Mid-August 2019 Newsletter

Hello, and a marvelously abundant Mid-August to you!
Welcome, or welcome back, to my newsletter. Today's issue is about too much stimulation, and how to handle it. Enjoy!

If you've ever been around an over-stimulated child, maybe one who's overdue for his daily nap, or has been with shrieking excited friends for a few hours, you know the signs. The child is "all wound up", talking too loud or too fast, maybe getting short-tempered or on the brink of tears, impatient and irrational. Obviously he or she needs a break from the frantic activity, a slower pace to get back to emotional balance. Now, do you yourself ever show these signs of over-stimulation? If so, do you recognize what's happening, and what you need to do about it?

This can happen to me, though less often than it used to. Sometimes I do it to myself by taking on too much, filling my calendar so I don't have the time to proceed at a comfortable pace. And other times I'm not rested or calm enough to deal with the situation when "Life happens" and there's an unexpected delay or minor problem. I then get it in my mind that everything around me is a disaster waiting to happen, which isn't true.

A few weeks ago I was just back from a cross-country trip to see my energy teacher, facing all the catching up I needed to do from being away almost a week. Even though I thought I had spaced my upcoming appointments generously, I could tell when I was getting anxious in normal traffic, and feeling pressured though I had plenty of time, that I needed an even slower pace to feel OK. When I got a flat tire in a nearby city, it was a clear sign that both the car and I had to stop!

The energy teacher I mentioned, Deborah King, is a big proponent of self-care. If you're not "filling the well", so to speak, you have nothing to give anyone else. Self-care means different things for different folks. Could you be skimping on your sleep, or not taking the time to eat in a healthy way? For me, I need to keep the stimulation coming in at a manageable (pretty low) level, having the phone ringer off, wearing my earplugs when they're paving the street outside, or the neighbor is weed-whacking the edge of his lawn. Otherwise I can't concentrate, or be calm enough to be productive.

With TVs and video games and cell phones and pop-up videos on the web, it's very easy for our thinking brain, our vision, and our hearing to get over-stimulated. I wear earplugs when I do my daily meditation, or when away from home sleeping in a strange place, and it's surprising how much this helps me relax. I can feel my nervous system taking a deep sigh of relief as soon as I put the earplugs in. If a hotel has a giant TV facing the bed, I usually unplug it so I can sleep peacefully in the dark. Know what you need, and do your best to get it for yourself.

So how do you know if you're over-stimulated? Some people get angry, irritated at the slightest little thing like a rainy day when they had outdoor plans. I tend to get nervous and worried, imagining problems everywhere. Although I want to go faster and faster (my animal brain is hoping to avoid the predator), I've trained myself to slow down, so I can think straight and assess what I need in the moment. Please don't push yourself to your breaking point, or put up with an intolerable situation or person for too long. The world needs you to give your gifts. If something is seriously getting in the way of that, it may be time for a change. You're worth it!

To read about a wonderful relaxing practice to reduce visual over-stimulation, click here.

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Please send me your questions and comments
Let me know what you've wondered about concerning energy medicine or vision or dreams. I'll be glad to write a short article addressing that topic. Thank you to those who have sent me questions, or see a question you asked me in a private session written about here. You're helping many other people! Enjoy the second half of your August. I'll write again in a few weeks. Take care!