbing to temptation, partly not to be the party-pooper in the room. Time to stop, and develop the willpower of a fucking eagle. (It was hard enough keeping to protocols when my kids were in the house… but to be in a relationship with someone who can and will eat all the things that make me ill, is hard. But I’ve got special interest Aspie powers to call upon. And I will.
  3. WORK/TIME MANAGEMENT: It has spiralled out of control again, and although I’m my own boss, I’m not a good MANAGER (of myself, my workflow, my business operations). I let things build up, and terrorise me. I allow my diary to fill with unnecessary and UNPAID busy work, that feeds others’ agendas, not mine. (Like speaking at conferences….without having a freaking brochure to pass to people!!! Come on, lady!)
  4. WORK TYPE: I say yes to work that EXHAUSTS me. Why am I doing training sessions for 60 people? Last Friday’s training was completely exhausting! We did well, but the chaos levels of our client were off the scale. No wonder I’m adrenal-fatigued. The  way I got through the obstacle course of the training was to suck my adrenal glands dry. It will take me weeks to recover. I need to remember that I am in recovery!
  5. EXERCISE: I’m not doing enough. Remember I used to walk an hour a day, and then do Qigong on a Tues, Yoga and Swimming on a Thursday? Well, that…
  6. MEDITATION: Do I need to get some help resetting that? A meditation teacher is a basic need I should think….

So what are the solutions for this bout of adrenal fatigue?

  1. SLEEP: In bed with my books by ten. (Books for reading, but also my work planner so it’s ready for the morning’s review). Change the box below – so it’s a target we either hit or we don’t. There’s a prize for hitting it 5 nights a week. (I think I need a running spreadsheet. I also need a Fitbit again….)
  2. DIET: I need to define my diet again (somewhere between Brain-maker, GAPs and Adrenal Reset Diet (below). It needs to be manageable and resourced. Time for a Riverford box again? All I really need is organic veg and meat, and probiotics….
  3. WORK/TIME MANAGEMENT:
    1. Start saying “no, thank you’ a lot more, to unpaid work, favours and jollies
    1. Set my ideal week in the Planner and work towards it doggedly, and lightly. 🙂
  4. WORK TYPE: Focus on the mediation/dialogue work. Aim for 3 afternoon cases a week, on a Mon., Wed. and Fri. afternoon, by Skype, or at my office, or at local workplaces. Absolute priority this week: the new brochure. Not for jollies, but because my health depends upon. it.
  5. EXERCISE: Block out time for exercise again…. This is a big one. I feel sad at how I let ‘work’ overrun my week again, when I know better.
  6. MEDITATION: Look for classes. Oh my.

What about the money for this?

Focus on the 3 afternoon cases a week, dear friend of friends. 

I’m so grateful for the coaching you give me. What else do I need to know for today, dear soul of my being?

It’s all ok. There’s no need to rush or push anything. No one is waiting for you. Compose yourself. 

Yes! That. Ty.

Today I am composing myself.

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Meditation:

20 mins of MEDITATION?  NO – 5mins

Exercise:

ONE HOUR OF EXERCISE? YES – walking

Diet:

BRAIN-MAKER DIET? YES / NO / NEARLY

MORNING: My muesli / Salmon + Quinoa + Kale salad from M&S

EVENING: Home-cooked chicken drumsticks, sprouts, parsnips, potato faces, 2xG&T 

Sleep:

IN BED WITH MY BOOKS BY 10pm? YES!! / NO

Screens off:  9.50pm        Lights out: 10.20pm

Wake up the next day: 6.50am                    Total sleep: 8.5h! YES!

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Useful article: https://www.healthy-holistic-living.com/4-simple-steps-to-reversing-adrenal-burnout-includes-supplement-guide.html?utm_source=NM&utm_content=24889-HK9X

MEDS Day 26: Today I am walking towards my future

Thanks for yesterday’s permission to reach into peace…

I have learnt over the years this notion of walking calmly and confidently towards a goal, knowing that the universe can and will make it happen with ease. I have experienced many seeming miracles. This is because the world is predicated on the fundamental everydayness of miracles. The key appears to be: 1)  knowing what we want, and then 2) getting the mind out of the way.

Over time our goals change, don’t they?

We get clearer about what pleases the soul. 

Yes. That factor of getting the mind out of the way is about letting the soul speak and lead?

It’s about allowing the heart and mind to align in their own way and space, without interference. The heart and mind are good dialoguers behind the scenes. We have to be brave enough to take the mind ‘offline’ on a regular basis so that it can have the mind-to-heart conversations. 

Hence, mediation.

And other practices. 

Ah yes, love, service compassion. Reaching for deep peace. Leading from the internal rest point. What else should I know for today.

We reach deep peace, and we keep on walking. 

The peaceful stillness is internal, not a general paralysis of action…?

Exactly.

Like mindful walking.

Hold the target slide in mind, and move towards it. 

Yesterday I was thinking about my ideal work life. A dialogue a day. For peace, for love, for end of life, for mental health recovery, for community building.

So walk towards it. Today and each day. Be ready for it to emerge. Do the groundwork. 

Today I am walking towards my future

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Meditation:

0 – weekend company..

Exercise:

15 min stroll :-/ Most of the ‘day out’ was spent driving to find a pub still doing lunch… Lovely, but not the walking I needed, needed, needed.

Diet:

Coffee with cream, sausages, rice, egg

Late lunch: pie, mash, greens, diet coke – at a pub – carb/gluten! Felt rough

Pre-bed: can of lager and a sausage…. (not proud of how this w/e went)

Sleep:

Screens off: 11.30pm

Lights out: 11.30pm

Wake up the next day: 6.45am

Total sleep: c7hours. I need 8. I need to make it happen.

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MEDS Day 25: Today I am reaching for deep peace

‘Leading from the Internal Rest Point’ felt nice yesterday. On the journey to my training gig, I was at about 60% anxiety with panic symptoms in my chest area. But I could get busy just watching it, and singing it out in the car. I prayed along the way that today I would forget about my self, and be a channel for whatever would inspire and help and serve the participants on our course.

In the event, the training gig was priceless: we spent an hour setting the room up to perfection, only to be told at 4 minutes to kick-off, that actually, the person looking after us had accidentally taken us to the wrong room. Sixty people were waiting for us in a different room, in the next building…. We then had to rush and rally and cope with so much ‘chaos ensuing’ that actually, once we got going with the training (a miraculous 12 minutes later), reaching in for the IRP  felt like reconnecting with a welcome pool of sanity. I could see my urge to push / control / over-exude arising, and when I thought of the IRP, the words, “Yes, have faith…” came to mind and I re-centred.

The result? I think I gave a better. more coherent training. I was more present, more connected, more inspired by the moment, less hooked to process, more in flow with the opportunities arising from the participation of the delegates.

What could be achieved by a regular reconnection with deep peace? My sweetheart is teaching me about stopping at weekends again. I’m watching today how, after an extremely ‘contracted’ couple of weeks, if one can bear the unravelling, jittery discomfort of ‘de-contracting’, the notion of a safe, sensible, healthy, productive ‘re-contraction’ on Monday seems feasible. But yes, you’ve got to breathe out to be able to breathe in. I would love an annual full de-contraction, for a week, like a qigong retreat.

‘The Battle Is Over’ and ‘Zero Importance’ are two excellent concepts I am learning from Reality Transurfing. Equally, the idea that you can lift merely the little finger of outer intention to point to that which you would do, be or have. What more can I learn today on these themes?

The theme of deep peace was your starting point. Do you know what you mean by ‘deep peace’?

No, not entirely.

Deep peace is a state of complete non-resistance. 

Aha. How is it attained? Should one dip into it, or seek to live in it.

Deep peace is like fondue cheese. You dip yourself (the bread) into it, and the cheese sticks…. for a while, before the bulk of it slides off. It’s viscous; you can coat yourself in it, and absorb some of it. But you need to keep dipping in to the fondue pot. 

Which is meditation, right?

And other practices. 

Like?

Love. Service. Compassion. 

Aha. Aren’t they ‘activities’, outward-facing, requiring some exertion (which is resistance, no?)?

Activities of ‘service to others’ (STO) carried out for self, require resistance. STO in its true spirit is vivifying, uplifting, peace-giving.

Nu?

Death and dying. People need STO there. 

Ah.. Yes. I need your help. Is that… within my work? Is it voluntary work? I don’t want to be another person knocking around the dying, getting under foot.

You are a conversationalist. That is required. 

Yes. The Dialogues for End of Life.  My ‘Go In Peace’ Project.

Think not of the commercial framework. Please. Just do it. 

Psychopompery. It makes me feel scared. And sad. And alive. And like I’m yearning.

It is impossibly difficult work in this era, and yet entirely vital. You are not called to usher souls over, but to help them reach peace in their human relationships before they go. 

How?

Dialogues of Discernment. 

Amen. So, I pray to be guided and gifted and received… Help me.

Lift the little finger of outer intention, dear friend. That is all it takes.

And then follow prompts. That is really all it takes. 

And money and stuff?? In my life, I mean. This focus on earning….

Energy exchanges with like value. 

Yes, that makes sense. And so, today?

Reach for that deep peace of which you spoke. 

Ok. I will. Bless you. Bless these dialogues. I am so grateful for them. (Can’t quite believe we’re doing them ‘in public’ but it is seeming to add something new.) All is good and perfect and well and blessed. Thank you for my learning. Now…. ‘Deep peace is a state of complete non-resistance.’ Breathing out…. Decontracting… Trusting…

I am reaching for deep peace

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Meditation:

/

Exercise:

Gentle walk in autumn sunshine (1 hour) – still got a cold so just gentle.

Diet:

Coffee with cream. Sausages, rice, egg.

Evening: restaurant! – pork belly, mash, veg, cider

Sleep:

Screens off: 12

Lights out: 12

Wake up the next day: 7am

Total sleep: 7h

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MEDS Day 24: Today I am leading from my Internal Rest Point

"Everything's going my way"

Yesterday was pretty excruciating. Once I gave in to the fact I was struggling, so much got processed – exhaustion, and pent up inner tension/distress. I must have done 10 mins ‘work’. The rest of the day was ‘trying to work’ and wrestling with brain worms; attention deficit;  comfort-watching youtube films on near-death experiences, death and dying… Eventually (about 5pm), I was able to do some TRE, and a lot came out. Thank goodness. Dusk came eventually like a blessed relief. Beautiful Skype call with my Beloved gave not only respite, but confirmation of perspective. I am truly blessed to be in this relationship.

I had felt like trauma was shuddering through me all day. Well, electromagnetically, yesterday and the day before were cray-zee, it transpires. So I have to remember that we ARE processing stuff as a species at the moment… intensively.

And when we give in to the processing (ie. drop ‘resistance’) it is less uncomfortable.

Exactly that. I woke up thinking about ‘inner sovereignty’ and how we reclaim it.  I’ve been reading more of Reality Transurfing this morning. It’s so so good on exactly that topic. It speaks of 1) Ending the Battle 2) Celebrating Our Life As It Is. RT talks about developing the ‘foolish habit of celebrating setbacks’.

So, this arose (the Mother Courage has left the building bit, especially):

I better get going with the day. I’m training in Oxford today. What’s the theme for the day? So much good stuff this morning. (I love ‘Mother Courage has left the building‘ btw 🙂 ).

Image result for mother courage

Find that internal rest point, and lead from there. Especially when you are teaching the students about ‘creativity’. Do it from an internal rest point. 

I see. Hm, yes I was about to head off on ‘celebrate!’ or hop on my horse of  ‘Everything’s Going My Way!’…

Too much just yet. Yesterday was intense. Such jiggery-pokery of the emotions as would be stirred up by the theme of  “Celebrate!” is not ‘prescribed just yet! 😀 So, gently, softly. Lead from the I. R. P. 

Ok. Ty, Lovely. The IRP – I like that. Blessings and light and love to all the planet today, please. And especially to my very elderly and beautiful cousin R, who may be getting ready to go on home.

Done. <3

Today I am leading from my Internal Rest Point.

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Meditation:

10 mins on Insight Timer

Exercise:

10 mins freestyle stretch/yoga/qigong on mat with Insight Timer music

Diet:

Morning: Coffee with cream, Sausage soup (with chicken bone broth) for breakfast, plus cereal jar in the car, then raw juice at 12.

Evening: nachos in the car, cheese and ryvita, cocktail, virgin mojito, pint of lager, curry at restaurant.

Sleep:

Screens off: 9ish

Lights out: 12midnight

Wake up the next day: 7.30pm

Total sleep: 7.30pm. Beautiful night’s sleep in the company of one who sleeps well and deeply. Feeling loved, held, accompanied, cherished, protected.

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MEDS Day 23: Today I am flying under the radar

So, I did keep it pretty simple yesterday. And it was lovely, because actually some really nice serendipitous things happened that, quite possibly, my jazz-handing would have ‘seen off’. There really is a lesson here in resting on the ‘timeline’ of my best life…. relaxed, receptive, trusting, peaceful. Only in that state and frequency, and in the ‘ownership’ of that timeline, can the good stuff flow in.

I thought I had to leap ‘above the radar’ (‘jazz-hand) to get noticed and trusted and saved by those who might ‘make life safe’ for me…. but actually, flying below the radar is cosier, it’s closer to earth, it’s easier to put one’s foot down and rest….

I don’t think ‘flying under the radar‘ means being silent. Far from it. It’s more about being, perhaps, true, authentic, open, modest, appreciative of others, straight-forward, unabashed, honest, unpretentious? It’s not quite about being ‘vulnerable’, but it is about owning who one is. For example, my LinkedIn post, coming out about being on benefits for my poor mental health (actually written as a damage-limitation exercise before that BBC interview went out on TV last week) has attracted more ‘likes’ than anything else I’ve ever written. Humans like humans, not automatons or archetypes. Yes?

Equally, I feel some relief, about having to put less energy into masking, and into ‘puffing up’ a persona which is not mine. I can reclaim some of that previously externally-channelled energy for me.

Thoughts?

The timeline conversation is a helpful one. You are aware of vibrating to one frequency or another…

And my highly-sensitised, easily-inflamed brain keeps shimmying me on to a frequency of… I want to say ‘high dudgeon’. [Dudgeon: a state of anger, resentment, or offence] Ha! I’m beyond that conscious emotional state, I’d like to think…but this term kind of exemplifies the recoiled nature of my brain when inflamed. Like a medieval maiden fleeing the castle. And my heart too. (I was reading Joe Dispenza / Heart Math Insitute on neuro-cardiology yesterday.)

So the timeline of ‘peace, wellbeing, relaxation, receptivity’ is one to practise, right?

Ah, yes. Hence, the practice of peaceful/mindful/conscious meditation, exercise, diet and sleep. You gotta do it, right? For the whole being to shimmy and slide consistently on to the peaceful timeline. It’s like you’ve got to imprint it time and again on your being, for the permanent shift of frequency to take place. I heard a talk on Insight Timer last night, about ‘sauntering through life’. Is that about right?

Before sauntering, we stop. Rest. Recoup. 

Am I addicted to those stressy, fried frequencies?

Does it feel uncomfortable to ‘stop’?

Yes… I know what you mean. It does. Twitchy, angsty. Easier to keep the locomotive moving. Yearning to leap out of the stillness and cartwheel across the room. OR…. to stop by dissociating and zoning out. (eg on the phone)

So, yes. In answer to your question about being addicted to the stress chemicals. Which is helpful, isn’t it? Because you are excellent at dealing with addictions. 

That is very kind of you. Only because I am so prone to them.

But you know what to do. 

With addiction and craving? Ride through the discomfort. Connect with things/people which fill my soul. Addictive behaviours are often a misfired attempt at filling the hole in the soul, right? 

Nice. 

Thanks. So, today?

You were flying under the radar.

Yes, which I guess I deemed to be better than trying to leap frog over the rainbow.

You are a master of mixed metaphors. 

I shall take that as a compliment. 🙂

It is equally about relaxing so that you become less dense, which allows you to ‘rise’ (like a hot air balloon) back to the original (“long-forgotten” RT p502) timeline of peace, upon which you were born.

Ah, so relaxing down (under the radar) to become less dense/tense/compacted … in order to naturally float up to the natural (peaceful) frequency again.

Exactly.

Today I am flying under the radar.

********************

Exercise

18 mi. Freestyle stretches while listening to this:

Meditation:

15 mins with Insight Timer

Exercise:

18 mins freestyle stretch

1h walk in sunshine

Diet:

Coffee with cream, cereal in a jar

Brunch: Sausages, sauerkraut, tea.

Snack: TWO huge packets of crisps (NB. carb carvings mind-afternoon…)

Evening: Cottage pie ready meal, green veg. G&T.

Sleep:

Screens off: 11pm

Lights out: 11.15pm

Wake up the next day: 5.15am (alarm set for 6.30… doing training today & still got cold)

Total sleep: c5h

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