Rest in yourself 

The habit of being in your thoughts 

Whether we are aware of it or not most of us spend a lot of time in our heads thinking about stuff.  It could be as mundane as what we are going to eat for dinner or as deep as what the purpose of our existence is.  Anytime you are thinking you are not present.  Instead you are lost in thought, thinking about things that have come and gone or that may exist in the future.

For some people being in their thoughts, stories, ideas and concepts feels safer than being present or “in their body”.  This is because when we are present we actually don’t know what is going to happen next and for most people this feels scary or unsafe.  For a second or two reflect on your day and notice how you pretty much know what your day is going to look like, from the activities you will engage in, where you will go, what you will eat, etc.  That is what your mind has created for you and you tend to follow it pretty closely.  In fact when something distracts you or interferes with your plan you often get annoyed or upset.

People spend so much time in their thoughts that they even believe that they are their thoughts and the things they think about themselves.  For example some people have the thought that they are either kind or mean, or smart or stupid, or rich or poor.  These are really just thoughts about you, but they are not actually you.  This is tricky to see because we are so accustom to thinking that the thoughts we think are who we are, but they are not.  If you can be aware of the thought then clearly it is not you.  You are instead that which is aware of thought, not the thought itself.

Most of us are resting into our thoughts of who we think we are instead of resting into who we actually are.  This creates underlying tension in our system and a sense of uncomfortableness “being in our body”.

How to become rested in yourself

Safe & easeful embodiment 

So what does it take to become rested in yourself?  How do you move from being thought focused to simply being present?

The first thing to do is to stop all thought several times throughout your day.  This requires disengaging your awareness (who you actually are) from thoughts/thinking.  Now this may seem simple, but as you do this you may discover that you are way more addicted to thinking than you were aware of.  You may also find that there are some thoughts that you don’t want to disengage from, thoughts that you identify yourself with and are attached too.

Second notice what is present when you stop thinking.  Become more and more aware of what is present in the absence of thought.  As you put more attention here it will become easier to stop identifying yourself with your thoughts and you will be able to rest more into yourself as awareness instead of your identity.  This is where true safety is born.

One of the things the Network Spinal Analysis assists with is creating an easeful state in your nervous system.  When there is more ease in your physiology it becomes easier to rest in yourself and simply be present.  As you are able to rest more in yourself you will develop an inner sense of safety through your experience of being present and simultaneously being ok.  This is how inner safety is learned.

When you are rested in yourself in this way there is less needing to figure things out with your thoughts and instead there is a natural flow as you are present with what is alive in any given moment.

Dr. Amanda Hessel, Chiropractor, Network Spinal Analysis & Somato-Respiratory Integration, Boulder, Colorado