Ready for a mental and emotional detox? One that means turning off and tuning out the noise from social media and the news? That might be just what the doctor ordered for a powerful reset. For me, my reset meant spending 36 hours in silence, disconnected from technology, in order to simply be. While spending time in silence may sound like bliss, anyone who has dedicated significant time doing so knows that coming off of the stimulation high takes time and is truly an art. It’s like jumping off a running treadmill and thinking your heart rate, sweat production and heavy breathing will just stop. It takes time for the mind and body to relax from a stimulated state and simply just be.
Each time I have gone through this process I have had some profound points come to life. More importantly, I have had a few things ring true each and every time which are proving to be essential lessons that the process continually highlights.
Here are four essential truths that time in silence has continued to teach me:
- When you are in silence, your thoughts don’t stop. You don’t know what thoughts are going to arise and you don’t know how you are going to choose to process through those thoughts when all of the distractions are gone – no TV, social media, no phone call, no advice from the outside world. It’s just you and those thoughts. Once you process through your initial thoughts, as luck would have it, more thoughts will arise and you will have to once again process through them solo. They key is to learn to sit with your thoughts, acknowledge they have arisen, and allow them to pass. The peaceful passage allows your mind to be free from dwelling which invites in needless stress.
- Creating daily habits doesn’t merely apply to outside actions. Whether it is going to the gym to stay in shape, gardening to have fresh vegetables, or maintaining your yard so it looks presentable, the key lies in the regular maintenance which positions each element to be the best it can be. In the same way, a daily practice of internal stillness is vital to achieve mental clarity to in turn have better decision making throughout the day. Chose 5-10 daily minutes of stillness to train your mind to settle so that you can rise above the noise and feel empowered.
- Take flight when your intuition is telling you it is time to soar. Allowing yourself to be susceptible to others who try to hold you back for their own selfish reasons is a sure fire way to negate your progress in any respect in life. There will never be a shortage of people who are ready and waiting to give you their opinions and impose their beliefs as to why you can’t or shouldn’t take things to the next level. However, in your intuition lies your truth so listen to yourself – that is where the magic happens. Don’t get lost in misguided comments from people who are looking out for themselves first.
- You are worth holding space for. It is imperative to hold space for yourself and what you want to achieve. There are so many distractions that encroach on our day to day lives that we need to make sure we are not engulfed, but rather empowered, by making sure we are fiercely protecting our individual space. Life will unfold as it may, turbulence will roll though in waves, so it’s imperative to learn to ride the waves instead of trying to defeat the storm.
As we move into a New Year, with much hope for a more liberated global climate, remember to take time for yourself. Allow yourself to have the grace you freely give to others to take a minute, or 10, or 24 hours, to detox from the noise. Among a plethora of things that this past year has shown us, one thing for sure is that our health – mental, emotional and physical is invaluable.
Source: WeHeartIt
Leave A Comment