According to Martha Beck, the rhythms of life can be described in two phases, “rest” and “play.”
However, we often find ourselves unable to either rest well or play to our hearts’ content.
This is because we spend a lot of our work time neither resting nor playing! We don’t enjoy our work, yet, when we get home, we cannot stop thinking about our projects at work. Thus, we don’t even rest when we should.
The rhythm of our essential selves is like almost every other rhythm in nature. It has two phases which I call “rest” and “play.” When you rest in harmony with your essential self, you feel as drowsy and contented as a cat in the sun. Right now, look back on a wonderful lazy day in your past. Maybe you were falling in love or you just finished a huge project. For some reason, you’ve given yourself permission to just goof off. For the next ten minutes, give yourself that permission again.
If your work is not “play” then you may need to consider reading Martha’s book, Steering by Starlight: The Science and Magic of Finding Your Destiny, I just finished it two days ago and came away with a lot of fresh insights. It comes with a free PDF for you to follow the text and learn how to follow your heart as you work through the exercises she takes you through.
As far as “rest” is concerned, mindfulness practices and guided meditations can put you at ease and make your rest more enjoyable.
For me, this is really important. I play tennis four times a week at a beautiful club in Mill Valley, California. After each session, I come home, take a shower and rest for at least 20 minutes and sometimes for an hour or two. I play guided meditations or binaural beats music almost everyday.
If you are having trouble resting, try my Sound Sleep Guided Meditation:
Books by Martha Beck
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Steering by Starlight: The Science and Magic of Finding Your Destinyby Martha Beck’s remarkable success in helping people to change their lives has won her accolades everywhere from National Public Radio to USA TODAY. She made multiple appearances on Oprah and Good Morning America for the hardcover edition of Steering by Starlight, which … |
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