Transforming Stress and Anxiety into Opportunity
Letting the quality of the moment open you to new pathways
It’s a crazy time. The world is changing dramatically, quickly.
Many people are stressed, or anxious, or checking out.
When we rely on a constantly fluctuating situation (ie, the events in life) as the foundation for our state of mind, then we fluctuate.
Things that fluctuate are inherently unstable.
So how do we maintain our own stability while the world shifts around us?
Shifting Our Allegiance to the Ground
In Buddhism there is a term called the ground of all phenomena - the Dharmakaya. It’s like the background of a painting that holds the context for whatever image is painted. It provides a backdrop for whatever is occuring - but it’s more than that. It is the foundation from which the “thing” (anything) arises.
Notice right now if you are breathing. Go ahead and check.
When you do that simple check to notice your breath, there is a part of you that is breathing, and there is a part of you noticing the fact that you are breathing - this is awareness.
Awareness is the Ground of Everything
I could have asked you to check the news and notice if the news is there. The content of whatever drama is currently happening is like noticing the breath. Yup, still there.
But the awareness of observing the news is a different phenomena altogether. It is colorless, non-judgmental and non-partisan. It doesn’t have an opinion. It observes OUR opinion, but without any judgment added.
Awareness is the simple act of observing what we think or feel, or say or do.
Why is this important to distinguish?
Awareness of Stress and Anxiety
When we are consumed by whatever we are focusing on - breath, news, stress - we are not leaving room for awareness to provide context.
Context can be thought of as another word for space, or spaciousness. Things in our lives come and go. They arrive in our awareness and then they live out their journey—some thoughts are fleeting, while some are more enduring. But the common denominator that links all thoughts, feelings, beliefs, sensations is the awareness from which they arise, and into which they return.
There has been much crossover in recent years between the Buddhist practices that observe and name these processes, and the scientific community that studies neurological phenomena.
Here is a deep dive into the simple practice of awareness, with correlating scientific research:
Despite going deep, this presentation is easy to follow. I share it with you in case you’d like to learn more about how to meditate, and why that might be a good thing for your mental health.
The Creative Incubator
Starting in April, each month, for paid subscribers, we’ll gather together for an hour of creative incubation. I’ll supply a guided practice to get the right mindset, and then we’ll venture into creative prompts: journaling, but also other exercises to get the creative juices flowing.
Even if you don’t identify as an artist, you are a creating your life. This program is designed to help you focus on what is important to you, and to give it your attention.
This is how I start my week off with clarity and focus about the projects that are important to me.
Life and responsibilities can so easily sneak in and take time from the things that really matter. Whether it’s making art, writing, tuning in to our intuition to discover our next steps, if we don’t prioritize and schedule the things that are valuable to us, they risk getting consumed by the daily tasks that sap our energy.
If you’d like support in creating your own daily habits, upgrade to a paid subscription to join us for these monthly sessions.