Day 67 - A Year of Spiritual Awakening - What Do You Distract Yourself With

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Lesson 67: What do you distract yourself with...

Today is continuing on our distractions and what we compulsively distract ourselves with. Is it possible that some of these distractions are healthy or beneficial to us? I am to write these “good habits” down, think about whether it matters or not if they are “good”, and consider if they are still distractions. Can it be that they are distractions that don’t allow our heart to open fully?

So, I thought long and hard about this throughout the day and really can’t come up with a “good” distraction. I don’t have a habit I do consistently that would be considered as “good”. I wake up most days, feed my cats, get ready for work, go to work, hang out with a friend or nap, do my blogging, maybe do another activity and repeat. On Saturdays I work at a witch shop and maybe hang out with friends after or relax on my own. Then on Sunday’s it’s mixed bag of mediumship class every fourth Sunday or I’m resting, going to markets and hanging with friends. I honestly could not think of some “good” distraction. I could only think of my phone addiction which distracts me from living my life sometimes. Nothing that can be obsessive either.

I mean, I guess those moments that I go into meditation are “good” distractions which I think is good for overall health. I can see if you’re using something “good” like exercise as a distraction, that sure, you’re working towards a good healthy body, but is it good for your soul really? I think as I go forward, I am opening more. I don’t really have a good answer on today’s lesson. I have a bad habit but nothing of the “good” sort. I mean, when we’re working on our hearts, we should really be in tune, be open to receive and be aware. When we’re ready to let go of distractions, then we work through the feelings of our pain.

I just had a thought pop in and that was of music being my distraction... sometimes. I think I really resonate with music because beats and words can be powerful and uplifting. But then again, I just listen to music because I need to get myself going when I’m losing focus. The beats are rhythmic and are like fire to light me up a bit. I think music is a good thing to relax to. This may be the only thing I use as a distraction/relaxation but I am not compulsive over it. But I feel like music can open me up also.

Think about your “good” distractions and tell me what you got. I tried hard for this lesson but didn’t turn up with much. Haha!

Day 66 - A Year to Clear - Answer The Phone - Calming Meditation

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Lesson 66: Answer The Phone - Calming Meditation

“When the telephone rings, the bell creates in us a kind of vibration, maybe some anxiety: “Who is calling? Is it good news or bad news?” . . . The next time you hear the phone ring I recommend that you stay exactly where you are, and become aware of your breathing: “Breathing in, I calm my body. Breathing out, I smile.””

— Thich Nhat Hanh

Buddhist teacher, Thich Nhat Hanh, writer of Present Moment, Wonderful Moment, brings in a mindful verse. This is a powerful calming meditation exercise that doesn’t necessarily need to be used for answering phone calls but I think in general. I tend to do a similar meditation at work. Just to take a step back, do some breathing and continue on with the work.

Really you have to close your eyes, breathe out any tension or anxiety you have. I’ve mentioned before that I imagine this as like a black energy or smoke escaping me. Then it’s about inhaling in some goodness, which I usually imagine as white light/energy. Stephanie Bennett Vogt mentions this as “pure awareness and possibility”. It’s just about recognising how you feel at that moment but not let it overwhelm you. I find it’s about breathing out as much as you can, or fully if you’re able to. Stephanie mentions to repeat the mantra from the quote "Breathing in, I calm my body. . . Breathing out, I smile."

Once you feel like you’ve really got what you needed from this meditation, open your eyes and notice how you feel after. It’s definitely a relief and a feeling of being lighter. I love it! And though this lesson was in reference to your phone, I think you should really apply it anywhere. Sure, some people get anxious towards their phone calls and this exercise was really about doing this meditation every time you get a call/email, but I really don’t receive calls that much to practise this exercise. I think for me, I’ll apply it for any time I feel overwhelmed and need a pick me up.

Day 66 - A Year of Spiritual Awakening - Choosing to Distract

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Lesson 66: You may choose to distract...

When we feel pain, we sometimes don’t want to face it because it’s too much or too hard. It can become too overbearing and that’s why we tend to close off and distract ourselves. Today’s lesson is all about opening ourselves up to the pain because it’s “the first truth of what you have suffered” and is a “Divine relief”. If we remain open to healing, it will make us feel better. I am to think about this today.

I think as I’m expanding on my spiritual path, I have never truly understood the above, until now. There is so much to release and clear before you can truly feel inner bliss. I am in no way finished with dealing with my pain, which has accumulated over the years, but I know it’s a working progress. I am aware of what pain I have, and what old habits and thoughts I need to release, to truly get to where I need to be. I don’t think this is an overnight type of deal. Take on what you can slowly and once you can recognise what caused you pain, it’s then taking the steps for compassionate release.

I definitely agree that in working on your own pain, it does make you feel better. There is no more burden. It really is a relief when you’ve opened your space for more good things to arrive. Have a think about what your pain can do for you.

Day 65 - A Year of Spiritual Awakening - People Try to Numb Themselves

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Lesson 65: Many times, people try to numb themselves...

 There would have come a time in your life where we’ve numbed ourselves to pain. This is usually done via distractions and addictions such as sex, drugs, alcohol, media, exercise, eating, shopping etc. These measures we take upon ourselves are very much to forget the pain, push it aside or just simple to ignore. Whatever the circumstances, we all have our own reasons for our actions. I don’t really judge because I feel we’ve all been there one way or another.

Today is all about recognising addictions/distractions and if I think I have solved any problems with it. In addition to this, have these addictions/distractions actually numbed you to these types of problems. The point of the exercise is that by having these addictions/distractions, it doesn’t allow our heart to be open.

There was a past me very much addicted to TV but it’s not the first thing I think of when I want to do something now. I think TV is very much a form of escapism for many people but I don’t use it to escape anymore. I think I use TV now more for enjoyment of the story, for those times when I have a very heavy day and am mentally drained, it’s good to just have something simple to follow to relax. I think TV was a distraction because I didn’t want to do things to improve my life.  I used to be addicted to shopping because I always felt like I had to impress people with what I had. With my own spiritual development and wanting to have less environmental impact, I’ve stopped being a consumerist in this way. It’s very much a setback thinking you have to look good because some famous person uses and endorses a product. I guess I’m just waking up to the world we live in.

I am willing to admit that when I first moved from Perth to Melbourne I was in a bad state after my break up. I was very much consuming alcohol because I wasn’t really dealing with my feelings. I used alcohol to just numb my pain. Some days I would go out every night drinking. That’s as bad as it got until it started impacting work and that was my wake up call. It actually didn’t solve any problems and distracted me from dealing with my feelings. I wouldn’t say that’s it has completely numbed me. I think I just needed numbing at the time.

And I recognise that I am a bit addicted to my phone. I can’t go an hour without checking it – what’s on Facebook? Did anyone like my posts on Instagram? What’s going on through Snapchat? I am very much aware of this addiction to social media or using our phones in general, and I am actively trying each day to spend less time on it. I think, like everyone else, it’s very much part of our lives in this day and age, and it’s about stepping back. I can’t say it’s to overcome a problem though. I just have this urge to know what’s going on with useless news really. I’m trying to overcome it slowly.

When I was reading this lesson, I thought wouldn’t exercise be a good thing to do for overall positive health? But then I realised sometimes people use exercise as a cover-up for something else. I mean, maybe people don’t even realise that it can be a distraction also? If there is one thing I need more of in my life, it’s exercise, though definitely want to do it for the right reasons.

Anyway, this has been a revealing post and I don’t mind sharing my life. Think about your addictions and think about what good it can be to allow your heart to be open. Even just saying your addictions and distractions out loud may be all you need to be aware and set yourself up for release.
 

Day 65 - A Year to Clear - Ringing Phones

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Lesson 65: Ringing Phones

Today’s lesson is about how we react to our phones – the dings, the pings, the vibrations, the calls. How does it make you feel when you any one of those actions occurs? What happens to your breathing and state of mind as soon as you hear the ding of a message, or email? What’s your reaction when your phone starts ringing? The aim is to take a moment of awareness the next time, take in a deep breath and slow down.

I must admit when my phone rings, I immediately get anxious – like who is calling me? I dislike speaking on the phone very much. I do it because I have to and not because I want to. I feel like you have to put on a voice in order to speak to certain people (for example, work people) which does seem a bit fake. I loathe my phone ringing. The next time it rings, I’ll take a deep breath.

Another thing I do, besides spending too much time on my phone, is just looking through apps because I have nothing better to do. I am trying to get away from my phone but it really consumes a lot of my time. I should be concentrating on more in life and I somehow get sucked in. I should just lock it away for the day/night and see what happens.

When I do hear the ding of an email or message, my immediate reaction usually is to read and reply straight away. I feel we live in a society, which makes it seem like answering a message or email, should have a sense of urgency – maybe that’s a construct we need to be away with. I think I rush myself to answer, when I just need to chill. Just be aware it’s there but don’t let it get to me.

This is a good exercise to adopt for all future interactions with people via the phone. Maybe it will eventually allow me to not be so addicted to it at the same time.