In my essay for Day 3, I talked about Natural and Normal ways of being and how when we're being Natural, life generally goes much better.
So what can you do if you find yourself deeply entrenched in "Normal"?
If you've ever tried to tell someone who's upset to cheer up, you'll know that you can't think your way out of a lousy mood. Indeed, you'll probably make it worse for you, and them. You could just let it settle. If you can find a way to distract yourself long enough, this might be a good strategy.
Or you could find a third way of being - let's call this Neutral.
In Neutral, there's mostly an absence of thought. Instead, it's a calm place, with no physical tension, and no internal chatter. You may feel a deep sense of connection to another person if you are both in this place.
From here, you might easily slip into Natural. And even if you don't, you'll find it a much more pleasant place to hang out.
So how do you get into Neutral? There are lots of methods including breathwork, meditation, yoga, exercise and walking in nature.
But the quickest way I know is a technique called "**Somatic Experiencing**".
1. Find a place where you can safely close your eyes (don't try this while driving). Close your eyes.
2. Put your awareness on the physical sensations in your body. There will be more than one. Find them all. Notice what you notice about the sensations. Location, size, tightness, static or moving, temperature etc. You can gently place a hand on the area with the strongest sensation.
3. As you continue to breathe normally, simply maintain your awareness of the sensations without thinking about them or what's causing them.
4. Notice what happens to the sensations over the next 30 secs to 2 mins.
5. Stop when you experience relief.
I encourage you to try this for yourself. Let me know what happens.
