I Love Mondays #13: Alien Activities
Welcome to I Love Mondays #13! It’s my BIRTHDAY! I’m celebrating by practicing presence, banishing dread, transmuting despair into hope, and noticing everything I’m doing right. The older I get, the more impermanence I witness, and the more I want to go crazy enjoying my precious time on this earth. My goal is to truly love myself this 36th spin around the planet, and these prompts are crucial stepping stones on my path.
Physical
1. What are you doing right?
The past week I often heard myself thinking, “What am I doing wrong?” Every time I noticed something I didn’t like in my reality, the thought kept coming: “What am I doing wrong? I must be doing something wrong!” Eventually, I heard myself think the thought and stopped in my tracks. What if I chose the opposite thought? “What am I doing right?” Or “I must be doing something right!” I started feeling better the more I looked for evidence. I’m doing so many things right! And when I notice it, I get more of it. Today your challenge is to look for the things you’re doing right. Over time, you will turn the boat and feel more aligned than not.
Mental
2. Turn “can’t” into “can’t wait”.
Another negative thought pattern I’ve found myself in is “Why can’t I…?” Like, “Why can’t I feel good? Why can’t I feel better? Why can’t I stick to a schedule? Why can’t I enjoy my life? Why can’t I love myself?” That thought really gets in the way of the flow of well being. So what if we change it to, “I can’t wait to feel good! I can’t wait to feel better! I can’t wait to stick to a schedule! I can’t wait to enjoy my life! I can’t wait to love myself!” This changes the vibration from despair to hope. It will happen one day! Every time I shift from, “Why can’t I feel good?” To “I can’t wait to feel good!” I start feeling better within hours! What can’t you wait for?
Emotional
3. There’s nothing left to dread!
Is there some date looming in the future that you’re dreading? A court date, a family gathering, a doctor appointment? Imagine that the day has come, and that event is now over. What does it feel like now that it’s over, and you have nothing left to dread? Practice this feeling, and then the actual event will be enjoyable and you will realize, there truly never was anything to dread!
Spiritual
4. Practice presence by pretending you’re an alien.
Yumi Sakugawa had a beautiful Instagram post about a technique for being present when you’re stuck in sad thought patterns:
“Imagine that you, an extraterrestrial entity, step into the human body reading the words on this screen. The hand lowers the phone. The eyes perceive surroundings. The body is alert for all sensations. Everything is new. Everything is strange. Everything is possible."
Try this exercise now. You have just stepped into a human body, and you’re seeing everything for the first time. Describe what you see!
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