How can we deeply repair?
“How can we deeply repair?”
A thought came to me during my morning meditation - what does it mean to me, to deeply repair? And how can we all help ourselves do this?
We may each have our own health challenges that linger for days, months or years, and until we find the perfect mix of action or circumstances and experiences, they could go unsolved. Some big, some small.
In a fast paced culture, I believe slowing down, however that looks for us, is often a big part of getting into a deep repair mode. We have to let go of the parts of ourselves that are trying to get somewhere whilst simultaneously avoiding what’s truly present.
If we stop long enough we can start to release stored tension and stress, and in doing so it 1. Puts ourselves in a better state for any kind of healing and 2. Allows our mind to have spaciousness, leading to solutions arising with even less effort than before.
One personal example I have of this is when I was silent for 8 days at a retreat, living slow and doing everything slow. I noticed how quick I was able to solve certain troubling issues. My mind just knew the answers, and processed it all much quicker. I hear similar things about people who do days of fasting, the body gets a break and starts to uncover, process and heal what was previously relentless.
But aside from time in silence or fasting, how else can we be present to our needs - I see it in: nourishment in what we consume, movement that actually suits our body and where we are at day to day, meaningful connections and conversation, connection to our true selves, wants and desires, and incorporating purposeful activities into our time - which resonate with our own version of joy. Doing the things that our mind, body and soul need for us uniquely; the parts that crave attention from us to feel and be in greater alignment.
Without these things, maybe our system isn’t getting the chance to repair how it needs to. The opposite being that we are going against some core needs and with some amount of suffering as a result.
I don’t believe this means we need to be ruthless here, but more so continuously noticing and adjusting. Listening.
This sometimes means having enough of a connection to ourselves that the subtleties finally land.
From my own experience, we can think we are in alignment with our health needs, but all of the sudden, during moments of peace and presence, a blind spot shows us an aspect where maybe we’ve been working against ourselves without realising. Always with our best intentions and we weren’t to know. But a blind spot that uncovers our next stage of evolution, a deeper connection to ourselves and what it would mean to repair some ruptures.
So the message, for me at least, is to keep listening to the messages, the subtleties, to pause long enough to get it. To notice what both our internal and external reality show us; the clues, the options, the feedback.
As life has it, some of it will seem to work against us and some of it will seem to work for us, both ultimately just as worthwhile in leading us to a next step.
Sometimes easier said than done, but worth it, as from these moments of clarity, we can be making our way to repair. Deeply, hopefully.
