Quite some time ago, I had many dialogues with my INNER WISDOM and my SABOTEUR about my tendency to deal with many things at the same time. An image of a juggler comes to mind—keeping many plates spinning atop flexible poles, rushing from one to the next trying to ensure none would fall. I learned that this was a primary reason why I often felt so tired.
When I began to see how consistent this pattern had been in my life, my CREATIVITY helped me develop something I call the Presence Board. I used PostIt notes and drew colorful place holders for each project that I was working on, then stuck those notes on a wall close to where I normally did my work. Every time I began to work, I made a conscious decision about where I would guide my energy and for how long. I then put that note in the space called “presence”, and made sure nothing would distract me from doing what was needed for that project for the dedicated time.
That meant closing all browsers on my laptop, turning off all sounds and notifications on my devices, having a drink handy, and setting my timer.
When the time was over, I went back to my Presence Board, sensed into what wanted my attention, and made a conscious decision for what was up next. The notes didn’t only include my work tasks and projects, but also things like “Walking”, “Doing Nothing”, “Listening” (to audio books or podcasts), and others.
Eventually this practice turned into a habit that hugely increased my presence as I went through the day, from start, just after my morning practice, to end, with a conscious decision to fully step into sleep time.
At the beginning of this week, I found myself in a state of utter turmoil every time I began my JournaLogue session. It seemed that many things wanted to be explored in parallel, and I had a really hard time deciding which energy to follow. I asked my Inner Support Team for help, but every time I felt I had a sense of what was up for that session my head went off on its own journey again.
On Wednesday, when I could finally turn my full attention to my CREATIVITY, she helped me. She reminded me of my Presence Board and suggested I develop a somewhat similar practice for the times when I feel this turmoil in my JournaLogue practice. I wrote down everything that was in my head, everything that I felt wanted to be seen at the same time. After doing this, my entire system calmed down. Everything was seen and heard. This was such a relief. Then, together with my LOVE and POWER, I felt I could explore which of the topics I wanted to focus on. LOVE asked, “what are you going to love doing now?”. Once I decided, POWER said, “I’m here with you. Let’s all hold the space for what wants to emerge”.
Over time, I have repeatedly experienced these days of unrest and turmoil in my JournaLogue practice. I used to feel that those were days where I simply couldn’t focus, and when things would have to wait. I must admit that I always felt a little bit disappointed with myself when that happened. I judged myself for not being able to dive into the practice.
After this week, I can see my experience in a totally different way. The unrest and turmoil are pointing me toward the need to make what I now call a pit stop: to allow everything that is going on for me to surface, capture it, and enjoy the feeling that everything important is being seen. Then, I can make a loving and powerful decision to turn my attention to what is needed now.
