One spot left for Saturday’s mini-retreat doing The Work. Two days away! This is doing The Work starting from scratch. You don’t need to know anything about self-inquiry….just bring yourself and your amazing MIND.
I will walk you through the steps one-by-one. No experience needed. (Write grace@workwithgrace.com if that last spot is yours).
If you are NOT new to The Work, then you’ll know that this process of doing The Work is a contemplative, focused practice that gives your busy mind time the chance to be heard…and questioned.
No issue is too big or too small for The Work. Kinda like an ad in the newspaper for odd-jobs or handy-work.
Who knows….you may think all you have is a small leak in the roof when it rains hard, and it turns out the whole attic is saturated, once you open up the area that looks slightly damaged.
It’s like when I work with someone who comes to me because they feel a little dowdy or overweight, a little unhappy about their body…even though it’s also not a big deal in the big scheme of things.
We may look at all the beliefs they have about why it would be “better” to have a different body, a more improved body, or what is going on in the moment they eat too much or reach for food. Those are interesting to question.
And THEN I might ask “so…what else brings on stress in your life? What else feels disappointing or uncomfortable?”
Oh. You mean, my unpleasant relationship with my body or eating might be related to stressful thinking, doubt, grief, sadness, rage, or terror?
The process of thinking is so fast, speedy, busy, winding and semi-logical (ha) that it’s hard to even KNOW what thoughts we have that we believe that we’re running on.
All we know is, we feel anxious, nervous, angry, irritated, sad, depressed….a whole slew of stressful feelings.
The Work is a ticket, if you like to “think” and work with this fast, brilliant mind, into how to address these feelings.
I find that feelings and thoughts line up every time. If I’m afraid, or upset, or angry, I’m believing something unpleasant, I’m worried about the future, I’m imagining bad thing occurring, I’m replaying a distant (or not-so-distant) memory.
But it moves so fast, almost like those subliminal messages we once heard about in advertising, flashing on our consciousness. We don’t register our thoughts clearly.
They’re there, then gone.
Suddenly, we feel like overeating, or drinking, or we make a caustic remark, or we tell a lie or gossip about someone, or we decide its time to move to another town, or another job, or we can’t sleep, or we feel jealous.
With The Work, we enter at the place that hurts, even if it’s only a sunburn, or a hang nail, or a pulled muscle, or a feeling of total annoyance at the traffic, or some doubt or worry about our childhood, or money, or our business, or being chronically late, or wanting endlessly to lose ten pounds.
We enter at the doorway that’s offered to us that says “YOUR STRESSFUL THOUGHTS” on it.
When we open that door, we may find quite a few thoughts inside. That may be an understatement of the century!
With The Work, or any powerful self-inquiry method of looking, watching, observing and relaxing….those stressful beliefs become very questionable.
And when you don’t believe those thoughts anymore….amazing things can occur.
You may see the beauty in that person who bugs you, you may find your body is quite lovely the way it is, you may not be compelled to eat or drink so much, you may remember your childhood with compassion, you may not be afraid of not having money, or getting sick.
You may find you begin to sleep well, or lose weight without trying, or start liking your job again, or open up a flow of money. You may be filled with a deep gratitude.
All things are possible.
Love, Grace