Dear Listener,
A central theme this pod revolves around regards the opportunity to know yourself. It’s been a teaching point for me during this pandemic. How to do that?
Learn yourself.
A way to know what is helpful/unhelpful towards optimal living involves a degree of inquisitiveness, willingness to try novel/intelligent approaches and listening/observing how your body-type responds (without judgement or expectation).
I’ll use a simple example- yoga. Though I am a longtime student/practitioner of yoga, it’s not for everyone nor does it need to be. The only way to know if yoga suits you is to try different styles taught by different teachers and see if it ‘clicks’. Consider it an experiment of one. Applying intelligence- if you sought a way to reduce anxiety, it would be useful to know whether or not yoga helps (and you might read something like this ). However if your heart is not in it (and for no other reason it doesn’t fit), maybe it’s helpful to see what does?
As the pandemic scrambled work arrangements, people I spoke with discovered either they worked better at home (it’s not distracting) or realized it was easier at the office (needed structured work hours or social contact). Neither is right or wrong, it’s a matter of knowing what works. Once that is realized, the next step is taking action on what is learned and honoring it.
Adaptations I’ve witnessed people make (as a result of self-learning) included some of the follwing; walking in nature, less/no screen time, cutting sugar, more time with friends, quality time with family, reducing/eliminating alcohol, practicing an instrument, learning a skill (eg: repairing something), reading news (no video/tv), eating more veggies, no work email after hours, changing jobs for work/life balance, catching up with medical/dental appointment, more time for prayer/meditation…
To notice what you need, begin by decreasing distractions, find ways to quiet the mind to listen, observe, quietly explore. Today’s meditation is one that focuses on the mind, breath and heart to ease you along this direction.
My apologies for the late post.
Thank you for listening. This post is public, please share it with anyone you think it may help.
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