Sacred Pause
Studying mindfulness and Ayurveda has brought some major changes to my life. While I have a much deeper understanding of the nervous system, my personal patterns and responses, and how to identify my personal needs, the most important shift has been giving myself the gift of the sacred pause. Our society does not prioritize this whatsoever and so it can be relatively challenging to do at first, but powerful once it is part of your practice. And honestly, it feels even a bit radical in this fast paced, get it done at whatever cost culture.
The sacred pause is the mindful moment where you have the power to choose differently. As Victor Frankl states, “Between stimulus and response there is a space. In that space is our power to choose our response. In our response lies our growth and freedom.” From a neurological standpoint, this is how we shift our patterns, how we create new neural pathways. In Ayurveda, neural pathways are called samskaras. It sounds like the word scar, and in a way it is. Samskaras are the well grooved path inside our mind directing us with ease to the way we have always done something. It is easier, and comes with automaticity. It’s done almost unconsciously because it is essentially part of our programming- but.. is it actually what is best and does it always align with our best intentions?
In order to rewire our brain, create new neural pathways, or build new samskaras we need to enact a sacred pause where we slow ourselves down enough to really allow ourselves to feel what we are feeling and notice what we are noticing. To strengthen the mindful muscle to develop an awareness of our consciousness. Perhaps by taking a few deep breaths, closing the eyes, even placing your hands on your body to really intentionally draw your awareness inside. Taking a few moments to understand the emotional response, and even bring yourself down from a sympathetic nervous system response, so that you can make an informed decision on how to best respond in the moment. It’s also making sure you are not making decisions in an activated or triggered state- which can often be damaging and leave us with regrets.
Honestly, this sounds simple. Stopping to check in with yourself before choosing an action- sure it’s what we should all be doing all the time. But are we? How often do we rush into decisions, big and small, because we don’t have time? Or how often do we “should”all over our decision making, or worse, just say sure to whatever seems easiest. The path of least resistance is often seen as easier, but will also lead us down a path where we don’t want to go. Or.. perhaps like me, the neural pathway is more about.. an intense.. ahem angry, emotional response. That’s the pattern I’ve been working on for years. How to recognize the anger, self soothe, and respond from an informed place, not a rage space.
Just like the practice of mindfulness, the sacred pause is one that needs to be developed and strengthened, like a muscle. It is unreasonable to think you’ll be able to take a pause the next time you’re emotionally triggered by a partner or family member. Instead start small. Can you take a sacred pause while deciding what it is you want to make for dinner? Can you pause before deciding what form of exercise you want to do? Can you pause before saying yes to an invitation and really truly see what your needs are before responding. Our cultural norm of urgency and that feeling of needing to respond immediately might come up as you intentionally slow yourself down, but Ayurveda actually believes that our relationship with time is one of the ways we go off balance. It’s an opportunity to really better know yourself, and perhaps, make some radical changes not only for yourself but for our society, which I am absolutely here for.
This practice takes time, patience and support. This is one of my favorite things to share with my clients and truly believe in the power of helping people digest all that comes up as they work towards a more sacred approach to their decision making. It’s like a soothing tonic for the nervous system as well, and we could all use as much support there as possible. So, give it a try and see how it feels. I promise you won’t regret it.
