Gosh, it's good to finally have technical and medical issues well enough in hand to be able to even get this app to stay open and tune in to one of your talks, Betsy!
The overwhelming is real - the last two and a half years have been incredibly stressful in both positive and less than positive ways. Overwhelm has been a major part of it. I have used the "do the next best thing right now" mantra to get me through a lot of it, and it has served me incredibly well.
As I try to keep up with my obligations and goals here while preparing for a trip up to the north next month (though not so far as the Great Lakes or Boundary Waters), I am having to add in travel planning to the mix. On top of being post-medical procedure (yesterday), a separate injury (not being seen for that for a few more days, unfortunately), and some deadlines quickly coming up, regaining access to this app and my favorite teachers - such as yourself - has been a true blessing.
If you have not left for Japan yet, a piece of hopefully helpful and comforting information.... You should have little difficulty finding that all important forest time. Japan in general places great value in the practice of shinrin yoku (forest bathing) and there are companies and services in addition to wooded areas set aside specifically for the practice. My brother and sister-in-law who taught there for a few years said some even lead guided tours out to a space and leave the group there for an hour or more before returning to gather the group and depart - some even have hammocks strung, if you prefer that! I can't vouch for it personally, but I practice shinrin yoku here and my brother loves to be out in the woods, so I imagine there's something substantial to what they told me.
Along the lines of my own musings on your talks (did you miss them? It's been over a year! Lol)... Just one thing really jumped out at me aside from wanting to mention the shinrin yoku availability in Japan.
Your comment about when in overwhelm, people sometimes take more on rather than resting. That immediately made me think, "Well, that is part of certain personality theories and types, particularly the helpful but not rigorous MBTI assessment." Within the MBTI - the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, which I have been a qualified administrator of for over a decade now - certain types are more prone to do this than others. The fourth type letter dichotomy between J (Judging) and P (Perceiving) immediately left to mind. Note that of course, all four letters that make up a type work together synergistically and should not be taken in isolation. That said, those to fall on the P side of that sliding spectrum tend to have difficulty with the notion of stopping and/or knowing when to stop gathering information or experiences. (I'm one of them.)
When overwhelmed, I seek out more information and more experiences, thinking that with greater knowledge, I'll uncover a way to sort out the issues causing the initial overwhelm. "Knowledge is power" with slight modifications is truly a way of life. I am fully aware that most of the time, by the time I hit overwhelm, I already have more than enough information to move through it - more than most others would seek out. (My spouse is a J and I am envious of how easy it is for him to say, "Right, I've heard enough. This is what I'll do. Moving on!")
My personal challenge has been to set boundaries for my information/experience seeking, such as "two more events or courses" or "three more hours of research, and that's it" - and then stopping so I can sit quietly and ground/center and be still. Sometimes I meditate. Sometimes I note it for an issue my subconscious is being asked to process and resolve while I sleep, and I switch gears entirely - often to something physical or mentally absorbing like half an hour on a jigsaw puzzle or a brisk walk if the weather permits. I do keep my phone with voice dictation abilities on me to capture any thoughts I may have that pop up, but once recorded, I let them go. Once my arms get back to where they need to be health-wise and I can resume juggling - a moving meditation for me - this will be even more important.
And then I set a time when I will deliberately sit down to focus on the issue at hand, incorporating all I've learned. I have a sidebar drawn in my notebook where I jot down things that might need additional expiration, such as how to obtain a business license, for example - but that simply serves as future work and having it written down allows me to release it in the present moment and stay on track towards figuring out what "the next right thing to do" is for me at that time.
It seems like a lot of additional effort that I don't see my spouse or other friends/family/colleagues of the J type going through. But on the flip side, I do often hear them talk about hastily made decisions with not enough information beforehand, along with attendant complicating issues from those decisions. THAT has rarely been an issue for me. So I guess it's a matter of front-end and back-end challenges, more or less.
My doctor told me yesterday when I was venting a bit about how my injury was slowing my work down considerably that I knew my body best. "Let your body be your guide." If I have to take extra breaks (setting a timer or I'll be too hyperfocused to remember), do that. If I need to rest, do that. If I need to step away completely for a brief period to focus on restoring balance to my body, health, mind, spirit - do that. It will all only serve to help me do better at whatever my current project might be.
I was pleasantly surprised to hear that from him, as he's usually a lot more solution-focused during our appointments. I asked him if this advice came from his return this week from an extended vacation, and he chuckled and said probably - though the physician who was covering for him while he was gone has now left for her own vacation, so he's covering her patients in addition to his own temporarily. Still, he noted the vacation was extremely helpful, and as one who rarely gets one, it was duly noted by me - and with great interest.
Your advice in this talk echoed his in many ways. It was a welcome reminder. A pleasure to listen to your musings as always. (Did you get new recording equipment or set-up? The quality was distinctly different than your older tracks, hardly any ambient background sound, which was a trifle disorienting for me initially. Sounded a bit more flat as a result, but your voice was crystal clear!)
Thank you for continuing to share your thoughts and practices here on Insight Timer. I see you and the light within you. Be well. 🤲🏻💖🤲🏻
(And it's phenomenal to finally be back, at least somewhat! 🥰)
