Carl Greer's Blog, page 4

The Suddenlies That Change Your Life

I have often led workshops for people who want to learn techniques for gaining insights and momentum that will help them transform their lives in some way. Some hope to adopt new health habits and experience better health as a result. Others seek new ways of looking at themselves and their potential to change the stories about who they are, what their strengths are, and what they can expect to experience in the future. Some signed up for the workshop because they wanted to experience a connection to something larger than themselves and live a more spiritual life of greater service to the world. At the end of our work together, I will typically ask everyone in the workshop to gather around in a circle as I start a story I want them to add to. I begin by saying, “Once upon a time, a group of people came together…” Then I pass to the person on my left the rattle I’m holding—a shamanic tool I use to help them get into a more relaxed state of mind than they would be otherwise. I ask them to add to the story before passing the rattle onto the next person in our circle, who should then continue the story.

The rattle and the story make their way around the circle, with each participant adding something. When the rattle makes it’s way back to me, instead of saying something like, “And so it was,” or “And this concludes the workshop,” or even, “And they all lived happily ever after,” I say, “And then suddenly…”

That startles them.

I explain that I’ve done this because regardless of how much we plan and analyze and take action to make our stories about what we want to happen come to life, there will always be unexpected “suddenlies.” These are the “plot twists” in our stories that swiftly and dramatically change the road we are on.

And they offer opportunities.

You, like many people, may have suddenly faced changes you never anticipated.

If so, it’s your turn to decide what your story will be now.

How will you respond to this new moment?

You didn’t ask to have your life disrupted, to have your movements restricted and choices you took for granted suddenly gone, but here you are. Now what?

What will you do in response?

You might begin to worry about the future, anticipating all that might happen tomorrow and in the weeks and months to come.

You might distract yourself with entertainment.

And you might choose to make the most of this opportunity for self-reflection and take stock.

Where have you been up until now? Are you satisfied with the choices you made that brought you to this moment?

If you regret some of your decisions, have you at least learned from those experiences? Are you wiser now than you were back then?

What will you do differently now and in the future as a result of what you’ve learned?

As you reflect on your story and experiences up until this moment, you might want to look more closely at what lessons your experiences offer, even perhaps writing about them—the story of you on your path to where you are today.

You might want to think about where you want to go in the future. If it’s hard to imagine what your life will be like given all the uncertainty that surrounds you, free yourself to dream a more daring dream, one in which plenty of resources and opportunities are available to you. Maybe you can’t imagine what they are—you can’t see their form. Imagine them anyway. What would you want to spend your time doing if there were nothing to hold you back from living the life you would want to live? Would you spend more time with people you care about? Seek out, new friends? Learn about different ways people interact with the world? You might want to look more closely at how you tend to interact with people and whether you want to make some changes.

In the future, would you want to exercise more, or change anything about your relationship to your physical health, being more aware of your eating and sleeping habits, for example?

What about making changes to your emotional health and your habits around expressing anger, or sadness, or vulnerability?

As you spend more time indoors, and as spring brings forth changes outdoors—trees budding, grass turning green—think about your relationship with nature. Has it been rare for you to spend time in nature, paying attention to what you’re seeing, hearing, and sensing? If you have done it, how does it make you feel? Would you like to spend more time in nature and even perhaps have a different relationship with it? I believe that when you observe nature, it observes you.

And spending time in nature has taught me that nature has many messages for us. Have you ever gotten an insight into your life simply by spending some time in natural surroundings, or interacting with a pet, or watching clouds in the sky at sunrise or sunset? Could this spring be a time of renewal for you?

This moment can be a pause that is worrisome or boring, or it can be a pause that refreshes, to quote the old advertising slogan. You can reboot some area of your life. When you do, you are likely to find some other area changes, too, because the chapters of our lives are all interconnected—health, emotional well-being, relationships, job or career, service to the community, and so on.

One thing I have not just learned but experienced again and again is that this too shall pass. When it does, do you want to approach your life differently as it relates to how you spend your time? How you approach learning and growth? How you approach friendships and relationships with those you care about?

For example, how about having a “talk buddy” that you can think out loud with, someone who can offer you a different perspective?

Would you want to become a better listener? You could practice listening to someone without simultaneously figuring out what you want to say once they stop talking. Try listening to someone as they talk without trying to come up with solutions to “fix” them and their problems (if that’s what they’re talking about). Try listening to someone without anticipating your chance to one-up them, to compete with them by saying something funnier or more clever. Becoming a better listener might help you with your goals as you work with others. Think about a time when someone listened with full attentiveness to you. How did it make you feel? Did it help you in some way? Could having a talk buddy help you and this other person to do better listening and make positive changes in your life? Could it help you work through some of your feelings and better express them? If so, how could that benefit you?

Looking back on my life, I can see how pursuits I thought of as unimportant when I was younger turned out to have far greater value than I realized. As you deal with a “suddenly” that has disrupted your life, why not take the opportunity to think about what you have yet to learn and master? You could begin that learning and mastery by reflecting on your story up to this point. You could also start imagining a future in which you make more conscious choices about what you want to experience and how you will respond to the “suddenlies” that show up and then, like all things, pass away.

My hope for you is that your story will be one that you, the storyteller, have had a major role in shaping.

A version of this article appeared in Spirituality & Health.

You can learn more about personal transformation in my award-winning books Change Your Story, Change Your Life and Change the Story of Your Health, available as eBooks, audiobooks, and paperbacks.

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Engage Nature’s Healing Energies

When we get in touch with nature, we may find that we feel a deep sense of calm and well-being. Research has confirmed what many people have observed: nature has healing energies. Do you enjoy being in the woods? Studies show we can experience health and psychological benefits if we spend time in such places practicing “shin-rin yoku” or “forest bathing.” Twenty or thirty minutes spent in natural surroundings will likely give you a sense of well-being and reduce your body’s levels of the stress hormone cortisol. Nature’s healing energies are so strong, in fact, that even just listening to recordings of natural sounds can reset your nervous system to a more relaxed state.

While in a park, your yard, or another natural area, you might want to focus on a scene or phenomenon and observe. You might walk and gaze at trees, perhaps noticing branches that are thriving as well as ones that have broken. Notice the pattern of the tree’s bark or its branches. Touch the bark or leaves if you can—or touch the dirt in which a houseplant is growing. If you can’t be outdoors in nature, look out the window at a natural scene, at indoor plants, or at a photo or video of a natural scene—or close your eyes and listen to a recording of the sounds heard in natural space, such as a beach or rainforest.

Notice what you feel in your body. Does it seem that your energy has changed? Ask nature to help you engage its healing energies.

Sometimes when we’re in nature, a certain spot might feel healing because it seems to take away our agitation, calm us, or make us feel revitalized in some way. Once, I was visiting a shaman and friend who lives in Peru, and while he was occupied, I began to walk around his yard and soon felt drawn to an area at the base of a tree. In fact, the sense that I should lower myself to the ground and lie there looking up at the branches, leaves, and sky was so strong that I followed my intuition that this was what I needed to do. I could feel healing energy rising up from the ground beneath me as if the earth and tree were working on my energy field to cleanse and repair it. I was still lying there when I heard my friend’s footsteps coming toward me and his voice saying (with no hint of surprise in it), “Ah, you found it. So many people who visit me have been drawn to that very spot. They say it seems to be giving them healing energy.”

If you feel drawn to a particular place outdoors in nature, try to go there (even if just in your mind). Then, simply observe how you feel. What is different about this place? What has drawn you to it? What if any messages does it have for you?

As you immerse yourself in nature, open to any insights regarding her wisdom, your relationship with nature—or anything else. Nature is observing you just as you’re observing her. What does nature see in you?

As you gaze at the silhouette of that lone tree against a blue sky, does a particular thought or emotion arise?

What does the buzz of insects or the sound of birds singing reveal?

What message does a gently flowing creek or a slow-moving cloud offer?

Ponder it all. Later, you might journal about the experience you had. Maybe it will inspire a poem, song, or sketch. As you think back on your break spent in nature, ask yourself whether you need to engage nature’s healing energies more often and how you can make that happen for yourself even if you have to spend much or all of the day indoors.

A version of this article appeared in Spirituality & Health.

Learn even more about how to engage nature’s healing energies in my book Change the Story of Your Health.

The post Engage Nature’s Healing Energies appeared first on Carl Greer.

Engage Nature’s Healing Energies

When we get in touch with nature, we may find that we feel a deep sense of calm and well-being. Research has confirmed what many people have observed: nature has healing energies. Do you enjoy being in the woods? Studies show we can experience health and psychological benefits if we spend time in such places […]

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The Last Moment

The last moment before the sun sets. The last moment before a seed leaves the dandelion, taken away on the wind. The last moment before you open your eyes in the morning. Every day is filled with last moments, some of which we’re aware of, some of which pass without our notice. Similar moments may […]

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One Healthy Change Leads to Another

Are you resisting a change you know you should make? Making changes in one area of your life might help you notice where else you need to make them. Often, one healthy change leads to another because you create momentum and develop confidence. As you start to exercise more, you might start to catch yourself […]

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When Hidden Fear Is Keeping You Stuck in Your Story

Your biggest stumbling block to personal transformation might be fear—and that fear might be hidden in your unconscious. Even if you are able to look boldly at your story of who you are, what happened to you, and how you came to be where you are now, even if you’re sure you want to make […]

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Stalled Out on the Way to Your Goal?

Facing the possibility of failure can be daunting. Too often, our default is to cling to the familiar even if we’re dissatisfied with our current situation. Pessimism about possibilities offers some comfort, which is why we can find ourselves thinking, “I have to accept that I’m destined to be stuck in a low-paying job” or […]

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The Mysterious Beauty of a Synchronicity

My friend was walking in the woods thinking about his father, who had recently died, when a huge buck emerged from the trees and stepped onto the path in front of him. It looked directly into his eyes, and my friend paused to take in the mysterious beauty of the deer’s appearance. Then it lost […]

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Initiation and Your Spiritual Essence

To become aware of your spiritual essence is to experience an initiation. Sometimes called a rebirth or peak experience, a spiritual initiation involves a profound shift in perspective as you experience that you’re more than just your body or your identity as an individual. It expands your identity beyond “me” to “me, who is part […]

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Free Yourself from the Familiar

Our stories are often reflected in what we say to others when they ask how we are. You might tell a story like, “Everyone in my family has bad luck, so no, I haven’t tried to find a new job even though I can’t stand the one I have.” Or, you might say, “No, I […]

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