A Brighter Day

In SARK’s recent newsletter, she talked about how taking good care of yourself is more than just deep tissue massages and healthy foods.  The heart of taking good care is in speaking kindly to yourself. I believe that if most of us took a moment to listen to the chatter in our heads, we’d find an endless stream of criticisms and corrections.

Esther and Jerry Hicks have a process they call “segment intending” where you stop and decide what you’re after with each segment of your day.  I’m borrowing that concept by segmenting my day and then asking how I’m doing.  Eckhart Tolle suggested the question.  If the thoughts or feelings I find are not to my liking, I rattle off a few of my favorite things:  a summer breeze, watching a great film, listening to Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell, crackling fires, a perfect cup of tea.  I’m calling it Segment Check-ins.

I try to set these segments up ahead of time, based on how my day unfolds.  Like, when I’m putting on my jewelry in the morning and when I’m taking it off at night, just before I get ready to drive, when I get into work and settle in, before lunch, etc.  I just take a breath and notice how I’m doing. 

In this way I’m practicing present moment awareness.  I’m also filing my head with good thoughts and improving my mood. 

Sometimes it’s just a matter of slowing down a bit, taking a breath.  I give myself permission to toss out any thoughts that I can’t do anything about right now.  Either there’s an action I need to take now, or there isn’t.  If there’s something I need to do later, I just put it aside.  As Eckhart Tolle says:  there’s nothing you can’t handle right now. When I narrow it down to just those things I can do right now, I feel calmer.  If I can do it now, I do. If not, I dance around in my faves and lighten my day.