This months Blog is all about having a conversation with yourself. This can start with something as simple as our breath. When we breathe, we get inspired: the word ‘spiro’ means ‘I breathe’ in Latin. Inspiration in its simplest form is breathing. And all it takes to whisper the word ‘inspiration’ is to take a breath.
I invite you to try this: Stop everything for five minutes and just breathe in and out. Keep a pen and paper by your side. Make sure you breathe a full breath in and a full breath out – from the belly if possible. What thoughts come to mind? Were there any words unspoken, any unshed tears? Was there anything you wanted to share?
Breathing is connected with expressing ourselves. There’s nothing new about this insight. We are simply recreating our own identity with each breath. In doing so, we play ‘god’ with our lives – and, as so many philosophers have shown, we never stay still, with each breath in and out, we change.
The exercise above, if you tried it, is an exercise in self-observation, which can sometimes bring up strong emotions as well. In my view strong emotions can be helpful in the right context. Think of that story of the Snow Queen which I mentioned in December’s newsletter. When the little boy Kay goes on his journey with the Snow Queen, he cannot feel any emotion, all he can remember is his sums. It takes his friend little Gerda to find him and weep warm tears when she sees him, for the ice around his heart to melt. It’s only then he can be free and realise that he can write the word ‘eternity’ he has been trying to remember and be released from the Snow Queen.
Of course the exercise could be extended in different ways. The psychologist C.G. Jung even invented a friendly avatar with whom he could have a dialogue about his quest to ‘find himself’ which became his life’s goal. At the end of this process he was always grateful he had done this, even though some people mocked him for leaving his job for a few years. During this precious time, however, he claimed he had actually experienced his own ‘wholeness’ which became a source of creativity for his later lectures and writings. We can’t all take time off work as C.G. Jung did, but we can spend five minutes connecting with our breath to see what happens!
I have developed https://narrativelifecoaching.co.uk/ to help you set off on a journey toward the person you have always wanted to be. And soon, I will be launching the course, Developing Trustful Conversations a ten-module web course! I’d be so excited to see you there…more of that soon!
Warmly
X Elizabeth Rose
