Life Hacks to Hear Yourself

The fast paced life of schedules, to-do lists, me time, you time, kid time, pet time… make it hard to stop and check in with yourself. Finding time to incorporate the things that ground you, replenish you, and inspire you are as important or MORE important than some of the things we do each day without notice.

Find the things in life that allow you to hear yourself.

I will share with you a list of 10 things I do that get me out of the ego, get me out of my critical autopilot head, and allow me to take the time to feel what comes up for me. Take what you like, replace what you like, do what you like.

Nature

Connect with nature. Take a walk in nature and be fully present. Observe the plants, notice the animals, feel the air. Drop the headphones, the to-do-list, your self-identity, your schedule….. remember that there is a whole world going on outside of your mind. Feel the energy that surrounds you and connect it with your own.

Insight Timer App

This app provides the largest library of free meditations and talks. You can provide guidelines of how long you would like to listen, the topic, meditation, talk or music. I have found some truly inspirational people on this app that I listen to almost daily. I listen to Michelle Chalfant from the Adult Chair a LOT, Tara Brach, Sarah Blondin (Live Awake) just to name a few. I fall asleep to the Devi Prayer (21minutes) every night.

Creative Time

As Eric Jensen states in his book Arts with the Brain in Mind,“The systems creativity nourish, which include our integrated sensory, attentional, cognitive, emotional, and motor capacities, are, in fact, the driving forces behind all other learning.” The result of this creative time is not important. What is important is that you set aside some time to reach parts of your brain that you do not normally access. This time should have no distractions and should be a time where you can set yourself free.

Exercise

It is so easy to come up with reasons why I can’t exercise…. not enough time, too cold, too hot, don’t have time to shower after, my dog isn’t with me, I don’t have the right music, my right finger is hurting… ANYTHING. The fact is, you will feel better after exercise and you know it. There is an app called 7 MWC (7 minute workout challenge). This is a 7 minute workout with video, audio and text instructions, that will also track your activity. YOU HAVE 7 MINUTES… and if you don’t… you need more to rearrange your life.

Beautiful Anonymous Podcast

In this podcast, Chris Gethard has a phone conversation with an anonymous stranger for 1 hour. From shocking confessions and family secrets to philosophical conversations and self promotion, the hour is spent wherever the conversation takes them. I tend to hibernate in the winter. This podcast always reminds me that you never know the story of another persons life. If you listen with interest and love, you will be able to hear another person’s beautiful story.

Daily Intentions

Setting daily or weekly intentions will create a more intentional life. Instead of waiting to see where the day will take you, you can drive the day to where you want to go. Write intentions down, say them out loud, and remind yourself of them. Make yourself accountable. Go back and check your intentions. Figure out what brought you closer and what brought you further from your goal.

Finding Beauty

In these cold, dark days it is easy to dismiss the idea of beauty. It feels like I wear blinders and assume the world around me is bleak. STOP, BECOME PRESENT, AND OBSERVE. Once you get out of your head, you can actually see. Find something close to you, or something in the distance, or perhaps even an entire landscape. Observe it’s complexity along with it’s simplicity. Once you really see something, you will be able to see it is beautiful. Live in the present and make it beautiful.

Pause

When you are in your mind, down on the cold, tired of the dark days, low on energy, a tape of negativity starts to play in your head. To get out of this, you need to PAUSE. Take 100% responsibility for your experience. In this pause, notice your surroundings, take inventory of your body and emotional state. When you can observe your posture, your state of being, your emotions… this is where CHOICE comes in. Choose what to strengthen and bring into action and choose what to let go of.

Connect

Isolation and loneliness seem to go hand and hand with February and March. Feeling connected allows for a sense of belonging. Connection is important in terms of connecting to yourself and connecting to others. It is much easier to hibernate in these months but it is important to find connection. This does not mean get together with a large group of people at a crowded bar. This means a type of connection that involves listening, sharing, and hearing. You will be happy you made the time for this.

Kundalini Yoga

Febrauary and March carry with them a lot of stagnant energy. For me, it takes a lot more effort to reach a higher vibration during these months. Kundalini taps into your spiritual energy, raising awareness through movement, breathing, meditation, and chanting of mantras. The goal is to build physical vitality and to raise consciousness. I HATED kundalini at first. A strength you didn’t know you had needs to be accessed to do this practice. You will end your session with an energetic shift and a higher vibration :).

Leave a comment to let me know the ways in which you find peace.