Tired of isolation? Getting exhausted from doing ‘nothing’ while this pandemic is happening? Join us to learn why boredom is a beautiful thing, and your fatigue could actually be from energy overload. In this episode, originally recorded on April 27, 2020, we explore why boredom is actually an important step in our growth.
Special guest: Deanne Barrett, M.A. from Radiant Mom Podcast – radiantmom.ca/
Watch on YouTube
On this call:
Believe it or not, boredom is one of our most powerful and exciting emotions. Even though it’s uncomfortable and you’d rather wriggle out from underneath it, boredom is a supremely useful emotion and often is a signal that something important is about to happen.
As Deanne said so eloquently, boredom is the space between moments. It’s the feeling or experience just before something else, and we have no idea what the ‘something-else’ is or when it’s going to happen.
Often just before we feel bored, there is another more uncomfortable feeling is there such as overwhelm, fatigue, vulnerability, resistance, or the like.
Boredom is often a distraction from something we want to run away from. Seeking escape, but not wanting to escape.
But you can learn something valuable and transformative about yourself if you lean into it. It’s an indicator that what you’re searching for is not ‘outside’ but inside. Though ‘inside’ can feel super uncomfortable.
Boredom is the junk drawer of emotional states
Weary, ennui, annoyance, stuck, impatience, stasis, out of control, helpless, exhausted, confused, aimless, apathy, uncertainty — it’s discomfort of all kinds.
It takes strength to lean into that collection of discomfort and allow something else to emerge. The benefit of boredom is that if you sit with it long enough, you begin to explore what lights you up and inspires you.
It’s like going to bed in the junk drawer. If you’re in there long enough, in boredom, something in the junk drawer will poke you, and it will nudge you forward.
That little poke from boredom can nudge you onto an interesting exploratory path that can lead you to all kinds of needed and beneficial information and actions. And then, you’re not bored anymore!
Sometimes we get stuck in bored states because we actually DO know what we would rather be doing, but we are blocked from doing it, either externally or internally.
If its the mind or the inner critic holding you back, meditation and other soothing and gentle awareness practices can nudge you through to creativity.
There’s an energy that’s trying to move you. Give yourself permission to play and have fun. Pursue creative activities even if you’d rather not. You can take action WITH boredom and resistance.
You don’t have to ‘want-to’. As Deanne tells her daughter, “That’s okay, wanting to isn’t part of it.”
You don’t have to be inspired; you just have to start. Try a timer, 25 min, even 5 min, just begin on something. Grudgingly follow the little pokes and prods of the messy mix of emotions and use that to get to work.
Self-care is an important tool for alleviating boredom
Tend to your self-care and create little nourishing rituals like grounding or asking yourself what you need today. Filter out extra sources of overwhelm and get outside as much as you can (safely).
Being in nature is renewing and reviving and can offer a welcome break. And if you’re unable to go outside, try a grounding meditation to bring the outside inside.
Do what you can to hit the reset button when you notice things going off the rails. Just stop for 5 minutes or a brief moment to breathe and ground.
Approach boredom with acceptance and gentleness – relax and soften, and work at it from another angle.
Get to work lightworker!
When you are engaged in compassionate, soul-guided action, the fear melts away and only good will spring forth.
More events:
Resources:
https://www.lunaholistic.com/resources/
‘The Secret Art of Happiness – Change Your Life with the Reiki Ideals’ by Geneva Robins http://genevarobins.com/book/
Grounding Meditation by Geneva Robins https://www.lunaholistic.com/blog/grounding-meditation/
‘Make Your Creative Dreams Real: A Plan for Procrastinators, Perfectionists, Busy People, and People Who Would Really Rather Sleep All Day’ by SARK
Catch Deanne’s podcast Radiant Mom every Friday on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or Sticher.
Deanne Barrett M.A. is an international parent educator, Reiki Master, and host of the podcast “Radiant Mom”. She is dedicated to helping moms to step up as powerful leaders in their family and community. Deanne is self-isolating and homeschooling her two kids in Calgary, Alberta, Canada with her husband.
Need resources to keep your family active and learning?
Join Deanne inside Radiant Mom Schoolhouse on Facebook. www.facebook.com/groups/radiantmomschoolhouse
Connect with Deanne
Web www.radiantmom.ca
Instagram @radiantmompodcast
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Podcast Transcript
Boredom is Beautiful
Hosted by: Geneva Robins – LunaHolistic
Deanne Barrett, M.A. – Radiant Mom Podcast
Facilitated by: Kyla Shepherd
Podcast Air Date: Wednesday, April 22, 2020
Episode: S01E10
GENEVA ROBINS: Hello, and welcome to the LunaHolistic podcast, the Lightworker Global Call to Action series. I’m Geneva Robins. I’m a Reiki Master here in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, and I’m so pleased that you are here. I’m really excited to bring this work to a larger group of people. And I’m really pleased to have this episode, which is Boredom is Beautiful, which is a little bit of an interesting name for the episode.
But boredom is a topic that really excites me if you can believe it. I have endless things to talk about with boredom. I think it’s a really, really juicy emotion, and can lead us to a whole pile of really interesting places and lead us through a lot of deep healing as well.
So, thank you for everybody who is able to join live. Before we get rolling, I would really like to send a message of gratitude and thanks to the Indigenous peoples of this land, and everywhere that you happen to be sitting on Mother Earth, especially that it’s Earth Day when we’re recording this. Thank you very much. And if you are an Indigenous person, welcome. Welcome, everybody. I’m so pleased that you are here.
I have a special guest today – Deanne Barrett is a parent – international parent educator – and the host of the Radiant Mom podcast. And I’m really happy to have her here. Deanne has a lot of experience as a teacher for many years in a high school setting, as well as an inspired coach for moms and teens and kids. And I’m sure she’s got a lot of really juicy things to say about boredom. So, I’m really pleased to have you here, Deanne. Say hello to everybody.
DEANNE BARRETT: Hi, everyone. Thank you, Geneva. And the one thing Geneva didn’t say is that I have been one of her students. I am so pleased that Geneva and I, you know, were pulled together. And I’ve been so blessed to be mentored by Geneva and to be inspired by Geneva.
And this, I was thinking, it’s maybe five, gosh, five years ago, six years ago, that we first met, and that has, you know, kind of one of those snowball effects, you know, in my life – starting to learn Reiki, going through all of the classes, becoming a Reiki Master, deciding to leave my full-time teaching job at a time when there was a recession in our city, and taking this leap of faith to start my own company and start coaching moms.
And I was just saying to Geneva, I just, I knew that when I started this work a lot of years ago that eventually I would incorporate the chakras, but I didn’t know how, and it’s happening. They have, all of a sudden the pieces of my life that felt so separate are just like “shing” and pulling together. So, it’s so exciting to be here to be doing this work together. So, thank you, Geneva.
GR: Yes, thank you. Yes, thank you for mentioning that. Deanne is a Reiki Master as well, and it was so delightful to teach you (as it is teaching everybody!). Yeah, it’s really neat to see how all of these different trainings and learnings we have all sort of pulled together. I think the things that we take aren’t just little random side things. It’s all one life.
And I think, especially right now, where we are often staying at home and we’re sort of having to stay put, there’s no real separation anymore of work life and business, you know, development, and personal development and growth and our families. It’s all just jumbled in together, which I actually have always really loved. I’ve never really understood the silo sort of mentality of having different lives.
But I love that you’re able to pull that Reiki Master training into your coaching work that you do with other people, with moms and their kids. That’s fantastic. Thank you, Deanne.
Yeah, and I also have on the line, Kyla Shepherd. She’s a Reiki Master here in Calgary as well, and she’ll be supporting you live on the chat. Say hello, Kyla.
KYLA SHEPHERD: Hello, everybody, I hope everyone’s doing well. I’m very excited to be here with everybody. Thank you, Geneva.
GR: Yeah, thank you. And just briefly, if you would like to send us a message or if you have a comment or a question for either me or Deanne, you can type that into the chat. And, which you’ll be able to find on Zoom in one of the buttons below. And so, feel free to say hi, share your comments and insights as we go along. We’re happy to hear from you. So, thank you, everybody. I’m really excited to be here.
Before we get rolling into the content, I like to start everything with a meditation. I find everything goes better when we spend a few moments grounding and connecting in, and especially because it is Earth Day today – what better than spending a few moments connecting in with that loving presence below our feet. It really does make a big difference.
The Earth energy is an energy that we tap into naturally as people. And it’s something that provides nourishment and support and makes us feel whole, well, and happy. And it’s something that we always feel when we’ve spent any time in natural settings.
So, if you go for a walk in a beautiful area, you know, we’ve got a lot of natural parks here in Calgary, and beautiful, you know, even by the river or by an ocean, if you have an ocean or the mountains, whatever natural scenery you have around you, even if it’s just a little tiny green space, just spending a few moments outside brings such a relief. And if you are unable to have access to the outside, having even a plant, an indoor plant, having earth within your home can also bring that nurturing energy in.
And grounding is an energetic technique that basically doubles for, if you can’t go for an hour-long walk in a forest, this grounding technique will give you that feeling of being plugged into the planet in only a few minutes. So, this is a grounding meditation from my book, The Secret Art of Happiness. I’ve done this one before, it’s one of my favourites. So, let’s dive right in.
And you can boost up your meditation practice with two very simple things. So, the first one, if you’re new to meditation, is just closing your eyes gently. When you close your eyes, you allow yourself to fall into a more restful state. So, don’t do that when you’re driving.
And the other thing that you can do is you can slow your breathing rate down. And when you slow your breathing rate down, your heart rate has to follow as well. And so, those two things are these little life hacks to shortcut, basically, and get into that calm, restful state within only a few minutes, about five minutes of breathing slowly with your eyes closed will start to calm your nervous system down and that can be very, very crucial during this time of uncertainty and change and having to adapt.
So, but I’ll guide you through this Grounding Meditation.
8:58 to 15: 44 – Grounding Meditation
So, we’ll just get all settled and just very gently, as you listen to my voice, you can gently close your eyes and let your breath relax.
Place your feet flat on the floor and bring your spine up straight. Just gently become aware of the energy of the Earth just below your feet, just below the base of your spine. Notice the vast expanse of energy that’s available to you now. This energy is wise, dependable, and nurturing. Feel the charge and character of this Earth energy now.
Now become aware of the energy within your body. Observe the difference or similarity between your energy and the Earth’s energy. Just notice this gently, easily, and with great kindness.
Now, easily, with your breath, allow the energy of your body and the energy of the Earth to balance out. Let the energy reach its own stable resting point, your natural equilibrium. Allow the charges in your body and in the Earth to harmonize, just easily and gently with your breath.
Notice how your breath helps the energy flow. Notice the support, the love, the comfort that’s available to you now. There is no need to push or pull the energy here. Just step aside and let it flow.
Allow the Earth energy to rise up your body, right to your crown. Allow any unwanted energy or tension to flow off, right through your feet. Let the nurturing presence of Mother Earth be with you now. Surrender all barriers and blockages to her magnificent love. You are so loved. Feel it now. Rest here for a moment.
And when you’re ready, begin to wiggle your fingers and your toes. Bring your hands down your legs, just smoothing the energy down your legs and out your feet, just connecting in to the support below you, and then sweep your hands through and around your Aura.
So, with your hands facing your body, just smooth out that energy field right around you. Just smoothing off and giving that energy, just about a foot away from your body, a little pat, to seal in that healing. And when you’re ready, you can open your eyes.
How did that meditation go?
Wonderful. Well, thank you, everybody. That always feels so nice. And lately, every time I’ve been doing meditation or Reiki, I guide people in, and I just think, “I just want to stay here forever.” [laughs] If I could figure out a way to just always be in that meditation bubble, I would, yeah, that would be amazing.
But yeah, I would love to hear from you how that meditation went for you, how you’re feeling, anything you’d like to share. And I can read out your comments. You can just type that into the chat. And then I’d love to hear what you felt. Deanne, what did you experience in that?
DB: Yeah, that was really lovely. I had to let go of feeling conscious about how I look when I’m just relaxing in meditation and trust that everyone else had their eyes closed, too. [laughs]
Yeah, it is so lovely to go to that place. Now that my kids are home, and we don’t have to wake up to an alarm, I’ve been naturally waking up earlier than the kids, which is great. And I lay in bed and do my Reiki self-healing. And it is such a glorious way to start the day because I can truly check in with myself and be like, “how am I? What do I need to receive today? What do I need to incorporate into the day so that we can all move forward? What’s my intention?”
You know, often it’s just about being timed. You know, if I start to feel worried and anxious or like, “time’s running out!” then I get snappy. And I think there is time for everything. I just need to focus on kindness in every moment. So, I find that meditation just brings me back to that, like, I don’t have to handle this all, I just have to do my part. And instead of just an intellectual concept, I can feel it everywhere, which is, yeah, an incredible place to live.
GR: That’s amazing. That’s amazing. Thank you.
And a comment from LAURIE, “Can you record that? Just that? Yes. I love that meditation and your calming voice.” Well, that’s, thank you so much, Laurie. That’s wonderful. Yes, it is recorded, and it’s got fancy-schmancy music set to it, too.
So, if you go to the LunaHolistic blog, there’s a few guided meditations that are on there. And I’ve added the Grounding Meditation to the list, so you can catch it there. And yeah, I had the, I was very fortunate, one of my Reiki Master students, Braden Lister of Troo Knot, who’s an, he’s a musician, like a real-deal musician, was able to help me record that and he put some beautiful sounds to the mix. So, I don’t even know the words for all of the things that he did. But it sounds great. [laughs] So, yeah.
So, yeah, Kyla, how did that go for you? How are you feeling?
KS: Lovely, as always. Thank you, Geneva. I agree with Laurie. It’s so calming, I feel so peaceful and centred and back in myself. And thank you for sharing your experience, Deanne. That was beautiful as well. I totally agree with you.
And it also brings me back into the present moment, to, not just only what I can do, but like the next tiny step that I can do. If I’m working on something and I’m feeling vulnerable or anxious or well, any of the things, it can recenter me to just, back to the one step that I’m on, the moment that I’m on, which is very, very helpful.
GR: Yeah.
KS: So, thank you.
GR: Yeah. And that’s something that you mentioned before, which I just think is beautiful, is just taking a few grounding breaths, you know, just, you know, even if it’s just three breaths that you take while you’re in the midst of your day, or, if you can, 12 breaths, you know, that’s, I think that’s a really beautiful way of just sprinkling in that little bit of grounding as you go through, and reconnecting. So, thank you. Thank you for that.
From SHAWNA: “Yes, I wanted to stay there too. Love connecting to the Earth. My Root needed it. Thank you.” Thank you, Shawna.
JUDY says, “This is all new for me. I’ve not meditated too much before. Very peaceful, thank you.”
20:56 to 24:07 – About Meditation
Well, that’s wonderful. I think as long as you’re feeling a shift, even if it’s tiny, then it’s working for you. And I take a very gentle approach to learning meditation. I think the tiniest little bit that you can do makes the biggest difference, and that it’s really more about frequency than really trying to sit for a long time.
And the other thing that can really boost things up is knowing that you don’t have to have a calm, still mind for meditation to work. You can have a really chatty, busy, you can feel all of the emotions, and sometimes when you sit in meditation, your emotions rise up, and you get, sort of, more feelings than you had before, and that’s actually a good thing, because what it’s doing is the meditation is clearing those out. And so, then when you go back into your day, you’re not dragging all of those big emotions with you.
And definitely, this is a time of really big feelings. There’s lots of things to feel about, this, in this era we’re now in. And so, you might find that your meditation practice is hard or it’s a little bit difficult to get into. So, just be very gentle with all of it. I think gentleness is the key word in everything. And I think the only way you can fail at meditation is to not do it. So, just a few moments, a few minutes is the best, best approach.
And I like guided meditations. That’s how I learned to meditate because it gives your mind an anchor point. And it’s just like a little guided fairy tale. And so, you can just follow along or not follow along. And even if your mind wanders, that’s okay. And just know that it’s doing something for you as you go.
I should also mention that there, if – there are a few meditations on the LunaHolistic blog that you might really like that can support you during this time. So, I’ve got a Bedtime Meditation. So, it’s effortless self-care. You just put it on as you’re falling asleep, and you don’t even have to do it well, you just can listen to it. And it will just give you that space to fall into a restful state of mind that will encourage you to sleep. And then, and it’s only about, you know, 11 minutes long.
And then I’ve got a Waking Meditation, the same thing. So, you just put it on as you’re either in bed, in between snooze buttons, or as you’re starting your day, even, as you’re getting ready, or having your breakfast, you can just put that on in the background. And it’s a really beautiful way of, sort of, connecting in and getting into that sort of energetic bubble. So, I thought I’d share those. But yes, thank you, everybody.
24:07 – Boredom
Yes, so our topic, our theme today is boredom. And I think it’s so key because, it’s weird because even when I’ve, you know, I’ve been very busy this last little bit trying to bring all of our courses and content online and learning new skills and everything, and I think it’s so interesting that I, that I’ve been feeling bored even though busy, and I’ve been, you know, sort of finding myself wandering aimlessly around our little two bedroom condo.
I’ve been finding myself staring into the fridge and then closing the door (most of the time!), closing the door and not getting anything because I don’t want anything, but I don’t know what I want. And this sort of aimless, like, feeling within me, you know, sort of, flicking through the Netflix channels and putting a gazillion things on my watch list that I will never watch. I will never watch Downton Abbey. I just, I just know I won’t. If I haven’t already, it’s not going to happen.
But I keep putting things like that on my list, and not wanting to watch them, and not really wanting to do anything, but also not wanting to do nothing. And for me, that’s always an indicator of, I think there’s a whole pile of things that happen with boredom.
And for me, it’s, there’s this sort of, like, loosey-goosey, uncomfortable feeling that happens right before the, what I would describe as boredom. And it’s usually like some mix of vulnerability, or overwhelm, fatigue, just sort of being swamped with things and seeking an escape, but not really wanting to escape either. So, not really wanting to dive into numbing, because even numbing feels boring because I’ve done too much of it, or I just don’t even, it’s got no juice to it.
And it’s this, for me, it’s always this indicator that what I’m looking for is actually not outside me, it’s inside. And, but I don’t want to go inside because inside is where all the feelings I don’t want to feel are. [laughs] And so, and it’s just really like developing this way for me to caretake that boredom, and also being okay, and very gentle, with myself when I am feeling bored.
That, it doesn’t mean that I’m boring, which is the, that whole thing. It just means that I’ve got, I’m in this uncomfortable place. And I don’t know exactly how to get out of it. And maybe I don’t. Maybe I just have to be in it for a little bit, like, drift, just bob on the ocean for a little bit, because I’ve been paddling hard. And maybe I just need to just let the current move me and let things happen, and let whatever emotions are within me shift and move through.
So, I think it’s a really, it’s a really fascinating place to be in. I like to study boredom because I think it’s such a huge thing. So, yeah, so that’s, I can go on and on and on about boredom, just solo, but I have a very special guest, Deanne Barrett, here, who is, I think I’m just going to call you a world expert on boredom, because …
DB: Whoa!
GR: I just want to toss that out there because I think anybody who taught for as long as you did in the high school setting and trying to teach Romeo and Juliet to high school kids must know a thing or two about boredom. What do you know about boredom? [laughs]
DB: [laughs] Yeah, well, I know a lot about bored posture. Like … [droops head]. I was thinking, I was thinking about boredom today, as I was, you know, thinking about our conversation this evening. Yeah, and it’s a word, you know, I’ve noticed a lot of language around this time. You know, my neighbour said, “Oh, I feel so bad for the kids, they must be so bored at home. And my son had a Google Meet meeting with his teacher and his classmates, and he’s in Grade 3. And his teacher was asking, “Are you bored?” And there’s, you know, all this questioning about being stuck at home and being bored.
And it doesn’t, it’s so interesting because my kids don’t even really register what that word means. My daughter who’s in Grade 1, she’s like, “Mom,” she was asking me about what I was doing tonight, because my husband is currently, you know, putting the kids to bed. “What are you doing?” I said, I’m talking to Geneva. We’re talking about boredom. Like, “What does that mean?” I said, “You know when you say, ‘Mom, I don’t know what to do. What should I do?’ So, that’s it.” She’s like, “Oh, yeah, I get that sometimes, I get that way.”
And I think it’s really interesting that we have this word and sometimes we still don’t even know what it’s describing. Or we have these feelings, and we don’t always know the word to go with them. I am a word, you know, wordsmith. So, I had to look up the etymology, like the root of the word ‘bored,’ and …
GR: Oh, good, I love that! [laughs]
DB: And so, bored, really, the synonyms are feeling weariness. I think your exploration of it when you started was a lot more thorough than just weariness. There was not a great link historically to where it had come from, but also another word is ennui, which does not have a great English translation, because it’s French. And it’s more about annoyance.
But I think, I was thinking a lot about being in this kind of stuck place that is described as, right now, we’re sheltering in place, where we’re stuck at home. And it’s that feeling, just before you asked me to speak, my screen froze for a minute. And I was like, “it’s like that!” Or it’s like the loading wheel on your computer when it’s still like spinning and you’re like, “Oh, come on!” It’s that feeling, that experience, that’s just before something else.
And we have no idea what the “something else” is, and when it’s going to happen. And that’s where we are right now in the world. We are in this moment in time that seems really static and can feel really uncomfortable. And we know that it’s a season.
And for those of us who are in Canada, it’s like, this might be another long winter, we have no idea. We have some, you know, guesses, like the weather, you know, some predictions, some forecasts, some models that people are rolling out for, we don’t know, when it’s going to kind of break like a wave kind of breaks, or like the weather breaks, something crashes over and spills into something else.
And to go back to your question about, you know, is this anything like being a high school teacher and teaching kids about Romeo and Juliet – it takes something to lean into the discomfort of that, and to allow something else to emerge. And I think what you were describing is trying to understand the collection of things that are happening inside of that.
You know, the reason why high school students might not want to engage with Romeo and Juliet is, “Who freaking’ cares? How does it relate to me in my life? Why would I bother? Where am I going to put my energy? And how can I be deliberate with where I’m putting my energy?” And the moment there’s a “something” that makes people even lift up their head, just a little bit, then you’re one step closer to that next moment, where it might break into something else.
Like that realization that, actually, you know a lot about Romeo and Juliet because your parents had an arranged marriage. You know, a lot of my students started to talk to me about arranged marriage. And I was like, man, where I grew up, no one around had arranged marriages. So, it was this old time, you know, really abstract concept, but for my students, it was a part of their life. And my students, some of my students said, “I don’t know if I would trust myself to, like, choose my, like, life partner! My parents know me better than I do.” And I was like, oh, my gosh, that makes a lot of sense.
But it’s that moment between that separation, like, “Who cares about Romeo and Juliet? Why would I care to realizing there’s something there I could lean into, because it actually might tell me something about myself,” which I think is what boredom can do. It’s uncomfortable, but when you can notice it, and then think, “What is this revealing to me? Show me, I surrender! Show me, show me what this is all about,” which, I think is what you spoke to so beautifully.
GR: Yeah, yeah, it’s that, it’s trying to wriggle out from that uncomfortable space. And I often think, you know, nobody ever died from boredom, but they do if they run away from it. And so, it’s the, the boredom itself is uncomfortable, but when we run from it, like, and not let ourselves experience it, we often run into numbing, addictive, avoidant behaviours, and the more grit there is in that uncomfortable boredom, the more energy there is.
Like, kind of flinging us away from whatever work we have to do to uncover what’s underneath the boredom, whatever vulnerable feeling there might be, whatever pain or discomfort or uncertainty, all of the big question marks. You know, if we run from that, then we, you know, we can run into, you know, all kinds of things that are not good for us.
And being gentle if you are, you know, if you’ve run into some numbing, avoidant behaviours, and maybe drank a bit too much, or other things that are, you know, aren’t good for you, or don’t make you feel good in the long run. That’s okay. I think the biggest thing is being very gentle with the, with that, that pendulum swing, or that sort of springing away from the boredom state.
And the thing is, is that once that numbing behaviour is done, because it’s usually things that are numbing, like bingeing Netflix, or whatever it is, it is short-lived, and it loses, it doesn’t, it can’t hold us because it’s temporary, it’s ephemeral. The show ends, you can, we’ve watched all seven seasons of Star Trek: The Next Generation in a row, back to back, you’ve seen them all. And then you have to just come drift, you know, boredom’s just sitting there, waiting patiently for you to return to it. And then when you do, and you can meet that state with a fresh perspective, and just sort of persist through it just a little bit longer than you would like to – there’s usually something amazing underneath it.
Either there’s a healing for you, an awareness or a knowing about yourself and what makes you tick, you know, what makes you come alive. The benefits of exploring boredom is that you get to think about what lights you up, what makes your heart sing.
Sometimes I find a bored state is when we actually know – we’re very intuitive. We actually know what we want to do. But we either can’t do it because of outside circumstances, or we can’t, most of the time, we can’t do it because of our mind. There’s an inner critic saying, “Oh, you don’t want to write that novel. You don’t want to paint that painting. You don’t want to get out there and show people what you’re about. No, no, no, no, no, just don’t do that.” Like, you know, “have a piece of chocolate cake,” you know? [laughs] And you have a piece of chocolate cake and you’re still bored.
You’re still bored because there’s something in you that’s longing to be expressed.
There’s something that is, there’s an energy that’s trying to move you and we either can’t or won’t or we’re afraid to let that energy move us. Maybe we haven’t given ourselves mental permission to play and have fun. You know, just, you know, splash around with things and colours and paints that aren’t, it’s not your day job. It’s not what you’re being paid for. And, or what you think your task is.
And so, we resist or avoid those things that actually could give us some joy because we think that they’re not directly getting us to our goal. But the thing with the creative Earth energy, with this yin state, with resting and waiting and letting all of the ideas gather and percolate, is that it’s not linear. It’s not going to take you to your destination directly.
Like, it’s going to take you the best route, which is going to be the most interesting route, which is going to take you over here, and you’re going to have this experience and then it’s going to guide you over here, and you’re going to have this experience. And it’s going to be this wandering path. And if we let ourselves wander a little bit off of the path, you know, seeing things from a different angle, you know, seeing how what is happening could relate to us, following up on these little, little, tiny, curious things that will pull us out of that state.
And I think there’s this, it’s easier to persist through the boredom because as soon as you give into it, as soon as you let it percolate, you can’t stay there for long, because it’s just like, going to bed in the junk drawer, like something’s gonna nudge you, something’s gonna poke you and you’re gonna go, “oh, I didn’t know, this thing was here. I didn’t know I actually liked the colour yellow. I’m going to explore yellow. What makes yellow, yellow? I’m going to like, look up turmeric, I’m going to look at these properties.”
And I’m going to get led on this interesting little random walk through all of the little bits and pieces, and then all of a sudden, you’re like, “oh, and then the sun is yellow. And I really like this. And I like the daytime, and oh, maybe I just need a little bit more sunshine. And maybe, you know, I’m gonna research vitamin D, and what that does to the body.” And it just does this beautiful little, it nudges you, it’ll nudge you. And then all of a sudden, you’re not bored anymore. It’s beautiful. Yeah.
Boredom as a Symptom of Uncertainty
DB: I love how you talked about overwhelm because I think, most often, when, thinking about my high school students again, most often when people say, “I’m bored,” when they’re in the face of something new, it’s that they don’t know how to get in on the conversation. They don’t know what to notice. And I love that you describe, like, going to bed in the junk drawer, of being poked by something, because that’s an automatic “in”.
Like, “oh, this awareness” – and sometimes it’s uncomfortable – “what’s this all about?” And then kind of following that thread, which you just described. So, I think, sometimes, especially now, there’s so much, you know, that we could be aware of, there’s so much around us, there’s so much, kind of, pushing in on us. And it kind of all flattens us a bit, like, oh, I’m like, wandering around opening up the fridge all of the time.
Or, you know, for me, it’s like searching through my recipe cards. What could I make next? You know, is my version of like, opening the fridge door. I know it, I’ve got the fridge categorised. I know what’s in there. It’s like, what could I make? What recipe might I want to do? And then thinking, “okay, wait a minute. When I feel like so many things are kind of coming at me, what thread am I going to choose to follow? You know, what avenue could I go? What’s the “in” to kind of unraveling this junk drawer scenario that I’m in?
GR: Mm-hmm, absolutely, absolutely. Yeah. I love that idea, like, “Where’s the ‘in’?” Where’s the little hook that’s gonna move you from that middle ground, that in-between state, the no-man’s land of boredom, to just, you just don’t need to, you, don’t and you don’t need to leap all the way into, like, creative, passionate pursuits. You can just grudgingly follow these little tracks. [laughs] You’re like, “Uh, well, nothing’s good on, so I might as well just do this little thing.”
You know, I’m a big fan of taking action with complete disregard to emotional state. And it was really helpful, it’s really helpful because I find, you know, I don’t have to be feeling it. I don’t have to be feeling creative and inspired and lit up all of the time to do creative things. I can sort of puddle around in the muck a little bit, and I can run into tangles and problems I can’t solve, like a ball of string. You know, and I’m tugging on all of these different things, and I can’t seem to solve that problem.
You know, sometimes it’s like, “Well, I’m just gonna drop that knot for a little bit, and I’m gonna go play over here on the ends of this problem. [laughs] I’m gonna go do something, like, that seems like a tangent that isn’t maybe directly related. And I find those are often refreshing, you know, just to get a different perspective. And then I can go back into the thing that is, like, causing that overwhelm that’s leading to then this boredom, which is actually just, you know, I think boredom is just another word for vulnerability, you know. [laughs] And, you know, but that’s all, where all of the good stuff lives. So, yeah.
DB: My daughter has started to say that “I don’t want to do that!” You know, there’s another assignment to do, there’s the next activity we’re going to do. “I don’t want to,” and I say, “it’s okay – ‘wanting to’ doesn’t have to be part of it. This is what’s happening next.”
GR: [laughs] That is brilliant. That is brilliant.
DB: And I, I have to do that with myself sometimes. I’m like, “I don’t want to,” and it’s like, “well, wanting to isn’t part of it. That’s what’s happening next. And you can, you know, move yourself in that direction, then you can get into it.” Yeah.
GR: Yeah, yeah. Yeah, I love a lot of things about what Elizabeth Gilbert says, but she’s got a couple of really great TED talks. She’s got one about the genius and this idea of, you know, she describes her creative process in many of her works and that she shows up like a mule, or a pack horse, you know, you, just showing up and dragging herself into it, and just showing up one little step at a time and being willing to persist through the difficulties.
And this idea that creative works, anything that really matters to us, actually gets accomplished by those little, repetitive steps. That it’s the, and that you don’t have to feel great about doing them. I love that – I love that “wanting” isn’t an, it’s not an ingredient. It’s not a requirement. You don’t have to want to do it, you don’t have to be inspired, you just show up and start.
And then, what I find is that when I show up when I don’t really want to, it usually doesn’t take me very long. Like I find, especially when I’m showing up for, you know, my work and the things that I’m doing, I’ll set a timer for the stuff I really don’t want to do that really doesn’t light me up, but is a requirement of doing my business, which there are a lot of things like that, I’ll just set a timer for 25 minutes, and I’m like, “I can do anything for 25 minutes,” and if I’m feeling really grumpy, I’ll just set a timer for five.
And I’m like, “I just gotta do five minutes, and then I can go and goof off,” you know. [laughs] I can do, I can have a little dance party, I can go and fix myself another cup of coffee, I can do whatever I want. But I’m just gonna sit here for five minutes. And then I find the taking of the action actually generates interest. So, and even if it doesn’t, you know, forward is forward, so. [laughs] Which is a really, really nice thing for me.
Kyla, how are you? What are your thoughts? I’m sure you have some thoughts about boredom and overwhelm as well. Did you want to chime in?
KS: I definitely don’t feel like I have as many as you guys do. That, those are, that, this is brilliant. Thank you. I’m getting a lot of insight onto this.
One thing I was thinking of, which is similar to what you guys have already been talking about as well, is a big thing that has come up for me recently with boredom is resistance – that it is often resistance for me and/or like teasing apart. It often is, like, maybe they just are the same, like you said, vulnerability, and so therefore there’s resistance because there’s vulnerability. But they like feed into each other. You’re bored, and maybe I’m just resisting the next step or the vulnerability that’s there, and then that feeds back into the boredom, and then they just cycle into each other, so. [laughs]
GR: Oh, yeah.
KS: Back to grounding. [laughs]
GR: Yeah, yeah, resistance is in the junk drawer, too.
KS: Yes, very much so.
GR: Absolutely, absolutely. Yeah. And I do, I do honestly think I agree that resistance is a big part of it as well, is that there’s this, like, knowing what you need or maybe want to do, and then not wanting to do it. And then looking for an escape route, but then, you know, and I find, too, that sometimes the easiest path out of all of it is acceptance and gentleness.
So, if we beat up on ourselves for having resistance, the resistance just gets fed, and it gets stronger and louder and nastier. And so, but if we’re gentle with it, if we accept it, if we go, “okay, I’m in resistance.” And, you know, I often tell people that resistance is juicy, that whatever, that whenever you’re feeling resistance, it usually means that there’s a big breakthrough just on the other side of it.
And I feel that way with boredom too, is that when you’re feeling bored, the creativity is just on the other side of it, that there’s something amazing that’s just gonna happen, that’s gonna light you up. And this boredom is this precursor, sort of this lull, or this sort of, the wave has to move out a little bit before it can move back in.
And that we, if we judge it as a bad thing, that it’s, you know, something that we don’t want, and we don’t want our kids to feel, and we don’t want anybody else to feel bored, then that judgement, I think, increases the amount of boredom and it makes it stay longer.
You know, same thing with resistance – that the harder, harsher we are with ourselves about that, the more it stays. And for me, it’s like the, for, the less work that gets done. If I’m in resistance to what I’m feeling, then it just makes it, it’s like trying to wrestle yourself out of a straight jacket or like a wetsuit, you know. You just can’t get out of it because you’re struggling. But if you relax and you breathe, it can just, you can just all peel off, you know?
Or that, like, ball of yarn or the, you know, the string of Christmas lights, you know – the more you start tugging on the snarls, the worse it gets. But if you can relax and soften, and just take a few moments to just wiggle it back and forth a little bit, then it can all, you know can, you just work at it from a different angle and it just all “whew,” you know, plops. [laughs] And then, you know, it’s like, it still may not feel great, then, but then it doesn’t need to feel great. It just needs to be a little bit calmer.
And then I find, you know, what ends up happening is that there’s this move, you can start to pick up the movement, the subtle movement that’s going to move you from where you are feeling into a new state or new feelings. So, yeah, thank you. Thank you.
Pandemic Parenting through Boredom
Deanne, I, you work quite a bit with radiant moms, with your, the Radiant Mom podcast, and you support moms in dealing with their kids and supporting them now that we’re, our, parenting – pandemic parenting – is a little bit of a different flavour than other forms of parenting, where we’re just sort of living on top of each other. Everybody’s just in each other’s hair and space a little bit more.
What, I’m curious about what advice or support or, sort of, questions you get to unravel the boredom piece with, maybe frustrated parents who are like, “I cannot handle listening to my kids complain about being bored one – more – time!” [laughs] So, do you have any thoughts or words of wisdom for maybe the parents in the group here?
DB: Yeah, before this whole pandemic parenting situation happened, you know, the discussion about screen time is a big one, and I remember having a conversation with a mom who had some preteens, and she was really worried. She’s like, “they have cell phones already, and they’re always chatting to their friends, and sometimes, you know, I think I gave it to them too soon.
And sometimes I have to, you know, take it away from them, because they’re overusing it or using it misappropriate, in an inappropriate way, overusing it.” And, but what they say to me when I take it away, is they, like, will not get off my back about how bored they are. And just what you said – boredom never killed anyone. And that’s okay.
But knowing, it’s like sandpaper. Like, it is so hard when we are in someone else’s space. And we’re, you know, as a parent, we’re with our kids, and they are having these big emotions, and then we are feeling these big emotions – that is really uncomfortable. Because, you know, for as much as we, our own emotions can be really uncomfortable, then when it’s us and our children or our partner, other people in our home, when we’re feeling everyone’s emotions, like, “get me out of here!”
And so really, all of the self-care strategies of caring for grounding, caring for your own energy space, creating your own energy field, are no longer like, oh, kind of nice things that would be nice to do. These are the survival skills that are necessary.
So, a lot of what I am teaching and talking about on the podcast, Radiant Mom, and doing with my clients, is helping people understand how to do that, because there’s no escape. There’s no going to the gym, there’s no taking your kid to hockey practice. Everyone is in each other’s field all the time. And when you have skills for being able to understand, what’s my emotional field, and how can I work with that and process those emotions? And what is someone else’s? And how can I support them and not take it all on? This is what is really critical right now.
And I think it’s incredible that across the globe, people are, have, we have this bootcamp-style scenario where it’s like, you’re gonna either figure this out, or you’re not, you know. This is, the, what life is giving us all, like, turn inward, everyone stay home, and figure out how you’re going to make this work.
It’s a lot like being on a ship. You know, is, it’s you, it’s your people, you got to figure out a way to make this work. And what’s available to us, what resources do we have? How can we make this a liveable space to be in our own, inside our own selves and in our families. So, a lot of the strategies that I learned through Reiki practice of meditation and grounding and understanding your own energy and working with it, are the things that I’m working with, with my clients.
Being in your Bubble
GR: That relieves me so much to hear that because I’m like, “Oh, yes, I already know how to do that. I’m so happy. That’s all I need to do. I only need to ground and make sure I’ve got my aura bubble on, and then I can deal with my 11-year-old rolling his eyes when I’m saying, ‘Are you watching YouTube, or are you doing your work?'” [laughs] You know, and ’cause, yeah, there’s always challenges with that.
But yeah, the, that, you know, being in your energy bubble and managing your own energy state is so crucial. And I find it, you know, like, I’ve been noticing how important that is just for regular things, like going to the – what used to be a regular thing, like going to the grocery store, is now not a regular thing at all. And some, and so it sometimes can catch you by surprise.
But I did a real, I’m a scientist as well, and I did a little science experiment that I will never want to repeat. So, I did it, so you don’t have to. I went without my energy bubble on, which I always tell people, if you’re wearing clothes, you need your Aura on! And I forgot to tend to, you know, bump up my, the energy around me, and I went grocery shopping. And it was awful.
I found it was like, I’ve been telling people it was a lot like, like I could, I was using my tools while I was in the store. But I could feel this energy of overwhelm and panic and wasn’t sure if it was mine or other people’s or a bit of both. And I was just breathing and trying to clear it while I was in there.
And it felt a lot like, you know, being tossed into a raging rapids river and trying to put on your life jacket while you’re in the water being tossed around by the waves. You know, it’s possible to get that on, but it’s a lot easier if you can put it on before you get into the, before you even get into the boat, while you’re on shore, on dry land.
And that, sort of like having those energetic and emotional tools, I guess, of trying to prep and suit up before you start your day, before you maybe even open up conversations with people, I find is, you know, if you’re if you’re working, just even before, you know, whether you’re working at home or elsewhere, just suiting up before you do that.
But yeah, what’s in your tool-, I’m curious about what’s in your toolbox or what you think are the sort of, key skills for sort of prepping for your day or big moments when you’re transitioning from one task to another, Deanne?
DB: Yeah, I was thinking about that the other day, too. I was like what, you know, when it’s your own life, you lose track of how it might be different from what everybody else does. But I keep coming, the other day I read, I forget what I was reading, but this phrase was, “be deliberate with your energy.” And I was like, “That’s it! That’s it exactly,” is how am I being deliberate with my energy?
So, part of my practices, as I was describing earlier, I lay in bed and do my Reiki self-healing. So, I check in with each chakra and I ask myself, “What do I need? What do I need to receive?” Because I can think of a whole bunch of things I need to do to give to other people, but asking that question, “what do I need to receive?” helps me realize, “Oh, my lower back is sore, I need to do some yoga today.” Or “today, I need to go outside and be in the trees.”
So, asking myself what I need, and then finding a way to give it to myself, whether it’s a sip, you know, just something little, or if I, you know, have time for a bigger drink of that thing that I need, whether it’s a longer walk in the trees or whatever, finding a way to make that happen.
I also don’t watch the news. And these days, I’m not even interested in Netflix, I’m just like, “I can’t, I don’t want someone else’s created story.” So, I’m creating a lot of things myself. So, I really am conscious about what I take in.
You know, my husband might give me an update, or I’ll talk to my mom on the phone, and she watches the news, so she’ll give me the highlight reel, so I don’t need to watch and hear the same story in 10 different ways. I know what’s going on in the world, but I have people kind of filtering it – people that I trust filtering it for me. So, I am not hooked into what’s going on everywhere, because it’s just too much for me.
And I’ve done that for a really long time. Like, I want to say 12 years. And I like to also be aware of what’s going on in the world, so I don’t want – when I say that I don’t watch the news, I don’t want people to think I’m like an ostrich with my head in the sand, because I am, and I choose which news feeds I watch, and sometimes you know, the internet is great because I can seek out the news, but I don’t have it as a running, kind of, script all the time in my home.
So, I am interested about what’s happening in the world and know that I want to be responsible about how I’m operating and responding to global situations and local situations, but I don’t feed myself a constant diet of that.
Nature as an Antidote to Boredom
And I make sure that I get outside every day, even when the weather is cold and rainy. I put on, you know, my parka and go outside because I find that nature is such a dynamic system that when I’m feeling like, this is a static system, you know, we’re stuck at home, I don’t feel that way because I am seeing signs of spring everywhere, watching the snow melt, seeing the robins return. There’s so many amazing things happening in the natural world and even if it’s just feeling the temperature of the air on my face, it is kind of renewing and reviving. So, those are some of the tools that I have.
And the other day, I told the kids, okay, we’ll have a fun lunch, we’ll make pizza at home. You know, these are the joys of homeschooling. We can do these fun things. And they were just poking every button, wanted to do this and that and that, and I was like, “this is the way it’s gonna go.” And I was getting so annoyed. And I was like, “this is supposed to be fun!”
And I was like, “We all need to start over.” I said, “Go to a corner of the house.” So, everyone went to a corner of the house, we gathered together again, and I put on this ridiculous accent: “Come to my beautiful pizza place.” And then it was funny. And we could, like, restart, because we were getting, like, at each other. I had gone to all this work to put this all together, and I was like, “this is supposed to be fun!” But it was pressing the reset button and finding a new way. And I’ve done that in different ways in lots of different situations.
Probably 15 years ago, I remember having a Grade 10 class, and I had just had it with them. And I was like, “We are having a timeout. Put your head on your desk. I’m setting a timer for five minutes; we’re having a nap.” And they were like, “What, are you serious?” I was like, “Yes.” So, and everyone did it. And I did, and we put our heads down, five minutes. The timer went, I was like, “Okay, let’s keep going now.
So, even though, using all of the strategies preemptively, proactively, and trying to, you know, have an intention of kindness, it doesn’t always work out that way, you know. But then what’s the reset? How can you, instead of keep going in that way of realizing, “this is a train wreck, I am so cranky, or my kids are so at me,” how can you press the reset?
Often going outside is the reset button, I will use a funny accent, I will tell the people around me I need to take five minutes, or 10 minutes. And those are the things that can reset it. So, when I notice that someone in our home is, like, going off the rails, everything stops in that moment until we can kind of right the ship and keep going.
GR: That is, that is brilliant. That’s one of the things that I wish I could remember more frequently, because I get on a track with things and I just, [laughs] when you get going with things, that reset, like taking a breath, of like, oh things, when you notice that things aren’t going your way, like taking a moment to just stop. Like just stop and ground and, or just stop. [laughs] You know? I think that’s a brilliant, brilliant suggestion. Thank you.
I’m interested in what your thoughts are. If you want to type into the chat, we’re happy to hear from you. Anything you’d like to share or any questions you’d like to ask, I’d love to hear from you. And while you’re doing that, I’d love to hear from Kyla, what’s, what’s part of your toolkit to keep yourself out of the overwhelm/resistance, all those pokey bits, the self-care tools, you have, Kyla?
What is your Boredom Reset button?
KS: Well, I want to say first thank you to Deanne for her share. That was awesome. And I love the idea of the reset button. I feel like I’ve thought about a few times here and there myself, this inspiration. But it’s not, that’s not something that, like, has stuck, and the way you described it was so brilliant.
But there’s also, as you said, a lot of different ways we can hit the reset button. So, I often feel like, especially with everything going on, and depending on the situation, it feels like sometimes you can get kind of stuck there for a while, or some days, you just can’t come out. I feel like it’s best when you reflect on that to be gentle, because that’s something that I sometimes struggle with. So, I would start there.
And then otherwise, coming back to what you were saying earlier that we had talked about before. The first and most simplest thing that I try to come back to when I’m really in overwhelm or anxiety because it’s hard to think, it’s hard to think back to where your skills are, although it does become a bit more of a habit and easier to reach for over time, is just coming back to your breath. Twelve is great. If you can do it for a couple minutes, great. Even if it’s three breaths, it’s amazing what a difference it can make. Even if it’s one, it can shift it.
Even, and I, this makes me think also of your Reiki affirmation ladders that you created out of your book which are so awesome. You don’t have to feel that you need to shift it from a 10 to a zero or a zero to a 10, whichever way you’re going. If you shift it one or half or point one, you’ve shifted it, and good job. You’re still taking a breath. I mean, you might still be stuck in there, but just keep trying to take a breath. So, I feel like that is the biggest one.
Grounding, for sure, is one of my biggest ways for coming out of it, and generally, like, Reiki-type things. And as, I liked how you said at the beginning as well about meditation and that it doesn’t have to be long. Three deep breaths can be enough, a two-minute meditation can be enough. Try and find a corner for yourself. Close your eyes, take a deep breath. It really is like hitting the reset button. It really, it really can be, and even if it doesn’t shift you a lot, it makes a difference.
GR: Yeah, yeah. Even me listening to you describe that is like, “yeah, that felt good.” [laughs] Thank you, Kyla.
KS: Thank you.
GR: From JUDY: “My kids are now grown, but I counted to 10 a lot. Or I would go out on the deck and have a little moment. I take an hour each morning and walk outside to regenerate my energy.”
Absolutely, absolutely. I think that is so wonderful to do that. And I think there is that need to be outside and to have that as this, like, this thing of when you’re not sure what to do, just being in nature is enough, and knowing that that is going to move and shift things for you. Even if it’s just a little bit, even if it’s just a nudge up from one state to another. That’s great.
And from BEA: “I totally agree with Deanne. I find the news overwhelms me and it holds me back. I find my biggest contribution right now is my self-work and healing. And when I’m overwhelmed, it’s difficult to do that. I also have the news filtered from people I love. Grounding and coming back to the present as much as I can has been my biggest tool.”
Yes, absolutely. It’s, yeah, I agree, I also try to really limit the sources of overwhelm, you know, especially if overwhelm is connected to boredom, and vulnerability – just managing what you can, and knowing that you, there’s a lot of sources of overwhelm that you can’t filter out. So, I always think don’t seek it, don’t run into the middle of it and cannonball your way into things that you know to be overwhelming. I think it’s wise to stay out of that if you can.
And then I go to as dry a source of media as I can, like, I don’t need any extra flavour. In my news, I go to, you know, as direct-for-the-source and as boring as possible, because that’s all I can manage. My mind can fill in all of the horrific details, I don’t need anything else other than that.
Boring Resources
So, thank you, thank you, everybody. I do want to point you to a few resources that you can access, and then we’ll finish up with the, this Lightworker Energy Activation and Clearing meditation. But before we get into that, so in my book, The Secret Art of Happiness, there is a chapter called Patience. And it’s got a lot to say about, sort of, being in that uncomfortable bit, I’ve got a lot to say about that.
“Patience is about surrendering to the present moment. It’s not about struggling against the flow of time, it’s about embracing the current life, current of life, and riding it out in trust and faith.” And I do find that is also a really helpful tool is just being present.
So, sometimes boredom is about looking into the future, or looking into the past and being anywhere than where you are. And that as soon as you let go of the future and let go of the past and you just accept what is, then you can start to get curious about what’s happening around you. And that curiosity can be the thing that can lead you out of whatever you’re feeling and into that change or transition or growth as Deanne was talking about, too. It’s the thing that’s going to make you lean forward a little bit and lift your head up.
The other one [book] is creativity, because usually creativity is the doorway out of boredom, and I love that you’re talking about, Deanne, about not consuming the products of other people’s creativity, is that we get bored with that because we actually want to make our own. So, even if it’s just making, you know, dinner or arranging flowers or finger painting or you know, playing outside or planting a garden, we long to make things.
And this book by SARK [Make Your Creative Dreams Real] is dog-eared and well loved. I absolutely adore this book. The subtitle is “A Plan for Procrastinators, Perfectionists, Busy People, and People Who Would Really Rather Sleep All Day.” So, that’s by Sark. And it’s really a beautiful book, she’s got all of these, like, great little water-coloured pages in it, they’re fantastic. And she’s got some really great bits, so.
“As you’re building your creative dream life, you might encounter brand new experiences that thrill you or motivate you. This might lead you to rebuild your creative dream in a whole way. Creative dream building involves change and fear of change. Remember that in the world of “Yes,” fear is equal to contraction. When we contract, we become restricted. This can cause us to retreat or give up. Take a look at what causes you to contract or expand with regard to your creative dreams. Creative dreams themselves are natural expansion devices. They contain energy, motion, and desire.”
And that we basically, are, need to respond that, you know, when we’re building something that matters, that we care about, it comes with a side-helping of discomfort, because now we care about it. And we really, it really matters. And so, this is a really, really great resource for you to – you move through the discomfort so you can get the work done, which is so great.
And one more comment from SHAWNA: “I had a laugh about social distancing, because I social distance most weekends on the regular and I’m quite consistent with my isolation. But not when it’s my, I, when it’s not my idea, it’s forced upon me, I suffer from discontent. I too don’t watch the news, and I do my self-healing every morning in bed before getting up.”
Yes, absolutely. Absolutely. And it is a, very, whenever we’re in a place that we don’t have control over, we’re kind of stuck in this space, I find it’s like, what can you do to open up an energetic window? And for me, that’s meditation. So, we’ll do a little meditation right now.
1:18:21 to 1:25:33 – Lightworker Energy Activation and Clearing Meditation
And you can just settle in, and we’ll just take a few breaths. Begin taking some soft breaths into your energy field, noticing what’s there, noticing with kindness and compassion, allowing anything in your energy field that isn’t yours to dissolve.
Letting it go to the highest light, knowing that there is an immense, kind, and loving presence within the Universe looking out for all of us. Surrender everything that is beyond your control to the light. Allowing your Aura to be swept clean and clear by your guides and angels, your immense divine team.
Feel this light extend through your Aura, your electromagnetic field, right around your body. Feel it clear and cleanse the energy right near your body with a beautiful and comforting red energy layer all around your body.
Just beyond the red, a beautiful, vibrant orange light, all around your Aura.
Just beyond the orange a beautiful, radiant yellow light and energy, all around you.
And just beyond the yellow, a brilliant and compassionate green, all around you.
And just beyond the green, a cool and soothing blue, all around you.
Just beyond the blue, a serene indigo, all around you.
Just beyond the indigo, a protective and comforting violet, a beautiful purple colour, all around you.
Notice or feel or know the presence of loving divine beings, your team, your spirit guides, your guardian angels, ascended masters, or the Universe itself. Whoever you think the best is, they are here with you.
Know that this divine, loving presence is maintaining your ground and maintaining your auric field, no matter what is happening, no matter where you are, they are there and supporting you, making sure you are completely contained within your bubble of light. It is all held in place by the Divine.
Rest here for a moment.
And now you can gently bring yourself back to present. Gently wiggling your fingers and your toes, bring your hands down your legs, letting the energy connect into the Earth below you.
And sweeping your hands through and around your Aura, with your hands facing your body, just smoothing off that field around you and giving it a gentle pat.
And when you’re ready, you can open your eyes.
How did the Lightworker Activation Meditation go?
Ah, wonderful. I’d love to hear how that went for you. This is the shorter version of a longer meditation I’ve been doing, and is a way that is, that visual of putting that rainbow around you. And just having the red near your body, all the way out to violet.
That’s a really powerful visualization, and my Divine team or the, my sort of spiritual team that works with me when I do this work, they have been saying that that is the best visualization for right now because you’re really putting, like, seven layers around you. And that helps you filter out the energy that’s on the outside of you versus the energy that’s within you. But it also helps you percolate and process all of the emotions that are inside as well. And so that rainbow Aura combined with grounding is a really beautiful practice that I highly recommend as part of your energetic self-care as you’re going through this.
I’m curious, Deanne, how did, how did that go for you?
DB: Love the rainbow. I’ve been using that for a little while because I was on one of your first calls, oops [bumped picture in background], and received that with the colours. And what it does for me is it, rather than be like, oh, and then the aura, and it’s like one thing, and then it’s done, because it’s like the last step. It allows me to, like, spend a little bit more time and care with that piece, and really visualizing the colours. And feeling the layers of support is really powerful.
GR: Mm-hmm, yeah, yeah. I find it’s, even with all of the energy work I do and the meditation I do, that’s such a powerful, yet simple, like, I feel the best when I’ve got my rainbow on, and in that bubble. And yeah, and the best time to do it is the time that you remember.
So, back to that story of being overwhelmed in the grocery store, I, when I got back home, I sat down in meditation, and my Divine team was like, “And the best time to do that would have been before you went to the store, or now. And since you can’t go back in time, now’s the time.”
So, just, you know, when you remember, that’s the time to do all of these little tools and self-care practices. And be very, very gentle. I love the phrase, “fall down seven, get up eight.” And if we can bring that sort of gentle approach into what we do, I think that’s really important.
Kyla, did you have any – what did you experience? What were your thoughts?
KS: I love that, also. I always love that. Thank you, Geneva. I always, it is very grounding and calming and centring. Brings me back into my heart space and feels so peaceful.
Bring more energy to your Aura
And thank you, Deanne. I loved what you said. I really agree with what Deanne said about the, bringing more attention to your Aura. Sometimes I spend more time on my Aura anyway, and sometimes I also am like, “and step, step, step.”
And I think that that is really important and great that she emphasized that too, because not only, as you said, are we adding the layers in, which is particularly important right now, but when we’re doing self-healing or grounding or anything like that – in our chakras, our chakras are in our body, that’s easy. Head, throat, shoulders, did I miss anything? The Aura is easier to – not entirely miss, I hope, but, like, not, isn’t, it’s not tangible.
We can’t see it necessarily, or not always feel it either, which is okay. It can be easier to just kind of like, be like, “Oh, that’s fine, let’s just give a little fluff,” and, which is okay – even if you only do a little fluff, at least you’ve done a little fluff. But it’s really nice right now to add the rainbow in and give it more of a fluff, because it’s really, really helpful, right now in particular. So, and it just brings us more – I think it also psychologically probably helps a lot too, because you are like, psychologically putting yourself in a seven-layered bubble.
And, you know, in terms of our mental health right now, and how psychologically we can feel safe versus unsafe, I think that is, like, so significant too, to just know that we’re doing that, even if we can’t see it or feel it ourselves in any way. So, yeah, I really, I really loved that, that she emphasized that, that was really great.
GR: Yeah, yeah.
KS: It was really lovely.
GR: When we have to, you know, be at a distance from people, you know, just, even just imagining that that bubble is – take up that full two-metre radius space around you, really fill that light up really big. And it actually really, it becomes a little bit of, you can kind of feel when you need to move away from people. So, that’s a really good one as well. So, thank you.
This from JUDY: “Thank you. It’s a very mindful connection to self. This is a start to help with all of the negative of the outside world. New beginnings.” Aw, thank you, Judy. I’m so pleased.
And SHAWNA: “My energetic team had fun doing this. They each took turns painting on the colours. Very cool. I loved it.”
Oh, that’s wonderful. Yes. Because, and that’s also part of it is that you don’t have to, we are not in this alone. There is so much support and guidance and nurturing energy from the Divine to help us. In fact, it’s more intense than I’ve ever felt in all of my years doing all of this very deep, intensive spiritual work and meditation. The energy is so strong and palpable, that the energy of the love and support and care that’s here for us all has never been stronger.
So, for me, as soon as you start tapping into that energy, it awakens you and it shifts things within you. And it doesn’t take very much, and it doesn’t take very long. Just a little bit of a breath and grounding and putting on that rainbow Aura is enough to begin shifting big things for you. So, thank you.
Thank you, everybody. Thank you so much to Deanne Barrett for joining us. You can catch Deanne on her podcast, the Radiant Mom podcast, or you can check it out at radiantmom.ca. She also has the Radiant Mom’s Schoolhouse, I believe, on Facebook. So, if you wanted to check that out too, go find her. She’s amazing, as you guys all know! Deanne, is there anything else you’d like to add of how people can find you, or how you can work and support people?
DB: Yeah, you can find me on Facebook at Radiant Mom Podcast, or on Instagram at Radiant Mom Podcast. And Radiant Mom Schoolhouse is really just filled with ideas for people who have kids at home and are trying to work at home. There’s lots of ideas there to support you through that.
And the podcast Radiant Mom comes out every Friday. Last Friday, I was thrilled to host Geneva. She was on the podcast, and I was telling her earlier, my husband even listened to this episode because it was Geneva and I! So, every Friday, and really the last six episodes, because it’s been six weeks here since schools have been closed, have really been strategies to support people to really be deliberate with their energy and do the things that can support them right now, when it feels like a lot of doors are closed.
They’re actually, we have a lot of resources at our disposal. And this is one beautiful example – this resource, and Geneva sharing with us and her guided meditations and all the resources that we’ve talked about today. The resource you have of yourself and noticing your thoughts and working with your energy and grounding.
And even if you don’t have access to going outside or being a nature – in your mind, you can go wherever you need to go to feel supported. So, I think this is such a beautiful offering to help people understand that there are so many resources, and you have so many resources within you that you can use.
You’re not the only one
And I just, as you were talking about the Divine support, I just wanted to share one story. Today I was out with my kids, we were riding our bikes through this park. And there was, the parking lot was closed, so that there aren’t a ton of people there. And the kids were loving riding around this big empty parking lot on their bikes.
And there was a woman nearby picking up garbage. And I rode a little bit closer, so I could talk to her, and I said, “Happy Earth Day!” And she’s like, “Excuse me?” I said, “You’re picking up garbage. You know, it’s Earth Day.” She’s like, “Oh, is that a thing? I just am always down here and just was done with the garbage and decided today was the day to pick it up.” And I said to her, “If we look around, it looks like you’re the only person doing this. But know that across the world, there are people who are taking care of the Earth and picking up garbage in their own little piece of the world.” And she was like, “That is so lovely!”
And I thought, what, you know, when you talk about the powerful, Divine support that is all around us, I thought, yes, sometimes it looks like you’re the only person picking up garbage, and you’re the only person doing these things. But when we think – this is such a beautiful time to think about how our individual actions actually have a collective effect.
And you may not see – it may feel like you’re the only one doing the work – but knowing that there is a whole network of people and a whole network of Divine support that are creating movement. And even though you can’t see it, knowing that it’s there is so powerful. And so, thank you for this offering that does that for us as well.
GR: Yeah, thank you. Thank you. That’s so, the way you described that is so beautiful, I could just cry. And I may after I get off this call.
That’s just so heartwarming to know that, yeah, so, we don’t have to do all of it. It, all of it is too big. But if each of us lights up and shines in our own unique way, and knowing that, it might feel like, “Oh, does it matter? Does it?” It does. It absolutely does. Everybody shining and radiating out their light is what illuminates the entire planet. And it really does make a big difference. And it’s a big ripple.
And yeah, I just want to thank you so much for joining us today, Deanne. It was lovely having you here. And thank you also for hosting me on your podcast. That was a really great experience for me as well.
And thank you to Kyla. Yes, if, do you have anything to share to close, Kyla? I’m so glad you were able to be here and support everybody on the call today.
KS: Thank you. I’m grateful to everybody being here to support me. And I really want to say on the note of how it matters what you’re doing – it can be, just try to celebrate yourself as much as you can, even the tiniest little things. Like, you have no idea if I am passing you on the street and having a hard day, and you just smile and wave at me or say, that could totally change my whole day. And you have totally put me on a different path and lit up my life, and that matters, so much, so much. So, you are all so valuable. And everything you do matters so much. You’re amazing.
And I just want to say thank you to you and Deanne, you’re both so inspiring. You’re such amazing teachers. I love the way you describe things. And the little things, just the way you describe things. It’s amazing. So, thank you! Love being here with you guys.
GR: Yeah, thank you. It’s just so great. I love it. So, I always like to, and thank you everybody who’s joining live and everybody who’s joining later – you make a difference, and your little spark of light, your big spark of light, is, it matters and it’s important, and when you shine, you give me all the inspiration to keep on doing all of these things. It lights me up and it creates this big ripple of change that we all need right now.
So, thank you, everybody. I like to close with what I call a global hug, and we’re gonna start small and just hug everybody here. So, thank you so much, so great.
KS: Lots of hugs!
GR: Lots of hugs! And then just expand your arms out to let a few more people into our group, into the circle, and your arms so big that you could hug the world on her birthday today. Just giving the Earth a really big hug of gratitude and love. And then feeling that hug back. Mm, so many hugs! And then give yourself a hug.
Thank you, and have a wonderful, brilliant rest of your day. Thank you so much for being here. And yeah, have a wonderful time. I’ll talk to you soon. Bye.
DB: Bye.
KS: Bye.
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