The other week I touched on how I wasn't doing so well for a little while there. How I had to go inward to find myself in this dark place, I place where honestly, I thought I wasn't ever going to feel happy ever again. That post had a photo of me sitting by the water. I love water. And what I hope to do on this blog is get you to reflect on how you can find your place. (That's assuming that you may not already know where you can go to quiet all the noises.)
Where you can calm yourself down and get back to your true essence, your soul. For me to be able to hear my truths: the universal truths, my divine truths. I have to go quiet. It means unplugging socially for a little while because I need ALL the voices to go quiet. The voices of expectation, the voices of comparison, the voices of people's opinions, the voices of fear.
For me whenever I sit near any water this works for me, whether that be a lake, a little broth of a creek, the beach, a waterfall. Even in the shower, which is a pretty common one for many people.
“How do you know that these are your places, Gayle?” You might ask, and “how do you find I?” Part of it is going to be trial and error. I needed to go places that stops me in my tracks. There's nothing else I can think of. There's no comparison. There's no fear. It's just beauty.
For many people, they might find this as a walk, going to the gym, swimming laps in a pool, painting, cycling, gardening, sewing. These are all still kinds of meditations. Meditation is when we quieten down the external noise that makes our heart truly happy. Only then can we really hear the voice from within, our truths. For me, I tried walking, walking didn't do it for me. Not in that way, not in that stillness, not in the inner peace way. I tried exercising. It didn't do it for me either. I get the purpose of exercise and I know it's important for me, but it didn't give me the quiet I needed, It did give me a great community, a stringer body and mind - but we are dealing with matters of the heat here.. All the best ideas I've ever had: For my family and for my business have come from stillness, a disengagement of sorts. An unplugging, and recharge - by water.
So have a think for yourself. Where do you find your quiet? Where do you find your pause? And when/where have you been when you came up with some of the best inventions or best ideas for your life? Now extend it even further, Not only was it the best idea- but this new idea also created this overwhelming buzz of excited and a sense that anything and everything is possible. It's a lightness in your decision making, it's not corrupted. It's not held back. That is your place.
As always. I find that when I go to sit by water the ideas, decisions and concepts, organically flow without too much critical thinking. However, when I need to have a big shift, like a big shift in mood or a big shift in wellbeing or in my healing process, I have to also get in the water. You will have seen me swimming in some really crazy places. I am grateful that I ventured into the Wim Hof Method, so that no matter whatever time of the year I go to the beach, or the lake, I can get in and I can survive the harsh, I can survive the cold and the reset. Whether that is getting in warm water or cold water its so revitalizing for me. It is cleansing my stagnant energy and is so far removed from yucky heavy feelings I was having .
Like a baptism. To the point that I can no longer fathom that stuck, unhappy person that I was not so long ago, before the water cleanse and reset. This person that felt stuck, this person who was crawling through the dark on her knees, feeling helpless.
As I reflect, I recognize that these feelings occur when I allow other people's opinions to squash my ideas, or I make comparisons on where I should be. These things engulf, overload and drown me. I am still human, and I'm still learning. And for that I guess I give myself grace and compassion. I can look at all of these emotions and experiences that I go through as though from a bird's eye view. It creates this real interest in how and why I do the things I do. But equally, it can kind of pick me up, because ot remind me… you need to return to your heart and return to your divine trust.
So what's your medicine? What do you use to re-shape and re-shift? Where do you find your best ideas? Where are you at your most peaceful? Do that more, listen to the call when you hear it. I know you’ve heard it, sometimes it might present like “maybe I should do this”, “lets pack up the car and do this.” Sometimes the call is a squeak and sometimes its a roar.
Whatever your thing is do it when you're feeling well, not just when you're feeling yuck. Create these habits and these safe places for your brain and your body and your soul to enjoy and embrace.
And you know, you can always send me a message on Instagram or Facebook because I love to hear your stories. And I love to celebrate you.
So have a think. Let me know. Take care. See you next week.
Takeaway - Learning your mental medicine will catch up when you start to fall. Return to your heart. Love yourself gently.
