On unfamiliar places and being held captive

Published about 2 months ago • 2 min read

Plunge into Calm

Happy Tuesday! Quick reminder: Plunge into Calm is THIS SUNDAY. You can sign up at the bottom of this newsletter.

Breathe.

No Zoom Breathe tonight. I am going to the Facilitation Lab Austin meetup this evening. I am hoping to network with some cool people and learn tips, tricks, and techniques to better communicate and facilitate experiences.

Every time I make a commitment to go to a networking event, I feel every single fiber of my being pulling me to stay home. Ironically, I love connecting with people, but I also get anxious about entering an unfamiliar environment. Luckily, I know how important it is to push my comfort zone, so I continue to do it. It's a brave act to show up somewhere new. So, I'm going to pat myself on the back, and hats off to all of you who come to Plunge into Calm and all the other awesome things you do. It will be a good opportunity to use my breath to create a feeling of safety, even when I feel nervous. 😉

“Your experience of the present moment is based on the activity of your nervous system at that moment."

– Rick Hanson, Ph.D., Neurodharma

Our breath is a direct, easily accessible, and rapid way to shape the state of the nervous system, so we might say: Your experience of the present moment is based on your breathing at that moment.

If you were hoping to join me tonight on zoom, you can do this breathe instead, or try out a free week with OBC. They offer a 15-minute live breathwork practice every weekday at 8 am CST and Tues/Thurs evenings at 8 pm CST. I tune in live almost every morning, and starting in September I'll be occasionally facilitating as well. I would LOVE if you would join me! If you use this link and code ERIN at checkout you get a free week plus $10 off your first month's membership.

Be Human & Move.

We are living in a modern-day health crisis— why? That's debatable. I've been thinking about how, in many ways, humans today resemble animals in captivity. We are living in a time of ease and abundance when it comes to the consumption of information, media, and food. However, we are mating less and moving less. We are more digitally connected now than ever, but we lack deep relationships and authentic connections. We are disconnected from nature. We have been tamed by society. We are being held captive by our addictions.

If you haven't seen the show Alone, I highly recommend it. Our entire family enjoys it. It is a survival reality TV show where contestants are dropped into remote locations and have to fend for themselves, using limited gear, while filming their own experiences.

One of the characters in the current season, Timber, was raised off the grid in a very unconventional community. As a result, he literally resembles a feral human. He is so connected to nature and has a wildness about him that is intriguing. I know nothing about his mental health, but it does make me think about how much of our wildness has been lost, and whether or not that is always a good thing for our well-being.

Just food for thought. I'm not arguing we should all be uncivilized humans. But it makes me want to watch the sunrise and sunset more often. Put my feet on the ground. Keep moving. Go camping. Connect with people. Prepare home cooked meals. Disconnect from technology. Have less things. Maybe even become a little more wild myself. (Thats mostly a joke, but ya never know!)