Time to Slow Down

I would usually send this in an email, but I feel this needs to reach others, no matter the time of year.  

Slow down and sort through what you have been through so far this year. Doing this will allow us to release what we have held onto but honestly don't need, and make it easier to make better decisions.

They used the analogy of a tornado picking up a lot of different things and making it hard to see where things belong. You have to sort through the pile before you can begin to make decisions about it.

Your tornado stuff will cover everything from needs that need healing to mindset, beliefs, and goals.

The first step is to sort everything into two piles: your stuff and other people's stuff.

This allows you to then spend your time looking at what belongs to you and what is your responsibility. From there, you are to break everything that is yours into three piles.

1. What is broken and you don't want to fix?

2. What is broken and you want to fix?

3. What is in good working order, and you want to continue in your life.

After you have this breakdown, you can make better decisions because you are only looking at the final two piles. Focusing your attention on what works and what you want to fix will help you make better decisions.

Finally, they end with three things to keep in mind as you do this.

1. Be careful not to cling too tightly to things that are broken and shouldn't be fixed.

2. Spend extra time ensuring that you aren't keeping what isn't yours.

3. Don't get sucked back up into the tornado by overanalyzing and not letting go. Skipping the sorting will keep you in that space.

✍️ Journal Prompts:

• Is this mine or someone else's?

• Where in my life do I feel like I’m spinning in a tornado right now?

• Whose voice do I hear when I doubt myself? Is that belief truly mine?

• What am I still trying to fix that isn’t actually my responsibility?

• What habit, belief, or commitment is clearly finished for me — even if I’ve been avoiding admitting it?

• What story do I keep telling myself that keeps me stuck?

• What part of my life is calling for healing, repair, or real attention?

  • If I fixed this one thing, what would become possible?

• What do I want to nurture as I move forward?

• How will I know when I’m starting to spiral again — and what’s my “brake” strategy?

Resources

The Four Agreements is a great resource for helping you separate what is yours from what is not. Especially the agreement not to take things personally. This agreement covers not just what people direct towards you, but what you take on as your own. This also intertwines with making assumptions.​ (kinda covers all the Reiki precepts - shhh, don't tell anyone.)

My favourite book is Falling Upward, Revised and Updated: A Spirituality for the Two Halves of Life, recommended to me by a Franciscan Nun named Rose, who was in my Reiki Master Class. God bless you, Sister Rose. That class was an amazing experience with your stories and laughter. She buys this book and hands it out to people who are struggling. (I read it in less than 2 hours!)