Carving Out Some Time For Headspace

I had some great comments back from my last newsletter mostly about how people found that making some space or taking some quiet time has helped them.

And how, even when we are on holidays, we put ourselves under pressure trying to fit everything in.

From my own experience, being quiet and taking time out has really helped me.

Loads of ideas for workshops, writing and promotion have presented themselves to me.

Not only that, opportunities have started to come to me.  I honestly believe that if I hadn’t carved out the space in my life (and in my head) for these things to come to me, I don’t think that they would have happened.

When you are too full of stuff in your head, and the universe comes knocking, it is hard to be heard above all of the din.

As children, we would spend lots of time just doing nothing.  What a luxury!

And this allowed us to daydream – thinking up whatever our imagination wanted to think up.

Recently, I saw a documentary on the Irish boxer, Katie Taylor.  When she was a child she used to daydream about receiving a medal and would even enact the scene of her up on the podium, celebrating winning the medal.

Talk about manifestation!  She did win a gold medal and has now turned professional.  So, a little daydreaming and imagining can only be good.  What’s the worst that can happen??

People come to me sometimes when they are not able to sleep.

When I get them to go through their day, I can see why.

The phone/radio is on first thing.  When they are walking/travelling they are listening to the radio/checking their social media.

They then go straight into work, and the evenings are pretty much the same thing – constant stimulation.

They are so exhausted that they fall asleep and then wake up after a few hours, wide awake and can’t get back to sleep.

We all need time to process what has happened or is going on.

The only time that we get to do this is when we stop.  And if the only time you stop is when your head hits the pillow, well then that’s when you are going to process.

We all think that we are so busy we couldn’t possibly carve any more time out for ourselves.

Here are ways that you could try to carve out some headspace for yourselves so that you get to spend time being rather than doing, allowing yourself time to daydream or just be.

You can start with something small, and if the urge takes you, gently move on to bigger things.

1. Have a quiet breakfast.

I had gotten into very bad habits – having the radio on over breakfast (nothing wrong with that), but I was deciding what I would do, depending on when the celebrity news / competition / whatever else I was interested in was on.

The radio is great but when it starts to dictate what you are doing, that’s not great, so for me, something had to give.  The radio is now off in the morning, and I’m getting much more done as a result.

If for you, you are on the phone checking emails and social media first thing in the morning, try doing it later in the day.  It can wait.

2. When travelling to your destination, do it without the usual distractions

When I am on the bus, I am always struck by the number of people glued to their phones.

When we were in the US last year, we got the suburban train from where we were staying into San Francisco.

We were having a good natter (hubby and me), and the very cool young man opposite us said ‘it’s so unusual to see people chatting on the train’.

He then started telling us about his art project, asking our advice, would we, as tourists, be interested in something like that?

We ended up having a long discussion and hopefully, in some small way, we contributed to his business plan!!  That wouldn’t have happened if our heads had been stuck in our phones.

Turn off your phone.  Enjoy the view or earwig on the conversation beside you.

You never know who you might be sitting beside.

3. Do one thing mindfully every day

What I mean by this is when you are doing something be fully focused on that activity rather than focusing on what you have to do next.

For example, you could wash the dishes mindfully – focus on the temperature of the water, the noise of the water as you wash, really look at the suds…  It doesn’t have to be for a long time.

But if you allow yourself to do this for even 30 seconds, it will just give your brain a bit of a break from the constant chatter and thinking.  If you like, you can build this up to a longer time.
.

4. Meditate – whatever that means to you

I think that meditation is different for everyone.

For me, I usually do 20 minutes in the morning.  I lie on the bed and set my clock so that I know when to finish.

Meditation for me is about connecting to source, spirit, God – whatever you want to call it.  It is also about me bringing in good energy for the day.

For some people, meditation could be sitting by the sea, going for a walk, painting, chanting ‘om’ – whatever resonates and works for you and takes you out of yourself.

The more you do, the stronger your practice will be.

5. Artist Date

Julia Cameron is the author of The Artist’s Way which is a lovely book with a 10 week programme on developing your creative side.

As part of the process of doing the Artist’s Way, once a week, you had to take yourself out on an Artist Date.

Cameron’s definition of an Artist Date is ‘making time for yourself, once a week, on your own, to do something ‘enchanting’. To play, have fun, or do something that nourishes you.’  

What’s not to love about that??

It doesn’t necessarily mean that you have to do something arty farty.

It’s about putting yourself in a situation that you have never been in before.  Or going to somewhere that you have never been before.

Things that I have done include art classes, going to somewhere I had never been before, walking by the sea.

About 20 years ago, when I first did this, I went to the Gucci shop on Sloane St, London as I had never been there.  Everything was sooo beautifully displayed – it was indeed like an art gallery and I saw Louise Redknapp who at the time was quite a well known singer.  I was very excited!

Cameron says to think mischief more than mastery. When choosing something to do, ask yourself, “what sounds  like fun?” — and then allow yourself to try it.

The choice is yours.

6. Set a timer when you have to do a task

When you are working for yourself, one of the perils is managing your time and not getting distracted.

It is very tempting to look at your phone, surf the internet, clean the bathroom, hoover etc rather than do the task at hand.

Did you know that when you stop doing something to look at your phone etc, it takes a full 5 minutes for you to fully concentrate back on doing your task?

What I have started to do is to time myself.

I usually do it in 30 or 40 minute blocks on one task.  During that time, I don’t look at my phone, surf the internet etc.

Sometimes, my hand starts to creep towards my phone and then I stop myself – I do it without even thinking.

But setting a timer, really helps me to concentrate, get to do the work I need to do and divide my time into more manageable chunks.

7.Take yourself away on your own for a couple of days

I have been doing this for the last few years and have headed to Kerry in the west of Ireland by myself.

There is something about the Kerry air that really does my heart good (see pic of me at Banna Strand).

I book myself in somewhere and just have a wander.

Sometimes I get chatting or meet with people along the way, but most of all, I enjoy spending time on my own and doing something different.

This year I stayed in Barrow, went for loads of walks, met up with friends in Ballybunion, ate beautiful seafood, and just enjoyed being with myself.

8. If you need help, ask for it

Sometimes, problems/issues can dissipate over the fullness of time, but we very often need help.

If you have had stuff from your past that is still affecting you today, whether it is negative beliefs that fills your mind up with chatter, something that happened that is bothering you etc, maybe it is time to do something about it.

So, whether your solution is tapping, reiki, counselling – do take a step towards freeing yourself and giving your head some space.

Let me know how you get on with this.

Here are some upcoming events that you may be interested in.

Ignite Your Soul

I’m delighted to say that I have been invited to take part in a workshop/talk organised by the lovely Caroline Flynn called Ignite Your Soul.

Taking place in Cork on 2^nd November, this promises to be a wonderful event.

I will send out more information over the next while but in the meantime, if you would like to find out more, please contact Caroline Flynn at [email protected]

Self-Care Day:

I am going to be running a self-care day over the next few months.  This will be for about 10 people and will be full of activities designed for nurturing and nourishing yourself.

Venues are being researched as I want to choose somewhere really lovely for this event.  Let me know if you have any ideas.

More details will follow, but if you are interested please drop me a line at [email protected]

EFT Level 1 Training 28 & 29 September

Yes, it’s that time of year again.  Courses will be starting up again in September.

My next EFT Level 1 is already half full, so if you would like to join or if you want to find out more information, please click on the link here:

September EFT Level 1 Training

Enjoy the rest of your summer and I’ll be in touch soon.

e-hugs!

Grainne

Here is what some of the past course attendees have said about my course:

I can’t recommend EFT training with Grainne enough. My experience was so positive from beginning to end. I feel I have taken away so much from the weekend, an invaluable tool that will help me continue on my healing journey. The course has really shone light on some of the things I have been working on and with EFT I feel I can now fully process the emotions that are left to be cleared! I had many realisations over the weekend which were complete light bulb moments that have pieced a lot of the puzzle together for me. I am going to continue to Tap and look forward to level 2.             

– Rebecca

It flowed so seamlessly and had the perfect mix of theory and practice.  Grainne’s teaching style is particularly enjoyable – much more grounded than I was expecting.
I’d highly recommend this course to anyone looking for a practical and grounded introduction to EFT with a wonderful teacher.

– EF

I absolutely loved the course.  I loved feeling empowered to deal with my own issues.  Lots of practical exercises.
It was very interesting and informative.  I felt that Grainne is a very experienced and knowledgeable teacher and the weekend was so enjoyable.  I learnt loads.

– Jenee Owens