Latest / MIDDLE GROUND - Real Conversations on Faith, Identity & Becoming — Through Brynne's LDS Lens of Curiosity, Love and Doubt / Breathwork, Intentional Creation & Turning Dread Into Excitement — A Walk & Talk
Transcript
- Brynne Erickson (01:05) I'm learning a lot about the power of intentional creation. And how when I'm taking the time to visualize or pray about or meditate on what I want in life, the person that I want to be, how I want to react to situations, how I want my day to go, the goals that I'm working toward, it all just comes so much more easily and flows. with much less resistance. And I I have been in the state of flow, it feels for quite a while lately. It doesn't mean that every day is simple. Doesn't mean that I'm not reactive and get annoyed and frustrated and upset. That's not what that means. all those emotions are still an essential part of this human experience. But it how we react to them Is in our control. And I am currently on our annual Ericsson family reunion at the lake. And one of my earlier episodes last year, I was at this same event. And it was a vastly different experience. I'm gonna attribute a lot of that to postpartum and just things going on in my life. And I did the best I could with my circumstances. But this year I got really intentional on how I wanted to feel and what I wanted to think about my circumstances. So we have this beautiful cabin. It's a 1980s cabin. It has no AC, just a swamp cooler out in the main space. And the beds aren't comfortable and it's hot. And everything else about it is amazing. It's definitely older. It's not super updated or anything. But man, sleeping is rough. First of all, it's a small room with my three kids and my dog all in this one room, you know. And it's it's great, but it's not like my home, right? The comforts of home. So I decided I wanted to work on My thoughts around this And so an opportunity arose with my friend Aubin, who is getting certified in breath work, which I've done like meditative breathing. And but I've never done like a a dedicated breath work session. So I was a little skeptical. didn't know what to expect. So I had a session with her the day before we left and I thought I was gonna work on my business, like visualizing and doing breath work in regards to my business, because you're supposed to come with something in mind that you wanna work on. Didn't know what that meant, but the last minute I pivoted and chose this trip and it was so beautiful. So there were two different types of breathing techniques that she had me do while I was visualizing. And she would walk me through, okay, bring up the negative emotion, which I had was dread. We acknowledged that. And I sat with dread and breathed and gave it space. And then we brought up excitement and love and gave it space and visualized taking care of dread and sending it love and giving it love and Then we visualize excitement and embracing that and it was so empowering and I just felt so much lighter and just so much more full of excitement and love before I came. The dread was still there, but what happened was I had a more actionable plan to help take care of the dread. And rather be than being resistant and just shoving it down and being like it's not a big deal, I'll get over it. I was like, no, we're gonna let Dred be here. And I'm also gonna do everything that I can to make my spaces comfortable, my circumstances what I want them to be. So I bought a little AC unit for fifty bucks off of Amazon to try. My mom gave me one of her fans that she really likes that's smaller and more powerful. And we do have a tower fan up there and We just experimented last night. It was our first night. And it was a little rough, but miraculously the weather is not as hot as it has been in August when we're here. So the night got a lot cooler, which was awesome. And did I get great sleep? No. No, I didn't. But my attitude and outlook on it just feel different because I tried to. create what I wanted as best as I could, but I'm also more focused on the experience that I do want to have. Which is having both. Like knowing that nights are gonna be a little rough. But I also get to be with these people that I love and get to connect with during this time. And I wanted to be present in allowing whatever happened to happen and to still feel that love for everybody. And I've done this work of creating what I want in different ways for almost a decade now. and I'm learning that that's what prayer is all about. Is it's taking the time to sit with and intentionally start to create starting with you what's in your mind And putting it out into the world and making it existent in words first, in thoughts, and then that gets you moving forward into action. And then I learned about meditation and it's a close cousin to prayer. I think the motives can be different. One of my friends who has stepped away from religion brought to my attention that meditation is kind of more neutral. Whereas prayer tends to be one of those things you have to do. To earn something, and I thought that was good, a good reframe. but all these amazing techniques: breath work, stillness, whatever you want to call it, they're all just a universal rule, a way of playing this game of life and how to get the most out of it. So if you do not have a practice. that evokes stillness and allows you to get in your thoughts, the comfortable ones and uncomfortable ones, and start getting actionable plan of what you want those to look like, your life to look like, how you want to react to a situation, I highly recommend you find one that works for you. And experiment with lots of different ones. Brynne Erickson (08:51) There's so many different ways to get into a meditative state. From sitting in stillness and quiet to moving your body, working on a craft, a hobby. For me, I'm learning it's either group quiet or solo quiet. it can be painting, crocheting, knitting, sewing, yoga. Walking, running, hiking, skiing. There's so many ways that you can just be alone in your thoughts and your feelings and that is truly where it all starts. in creating and getting intentional in the life that you want to live in the person that you want to be for yourself and for others. So there's so many different ways. And that's where it gets fun because you get to start experimenting in what ways are the best for you to find that quiet, that peace, that time to contemplate and think Get in touch with your feelings. Brynne Erickson (10:06) Whether it's massage, meditation, breath work, foot zoning, something that allows you to just be sit and be present. It's kinda hard with chaotic life, but when you want something to happen, we we create the time to make it happen. You find the time, whichever term works for you. But I am a huge believer that that's where it starts is getting in touch with your inner self, with your thoughts, being like, hey, what do I want to have happen with my life? What feelings do I need to give space for? And be like, hey, I see you. I'm not gonna ignore you anymore. I'm not gonna s push you out and suppress you anymore. I'm gonna sit with you. And what do you need to tell me? Both those emotions that we like and the ones that tend to be the ones that we don't like that are harder to feel. Therapy, I'm always gonna promote therapy, counseling. They're all very helpful tools. So if you've been resistant or avoidant to just getting still or getting honest, I would invite you to take one step to start getting in more in touch. with your inner self and that's where the real work begins of creating the life that you truly desire. Alright, get to it. Make it a beautiful day. Brynne Erickson (11:46) Hey, really quick, if you're listening to this podcast, there's a good chance you're in the middle of something. Questions you haven't said out loud yet, a faith that feels different than you used to. And I've actually built a community. It's called Faith in Process. It's exactly for people like you and like me. It's actually the space I wish I had when I was in the middle of my big questions and when my faith was shifting. It's a membership community. Specifically for Latter-day Saints who are expanding their faith and want to do it in good company. And if that sounds like you, come and join us. The wait list is open at Bryn Erickson.com/slash wait list. I hope to see you there.