“Sometimes the most urgent and vital thing you can possibly do is take a complete rest.”
— Ashleigh Brilliant
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I love this quote a lot – it’s so true.
Sometimes the most urgent, vital and important thing you can do is completely switch off, do nothing, and rest.
I try and do that every single day with some Ascension meditation — little oases of stillness in a busy and active day is just what the doctor ordered.
I don’t do it every single day — but as I most certainly feel off when it’s missing from my done list, I don’t skip many sessions. So many people tell me that too. Especially in the early days, they know they need to meditate every day because life gets distinctly ropey when they don’t.
“If it’s important, do it every day”, says Dan John, strength coach.
Why? Because the important things are acts of self-love. Not doing the important things is self-sabotage – and I’m trying to minimise that as much as possible.
A complete break is important, but I don’t think we don’t realise how important it is.
Doing gets credit in our score books; “sitting around doing nothing” gets negative points. We feel worse about ourselves. It feels like we’re not contributing, not building something, that we have too many more important things to get done.
Doing boosts our opinion of ourselves; and while that’s true in one sense, far too many depend on doing for their whole sense of Self. There’s far too many people trying to prove their worth to themselves and others via their to-do list, and that is a tough life.
You in this place?
Take a break. Truly. It actually allows you to do more, and cleaner and better.
Taking a complete break is about your energy and your mood. It’s about clarity of thought and action. It’s about being the change you wish to see. It’s about having the ability to be more mindful and present to your life — and not just rushing to the next moment and the next job. It’s about being the person you know you can be, and not the person you regret being.
And … perhaps most freeing …
You’ll stop needing to prove your existence to the world. You’ll still do, but you want to; you don’t NEED to get stuff done.
It’s about so many different things, you wouldn’t even begin to realise until you make it part of your routine.
So, why not?
Why not take a moment or ten to gather yourself back to yourself? To step back from the frustrations, to step into the moment? To remember who You are amongst all the jobs you want to get done?
There’s nothing but pluses when you really get into it, trust me.
Now –
I’m all about daily breaks – but you might want to include longer retreats in your year calendar.
To completely remove yourself from life for a period of time deepens your experience of presence and allows you to drop bad habits extremely quickly. The difference between a holiday and a retreat is spectacular. A targeted and intentional amount of time devoted to your self-development is a major springboard.
So have a think about some intentional time for you; it’s well worth it.
And guess what?
I booked in a four week Ascension meditation retreat for myself a while back, and it’s here. I’ll have begun by the time you read this. I’m so looking forward to it — we’ve been organising and preparing for a while now, and now it’s time to welcome everyone in.
Four weeks is a huge amount of time. It’s not like I have nothing to do — I have a bunch — but taking a break is urgent and important; I know how valuable it will be.
I need the rest; what with lockdowns and a birth, I’ve been going for some long years now. I also love to learn.
My Ishaya teacher is coming out from Spain, and he’s a good one; one of the best. It’s going to be immense in terms of growth.
And I love to be inspired. I’ll be surrounded by nearly 100 super-alive and passionate friends and colleagues from around the world.
The equation is pretty clear. Even though I have more than ever to do, plugging in will mean a huge boost. As I said, I’m excited.
So — I may be a little quiet for the next while. If you write, give me a moment or two longer to get back to you.
I’ll try and share what I’m learning, but from previous experience, I often can’t be bothered. Nothing personal! It’s just part of the switch off. If that happens, I’ll be back in business soon.
And if you fancy joining me on the first weekend of October for an Ascension meditation course — it’s being held at the same venue here in North Yorkshire as this big retreat is.
People often comment on the feeling of peace when they walk in the door. Can you imagine how it’ll feel after 100 Ishayas have been choosing for peace, presence and passion?
Yup, I’m excited too. Maybe I already said that?
Go well, and talk soon.
Arjuna