We’re not meeting this evening because of the Super Bowl (Go Niners!). But I hope you set aside some time to pause.
In the busyness of this day and really many of our days, it’s important to find ways to take a pause. My wife, Kristi, and I have been working with our son on some techniques and exercises to find safe space, to invite our minds and our bodies to be grounded in safety and to remember that we are loved. I offer you one of these techniques that we were recently taught. I hope that you are able to pause and find yourself centered through it:
Take time to firmly plant your feet on the ground.
Find a position that feels centered.
Begin to take slow, intentional breaths, breathing in your nose and out your mouth.
Look around the room and notice four things. It can be a color or an object. Just find four things that you notice.
Once you have those, if you want to you can read ahead and remember the steps, and then close your eyes. Notice three sounds.
Now try to notice two smells.
And now notice the taste in your mouth. Or if you don’t taste anything, notice that.
With your feet firmly planted in this place, let it all wash away. Release this time and place and enter a new place. Picture a safe place for yourself. It can be real or imagined.
Notice what colors are there. Are you inside or outside? What’s around you? Are there people there? If there are, who are they? What does this place feel like? What does it sound like and smell like?
Take some time to just be in this place. Let it set in and become a part of you, breathing in and out. Spend time enjoying this place.
After some time and when you’re ready, you can notice your feet on the ground. Notice what you taste and smell and hear. And when you’re ready, you can open your eyes. Continue to take slow, deep breaths.
Remember that your circumstances do not define you. You are beloved.
In Community,
Sam