Biohacking, Observing, BE-ing.

After last weekend's amazing conference, I've been much more 'in-tune' with how my mental/spiritual health affects my physical/emotional health.  Believe me, I'm usually skeptical about these woo-woo alternative medicine practices, but after reading and hearing testimonials from actual doctors (including Dr. Lissa Rankin), I'm now fascinated with EFT.  I just need to nail down exactly what to say while tapping on the meridians.  Couple that with my recent obsession with biohacking (especially HRV), and a pretty busy week, I've become much more aware of my stress.  The awareness is a good thing.  Before, I would be stressed.  Note there is a huge difference between the two.

Yesterday's swim offers a beautiful analogy.  Because you know me, I understand things better through visual analogies, so hopefully this will help my readers.  It was pouring rain.  I like to swim in the rain...(remember my very first blog post when I was a baby blogger?).  Sometimes worry, negative thoughts and irrational fears are like those thousands of raindrops.  They are everywhere and they surround us.  We can choose to get caught up in them and start down the downward spiral of 'what ifs'... or, we can detach ourselves and just be observers.  

I gracefully did an underwater dolphin kick, streamlined with my arms above my head and kicked onto my back, still 2 feet underneath the water's surface.  I could see the tiny droplets of raindrops, breaking the water's smooth surface in a beautiful array of harmony and disharmony.  I observed the cacophony (like my individual thoughts) falling on top of the water.  But below, I remained in the serene calm, womblike and silent nature of the water, at peace.

These are the lessons that I am slowly learning.  As time passes, they make more and more sense to me. 

Eckhart Tolle sums it up best when he says:
"The mind helps us in the practical aspects of life.  However, we can observe the mind.  Just observe it as it thinks about the past or the future.  Whenever you observe your mind, you are no longer trapped in its past or future.  Through self-observation you can move into the present.  You are Now.  Observe the mind without judging it."

Speaking of judging...I have received some criticism about my new favorite running shoes.  Granted they are not the most aesthetically-appealing and easy on the eyes, but they sure make my feet happy.  They look heavy, but they are surprisingly light.  (looks can be deceiving!)  Ran 9 miles in these last week, pain-free.  The run felt like I was prancing on a cloud, which made me feel like I was on Cloud 9.  Not too shabby.  

It's pronounced Hoka O-nay O-nay, not "Hoka One" #newbie

Let's just say that happy feet + happy mind + happy heart = happy girl.

Emotional biohacking.