Hi friends,
Happy Friday! If you prefer to listen to today’s newsletter, hit play below ▶️. Otherwise, keep reading!
As a reader of this newsletter I know you to be an explorer on the journey of a lifetime. A journey into The Great Unknown: your inner landscape ⛰.
Exploring your inner landscape is courageous work. It’s rewarding work. And yes, it’s hard work.
Through the exploration of our inner landscape, we come to create a relationship with ourselves. We move from:
force → flow
contraction → expansion
a state of doing → a state of being
Your inner landscape is vast.
Gazing into the boundless expanse within you can be exciting. But it can also be overwhelming, intimidating, and scary.
Right next to fields where our dreams grow like wildflowers, are caves with the shadow parts of ourselves that we've rejected. We have roots that run deep, emotions that flow like waterfalls, and mountains we must climb.
As explorers, it's our job to get to know ourselves. To turn over every rock. Explore every cave. Dig up the weeds. Plant new seeds.
We must be willing to get lost, get dirty, and get honest.
As challenging as it is on this journey, you are not alone.
This field guide is the first in a series I created for you. It's the guide I wish I had when I set out on this journey of radical self-inquiry. My hope is that it makes yours a little bit easier.
Exploring Your Inner Landscape: Noticing
The first step to exploring your inner landscape is to notice 🤔. To observe. To become aware of and acknowledge what is in your inner landscape, without judgment.
Thoughts
Stories
Feelings
Emotions
Sensations
For me, observing my inner landscape has had the most profound impact on my journey of self-growth. It's how I became familiar with myself. It’s how I began to build a relationship with myself.
As simple as it sounds, it wasn't easy at the beginning.
Society tells us -- encourages us -- to override our feelings and emotions ✋🏼. To ignore, numb, move on, and move past them.
So when I was prompted to "notice" in meditations or yoga classes, I had no clue what to do. My mind and body were so disconnected. They didn't know how to talk to each other.
My thinking mind would take the mic and talk over my feelings, emotions, and intuition. Sometimes it would even criticize or harshly judge what was trying to come up to the surface.
It took me years to understand and find practices that gave my inner explorer the space and support to observe my inner landscape. To sit and notice the different textures of my being, whether it's a wave of emotions or a prickly thought 🌵.
Observing Not Absorbing
As an explorer, the act of noticing allows us to take the seat of the observer. We observe what is happening inside of us and yet we don’t allow it to absorb us.
Over time (and with practice) the thoughts, stories, feelings, emotions, and sensations don’t overwhelm us or consume us. Instead, we become familiar with them. We get to a point where we can observe our inner landscape clearly and understand it. And eventually, we come to a place where we can have compassion for and acceptance of our inner landscape.
How to Practice Noticing
Noticing is an act of gentle awareness, non-judgment, and compassion.
Below, is a simple exercise to help you begin to notice. Remember, this is an act of observation, so there's no need to do anything with the thoughts, sensations, feelings, and emotions that arise.
3-Part Check-In
Upon waking, take time to check in with your body and listen to its signals and messages.
You can do this practice laying down or sitting in a chair, whatever feels comfortable for you. Eyes can be open with a soft gaze, or closed.
Begin by taking 3 deep breaths.
Inhale through your nose, imagining your breath traveling up from your naval to the top of your throat. Exhale through your mouth as you audibly sigh. Repeat twice more.
Next, scan your body from the crown of your head all the way down to the soles of your feet. I like to mentally name each body part as I do my body scan. As you’re scanning your body, notice any physical points of tension, tenderness, heaviness, lightness.
How is your jaw? Your neck?
Again, just noticing.
Bring awareness to your emotions. Are there any noticeable emotions present? Joy, sadness, excitement, gratitude, grief? Listen to what is present, no need to create any particular emotion or state.
Finally, notice your awareness. Does it feel distracted or calm? Is your mind busy or at ease? Sleepy or alert?
Again, just noticing.
On your next inhale, take a full breath in and then sigh it out. Gently open your eyes.
🌱 Growth happens here 🌱
Looking within sets the foundation for growth.
For the next three days, perform the 3 part check-in upon waking.
After completing the check-in, grab a notebook (every great explorer always keeps one handy! 📓) and write down any thoughts, reflections, or observations.
If you make this practice part of your morning, you’ll begin to notice patterns and habits emerge that you may not have been aware of before.
Take care,
Alison