Feel free to listen to this remembrance by pressing play on the audio or simply reading below.
To truly slow down is to return to the embrace of a mother cradling you in her protective arms. You fight the urge to be held by another, unsure of when you’ll be dropped or forgotten. Decades of conditioning that led you to individuate from the security of a mother wrapped around you rise up in waves of agitation. Alerting your nervous system that it’s not safe to release. It’s not safe to trust. You stifle your instinctual urge to surrender as your mind rapidly scans for any threats coming your way… The upcoming work deadline. The kids’ school play. The spouse’s bad mood. A flurry of hormones activated by the racing pressure to prepare for what’s next douse your body with a tension so great, it keeps you rigidly waiting for the moment of slowing down to pass. For returning to the anxious preoccupation of do, go, do has become more comforting than the stillness of simply being. But as you remain in the tension, a quiet remembering slowly trickles its way through the dense layer of cortisol-soaked memories. A remembering. Of what it felt like to be held by mother. To sink deeply into her caress. Where your skin melted with hers and your heart beat to the rhythm of silence. Slowing down to savor the safety enveloping you through her infinite adoration. For to truly slow down is to immerse yourself in being One with Love.
An invitation for you.
There’s a misperception that slowing down and simply “being” is a luxury saved for those who have the privilege to do nothing. This thinking has been pumped into us by a culture that prioritizes productivity over peace and normalizes overburden vs. ease.
Slowing down is an internal energetic shift that allows your nervous system to uncoil and return to a general state of ease. This shift can happen as you’re driving from one appointment to the next on a packed day or watching your roses grow.
“Mother,” as used in this remembrance, is not just the physical person who birthed you. It’s the earth on which you live. Many of us have become so disconnected from her as we fight to survive. Yet she’s always there, and all that’s required for you to reconnect to and receive her love is presence and awareness.
But how can I slow down and “be” when I’m doing so much to make ends meet?
Start by getting clear on what “slowing down” and “being” mean to you.
For my paid subscribers, I’m sharing below an effectively simple (and loved by kids & adults alike) 2-minute nervous system regulation practice you can do to pause the frenzy, no matter how overwhelmed you are. I developed this practice based on a cognitive restructuring technique used to help stop repetitive anxious thoughts, decrease feelings of overwhelm or worry, and restore a sense of calm.
I’ve paired this with a guided invitation for you to explore this topic of slowing down further and integrate it into your daily routine.
To join in, please upgrade your subscription here:
