The Art Of Letting Be - June 27

When you're feeling low, resist the urge to fix or analyse it. In today's 5 Minutes in Nature, Liz reflects on our tendency to overthink difficult thoughts and emotions, often seeing them as problems that need solving. Instead of trying to change how you feel, allow your mind the space to settle naturally.

The less energy you give unsettled thinking, the less you suffer—and, often, the more quickly it passes.

Transcript

Hello and welcome to Five Minutes in Nature with me, Liz Scott, Taking a stroll in Exeter during the day. Usually I'm out in the morning or evening, But today I've been working on my computer whilst helping to look after my mum. And I've been coming up against some technical glitches and problems and frustrations, Quite frankly, When it comes to uploading and coming up with the final stages of the book that I'm writing about my pilgrimage last year. The book is so close to being finished and there are still hurdles I need to get through and when I come across the technical hurdles I find myself feeling a sense of relief. It's that kind of sense of low mood, Of I'm no good at this, What am I doing, This is all rubbish, You know, That kind of stuff. And I just thought it'd be a really good reflection today to share one of the things that I have found so helpful about the three principles. Now, We've looked at the three principles and what they are over the last four days. And I want to share a bit more, Which is probably a bit more of how it impacts me in my life, So that I can share what it's like understanding and aligning myself with the way life works. And one of the things that I know is that low mood is the time when I am tempted to grab onto and to believe low thinking, To believe that that low mood, That low thinking is true. That I know to be true. So one of the things that helps me understanding the three principles is the understanding that the low mood and the feelings and the thoughts I might have when I'm in a low mood, Well, They look and feel really real at that time. And of course, What I also realize is that by holding on to these thoughts, By holding on to and believing these thoughts, I'm actually exacerbating that sense of suffering. So when I give my attention to these thoughts, When I focus on these thoughts, When I try to analyze why I'm thinking that way, All of those actions have me prolong the low mood that I'm in. So today I got to a stage with my computer where I felt like I was going square-eyed and I just knew that try to analyze and try harder and work harder on the computer and work out these technical glitches whilst I was in that state of feeling quite low and unskilled and feeling a bit down on myself. I just knew that that wasn't the time to do it. Can you see understanding the nature of thought, Understanding how low mood works, Understanding not to trust what I'm telling myself when I'm in low thinking, That has been a game changer. And instead, What I did today is I listened into that in a compass. I knew I needed to get out. I knew I needed to go for a walk. And I knew I just needed a bit of time and space away from my computer. And I know that over time, These thoughts will diminish in their intensity. I'll return back to that sense of clarity, And I'll have another go at working on uploading this book onto the computer. But right now, It's not the time to do it. Worried about when that happens. And it's also really helpful to know that suffering is not having these thoughts. Suffering is when we hold on to these negative thoughts, When we analyze them, When we try and fix them, When we try and change them. When we do that, We're actually prolonging the very thing that we're trying to get rid of. So what I find is that rather than focusing on thinking or analyzing it or trying to think a different way, I notice my mood will tell me, My feelings and emotions let me know when I'm in a low state of mind. And I know in that low state of mind not to trust what thought is telling me. And for me, I listen in and see if there's something else that feels more true, Like today, Go out for a walk. And then I find myself in a space where I am nourishing myself. Where I am giving myself time to recalibrate. Let me know your reflections on this today. What do you notice about low thought for you when you get into thought spirals and thought loops? Can you see that that is a form of psychological suffering when you try and analyze them or get rid of them or change them? Let me know your reflections. It would be really good to hear from you. And don't forget, I'll be back again tomorrow with another five minutes in nature.

Reviews

Thanks 🙏🏼 Liz.
What I find myself doing more now is recognising straight away when a low mood is on me and asking myself what is going on here ?
Acknowledge the mood and go to the garden and do some work or listen to a podcast or do some knitting . They all help move my thinking along to feeling better about the mood. By distracting my thoughts off of the low mood I can let it go. 🌿🧶🌿
PS… I look forward to reading your book and hope it will be available here Down Under.

I would say, Meta-consciousness is the moment you remember you are more than the thoughts passing through your mind.

Or, using the river analogy, Meta-consciousness is the moment you stop believing you are the leaf and remember you are the current carrying it. In you piece today you realized you were not the leaf being swept away and in your case the spiraling thoughts. The remembrance that ware not the leaf is the key. You are the current.

Also I think that is why when we know as you said yesterday in your comment, that all currents eventually reach the sea and that we are of one. That is what makes this universally true.

These real life examples are very helpful, Liz. Thank you.

Of course, there are some people whose low thoughts go much deeper or further. Perhaps these people need something beyond the three principles, or do you think it works for everyone all the time?