The Power of a Pause

The ability to record, stream, or watch something and pause it to come back later has become routine. I love this. I can pause most anything these days and relax, knowing I can return to it when the timing is better. I might be irritated if I’m tied to something I’m not able to pause or even fast-forward when I like. Our energy fields have or are adapting to shifts in energy where we jump to many things all day long, with few or no pauses. Social media is an excellent example of our expectations of short video clips, short stories, and even short recipes. Of course, it includes pause, skip, or swipe to the next.  I ponder where else that has begun to seep into our lives. Pausing people, decisions, or actions. Where we might wait for the perfect moment, I ponder if we get distracted with promises of the future of what it should be rather than what it is. This pauses me to ponder. 

Where might I be pausing, where do I need to push forward, and where might I be pushing forward when I need to pause? There’s a reason we’re constantly being told to be present and breathe.   Doing so can get us out of our heads, ground us in reality, and help us to embrace whatever moment we’re in. That moment might be hitting the pause button when the universe doesn’t want us to, or missing where the universe is encouraging us to pause.  You are probably REALLY familiar with the words and concepts of grounding, slowing down, and being present, but are you successful in putting something into practice that supports this?

We could all benefit from learning a few go-to grounding exercises and doing them regularly. The power of pausing and staying in the present is real. Whether you find yourself overwhelmed, excited, or confused, the power of the pause is powerful. Listen as Laurie provides some helpful tips on pausing.  

Transcript

Power of a Pause

The ability to record and watch something later, pausing what we’ve record so we can come back to it. Streaming something, where we can pause and come back to it. I love this, I can pause just about anything these days, and relax knowing I can come back to it when the timing is better. 

I find I’m might be irritated if I’m tied to something I’m not able to pause, or even fast forward when I like. Usually that’s fast forwarding through something that triggers my empathic sense and I can feel it within my body. The pause or fast forward allows me to come back to it, or move over it.  That’s the empaths response to, ‘I can feel everything’.  I will admit, it’s taken me days to watch some intense movies or episodes of series I might be watching. Being able to pause has found it’s way into may other areas of my life.

Most of our energy fields have or are adapting to shifts in energy in small doses and taking lots of pauses. Social media is a great example of our expectations of short video clips.  Of course including the pause, skip or swipe on to the next.  I ponder where else that has begun to seep into our lives. Pausing people, decisions, or actions…  where we might wait for the perfect moment. I ponder if we get distracted with promises of future of what it should be rather then what is, and learning as you go.   There might not be anything wrong or right with this… but it pauses me to ponder. 

Where might I be pausing where I need to push forward, and where might I be pushing forward when I need to pause. 

There’s a reason we’re constantly being told to be present, breathe.     Doing so can get us out of our heads, ground us in reality, and help us to embrace whatever moment we’re in. That moment might be hitting the pause button when the universe doesn’t want us to, or missing where the universe is encouraging us to pause.  You are probably REALLY familiar with the words and concepts of grounding, slowing down, being present – but are you successful in put something into practice that supports this?

 We could probably all benefit from learning a few go-to grounding exercises and doing them on a regular basis.  The power of pausing and staying in the present is real. In the clients I see everyday there are both sides of the situation.  One feeling stuck or frustrate because things aren’t moving as were anticipate, or stress, and overwhelmed and feeling that everything around you is chaotic.  Both situations would be greatly helped with the power of the pause.  

“When we're not in the present, the mind can go down these rabbit holes of catastrophic thinking, anxiety, worry, and rumination, which makes us feel very helpless because we can't change things in the past or future.  Living in a world where expectation of answers being at the end of a few keystrokes on your keyboard, or asking Siri for information is only going to exponentially grow as AI expands in the world.    I don’t believe AI is going to suggest you pause, breathe, ground…. That’s probably not in the algorithm of the answer.   Breathing, grounding, is presumably looked upon as not taking action, and the interpretation of AI is to provide an answer that achieves results.   

Pausing can create results… 

Being present is such a critical piece of mental wellness because if you can’t stay in the present, you can’t think clearly enough about the questions that life is asking of you right now, and how to act on them. Your impatience might direct you to ask outside of yourself -  Suri, AI, friends, family, etc.  but your answers are within. 

Whether you are in the middle of a hectic morning routine, about to give a presentation at work, or getting ready to take part in an experience or event, taking a pause can help clear your head, organize your thoughts, and reenergize you to take on whatever tasks lie ahead.  Anytime I speak publicly, I pause to take a deep breath.  Not a shallow quick break, but a deep slow.  I stretch my arms allowing my energy fields to align.  My body knowing I’m about to speak, my etheric, emotional and mental bodies all aligned and also ready. 

Other tips that will help you pause, center and align are.   

1. Focus on the five senses.  - If the first thing you do when you wake up is reach for your phone you’ve already pulled yourself out of the present moment. “So much of our current lives and how we relate to technology is dissociative in nature.  We might find ourself scrolling on our phones to avoid a negative emotion, like not wanting to get ready for work if we perhaps don’t like our work or are avoiding something waiting for you at work. We can aimlessly scroll when we are bored and under stimulated, even tired or perhaps it’s become a habit.  Using our phones to distract from these feelings is just a short-term fix. The feeling is still there and it will resurface later. 

When you wake up - ground yourself to that moment.  Pause….  Now focus on your five senses. How do the bedsheets feel on your skin? How does the sunlight look pouring through your window? What can you hear, smell, or taste? You can return to this technique throughout the day whenever you need to reconnect with the present. 

This practice is waking up your energy bodies -  your physical, etheric, emotional and mental. It is saying – I am HERE now, in this place and I am awake, aware and aligned.   You are ready to face the world because you have FIRST acknowledged yourself.  You have registered YOUR energy and how you are connecting with other energies of your day. 

2. Start a morning ritual.  - Mornings tend to be one of the most hectic times of day, making them the perfect moment to take a pause.  If you find yourself saying…… I don’t have time…. YOU NEED a PAUSE.  Whether you’re rushing off to get to the office, or simply opening up your laptop to start the workday, implementing a morning ritual can help you live in the moment rather than stressing about what’s going to happen in your 2 p.m. meeting.  This allows you to energetically set boundaries between life and work. 

I heard a suggestion once about lighting a candle before you get ready in the morning – but most my clients are scent sensitive as am I, and most people may forget to blow it out as they move into their day, leaving a stressful worry of a burning candle.  It is however using one of your senses to help you be present.  Maybe it’s your morning shower or washing your face with a favorite soap or lotion.  My morning ritual includes cuddles with the animals.  I have one furbaby that requires medicine in the morning and HE does NOT want to take it, but over time he’s actually helped me create a morning ritual that includes cuddling him, brushing him, then he gets his medicine and some yummy cat treats after followed lastly with more cuddling – I feel complete and present when I’m filled with his nose kisses and purs… 

You could have a ritual with your favorite coffee or tea.  Maybe reading an inspirational passage out of a book. Maybe it is statements of gratitude or intents you are pondering at present. Maybe it’s a peak out the window, taking a deep breath and just taking in the mornings view. 

No matter what you’re doing, can you be fully there?  It doesn’t have to be elaborate, or long, but it will be something that creates a here and now feeling.  

3. Schedule your pauses.  – If you are an athlete that is training you will have training days and rest days. If you are studying, you will have mind focus and exercises followed by a break of some sort.  As humans it is impossible to maintain the same pace of anything 24x7.   We can’t even sleep 24x7, or lay in bed 24x7 – we have to get up and move, we have to eat, move.  We are not built to either be moving 100% of the time or doing nothing 100% of the time 

These pauses can be 5-10 minutes and reminders to re-align.  Take a breath.  When I was in my corporate role I’d try to schedule meetings to be 20-25 minutes.  Allowing a pause for both me and whoever I was meeting with.  This was difficult because most everyone around you already has a pattern of going all the time.  If you try this, just be prepared for questions as to why or what you are doing.  

I think of our school days where the bell would ring and you’d have a few minutes to get to your locker before your next class.  Sometimes you didn’t have enough time at all, so you carried your books with you all day.  Our habits start yound and are carried into adulthood.  Sometimes those early learned patterns aren’t the best for us, and we need to unlearn them, or augment them with something else ----- Like a PAUSE

4. If you are able - Take breaks outside. - Whether you’re taking a break from work or find yourself processing over something you’ve just experienced, getting outside is a great way to bring yourself back to the present moment.  We make a lot of effort to stay home, static and comfortable these days, which can numb us to sensory experiences.  Getting outside and engaging with the world around us, however, can help to heighten our senses and keep us focused on what’s right in front of us. 

A change of environment is important. If you have access to a park, field or a body of water take your shoes off to feel the grass or the cold water on your toes. If you don’t have access to this, sometimes just closing your eyes and listening to all of the different sounds or the way the wind or sun feels on your face can have the same effect. This takes you back to you 5 senses.  If you are in an area where getting outside because of client – either heat or cold is a prohibitive, then just getting up and going for a walk within your environment is great.   Take the stairs somewhere, then the elevator back down. Take a walk for the sake of moving, not that you have to actually GO somewhere  -  just explore. 

5. Name that emotion. - When we’re in the midst of a stressful situation, it can be hard to pause and organize our thoughts. You might be processing more than one emotion at a time and this would be the perfect time to plan a pause. Whether you filled with stress, anxiety or frustration or jumping up and down with excitement and joy – a pause will give you an opportunity to hone in on your emotions. Name them.  I am feeling ……..  Once you name it you don’t have to figure it out anymore, and your energy bodies can just be in that energy.  As it now knows what the energy is, it has an almost instantaneous decision to stay in that energy or move on to something else.  If we are afraid, stress, anger – the moment we can vocalize it – it diminishes the energy, giving us another choice.  This is really practicing the skill of observing yourself -  ALL layers,  physical, etheric, emotional and mental. 

An example might be that you might think to yourself, Whoa, I am very angry right now. I can see myself and my body getting increasingly more agitated. Doing so helps to create space between you and whatever emotion you’re feeling, reminding you that you (rather than the anger itself) have control over the situation and what you do next. It moves your energy from functioning separately in the emotional body to connecting the mental body to the emotional body.   I know what I’m feeling, I know what actions I might want to take.  I am observing myself.  

6. Check in with someone you love. - When we’re feeling anxious about something, our nervous system can become overactive because our body feels unsafe in some way. Our hearts race, we might feel hot and sweaty, our voices shake, and so on. Whether it’s a work presentation, meeting someone new or important or running the final minutes of a race it might be a time to take a moment to check in with someone you love.  We like support.  We like knowing we are supported. Having someone on our side is important to us when we feel doubtful, tired, if we can complete what we are doing.  If you are running a race, ask for loved ones to be there to support.  Preparing for a work presentation or interview, you’re your loved ones to help you practice. If you’ve just experienced a great event in your life – REACH out and share.  Not only is it helpful to get your fears off your chest, but our loved ones can help to remind us what we’re capable of and reassure us that we’ll be OK -  and they also are there to help us celebrate.  

7. Connect with your body. - If you find yourself in the midst of a thought spiral, or analysis paralysis that seemingly has no end, chances are you’re not living in the present.  We tend to obsess over things that happened in the past or that might happen in the future and one of the best ways to shake these thoughts off and ground ourselves in the present is to reconnect with our body. “Movement is an inherently healing process, and can help us move our stress response out of the body.

Head to the gym, yoga, go for a run, hike or walk is a great way to get out of your head and into your body. Even the simple act of going for a walk can do the trick. Moving in whatever way feels good to you is key—and remembering to take pauses. For days when you’re short on time, pausing for a short meditation or breathing exercise can also help refocus you on the present moment.  Shopping online or heading to the mall are not restful pause experiences and often create situations you’ll later regret. 

8. Write out your worries. - One of the hardest times to be present is also one of the most important: when we’re lying in bed at night trying to fall asleep. Rather than focusing on how nice it feels to sink into our beds after a busy day, we tend to get caught up stressing about what’s happening tomorrow or what happened today. If this sounds familiar, try keeping a notepad next to your bed so you can write down whatever’s on your mind as it pops up, even if it’s as simple as needing to remember to run an errand the next day. If you are tempted to email yourself a to-do list for tomorrow – STOP  - you need a pause.   Tell yourself  - I’ve written it down and can leave it. 

9. Identify your feelings in celebratory moments. - We’ve been wired to move through life quickly, with our eyes always turned to the next phase. This can be helpful in difficult times but it also causes us to rush through some of the happiest moments of our lives, be it a birthday, wedding, or once-in-a-lifetime event or experience.  It important that you’re able to savor those core moment and allow them to be imprinted with you as memories.   I sometimes ponder that when we don’t remember things we’ve done, it’s because we didn’t pause long enough to allow the imprint to be registered before we skipped off to something else. 

Celebrate life, celebrate you.   Pause to be where you are now, here, today and this moment. What are you experience NOW -  What might you have aligned with for this podcast.