I tend to get slumpy this time of year. As in, the seasonal depression starts to do its work. Either that, or this time of year just feels like a lot of work and no play. For weeks on end.
I tend to go inward and think too much. It is a curse, this thinking. That psychic I went to once was right on when she said, "You think too much!" I was like, "I know." She was like, "I know you know!" (She said that a lot.)
This year, I'd like to kind of figure out myself some more and what I want. Now that my son is approaching the four year old mark, I am starting to wonder about myself again - What has life done for ME lately?
So, being the Oprah lover I am, I sought out the wisdom of O contributor and life coach, Martha Beck.
She was even in my dreams last night! I just can't remember what the hell she was talking about. This can't be good.
I bought her new book:
I am not even half-way through it, so I have not yet been given my instructional manual for my life.
So far, it has been a lot of teaching on finding WORDLESSNESS.
Martha says we all think too much - I've heard that before! Meditation can help us get closer to our truer nature, our truer self. So that we can feel and hear and know what is best for us. I have had interest in meditation before but have not committed to it wholly.
Martha recognizes the difficulty in achieving a wordless, meditative state. It's kind of hard to just STOP thinking, especially when you tell yourself to stop thinking. So, she has a few easy suggestions for achieving that state. I've been trying to do one or two of those each day.
I was stoked (when's the last time you heard the word "stoked?") to discover the other activities that she suggests to increase "wordlessness" in your life:
Music, singing, playing an instrument, dancing with abandon, drawing and painting, and telling stories through writing, poetry, and expressive story telling.
I do a lot of that already! Yay, me!
When I sing loudly, dance like no one's watching, and get lost in telling a story (whether written or verbal), I am rocking the delight of wordlessness.
Martha says to dance by "dissolving verbal attention into pure movement" and to tell stories to "entertain and feel the rhythm of it."
I do that. I like to do that.
(If you are wondering why some of the above are examples of tapping into a "wordless" state, then you will have to read her book cuz I don't need to get too detailed on your ass here.)
So, I will delight in my play, play more, practice wordless meditation, and ride my way through a year that will bring me closer to myself.
And, yes, I will finish the book. Just couldn't wait to tell ya'll about it already.
Peace out.
