10,000 Hours and Grace

Happy Spring!

I hope that you are joyfully embracing this seasonal transition of awakening life and transformation. As the earth shifts do you feel that you are similarly opening to shifts in your life?

Tom and I have recently been enjoying spring ice fishing, and while he hauls in the fish I am usually skunked. This doesn’t bother or surprise me, as my husband has been obsessed with fishing since he could walk. This passion has never dwindled and it reminds me of Malcolm Gladwell’s 10,000 hour rule, in which consistent focus and practice is the key to mastery and expertise. Tom has spent bundles of 10,000 hours focusing on fishing: researching learning, preparing for,  and actually fishing. He is truly an expert fisherman! 

This is what occurred to me when Tom and I were out for a walk and he shared that while he has the awareness of his emotional responses to situations (like anger or judgment) and knows that there is a potential to think or choose differently, sometimes he can’t. And then the back-door judgment sneaks in, for example, “I know better, but these thoughts, beliefs and emotional responses are still showing up!” Essentially, his mind is telling him he is failing. 

My question to Tom was, “for how many years have you unconsciously lived through these thoughts, beliefs and automatic responses?” 

I feel that most of us can say that it has been oodles of bundles of 10,000 hours. The unconscious thoughts and judgments that we learned are practiced, and we are experts at them! Isn’t that a funny shift? We are really good at our limiting, judging thoughts, beliefs and our emotional responses! It makes perfect sense that we might require a little practice trying something new. And the place to start is by giving ourselves a little grace.

I’d love to share journal questions with you, and if it feels fun, let me know if you have any new awarenesses or further questions!

What thoughts, beliefs and automatic responses have you been practicing for years, perhaps 10,000 hours?

Thought:

Belief:

Automatic Response:

Do you have any back-door judgments about these?

Is your awareness expanding of these old thoughts, beliefs and responses?

If so, are you ready to claim that awareness IS expanding, and that is enough?

If you acknowledge that awareness is enough, in this now, are you ready to drop judgment like it’s hot?

What is an alternate thought or statement when you feel judgment about old thoughts, beliefs and responses?

Examples:

“It’s just a thought”.

“Hello, old thought. Here you are again!”

“Look at how my awareness is expandingI I am really becoming an expert at recognizing old thoughts, beliefs and responses.”

“Is this a little bit funny?”

“Oh, silly mind, thank you, but I am going to try something different.”

Futuring the Now Podcast: Journal Prompts

The intention of this week’s podcast is to expand awareness of how often the “future” peppers the now with its stories of salvation or doom and gloom. Do you find yourself “futuring” in the Now? Do you have a sense that allowing the mind to get lost in the future takes away from the enjoyment of the Now? If you can relate, I thought you might enjoy the opportunity for awareness journaling. If you have the desire and space, grab your favorite comfort beverage and your journal or computer and tune into your Truth with the questions below. I hope you are delighted with what you find!

~What is a story you are telling about the future? 

~Does this story invoke a sense of salvation (I will be happy/satisfied/joyful when…) or a sense of fear? 

~Can you really know if this story is true? (hint, the answer is “no”).

~What is true in this Now? 

~How do you feel when you believe this future story?

~Can you feel this feeling in this Now? 

~Do you want to (a) expand this feeling or (b) allow this feeling to run its course? 

~If (a), how do you activate and experience this feeling Now? 

• Are there activities you enjoy? 

• Music you want to listen to? 

• A way to move your body? 

• Time in nature? 

• Cuddle with a friend/family member/pet? 

• Give yourself a high five- you are activating what you desire in the Now! You are amazing. 

~If (b), can you get still and breathe into this feeling? (No stories, just presence with the emotion.)

• Can you identify what this feeling is? 

• Where do you sense it in your body? 

• Does it have a density? 

• Does it have a color? 

• Does it have a shape?

• (Breathe, breathe, breathe)

• Does your body want to move a certain way to allow the feeling to shift?

• Continue observing/breathing/moving until you feel “done”

• Give yourself a high five, you just felt the feeling you feared! You are amazing.

~What is True Now?