I was waiting for my car to be serviced earlier this week.
It was going to take 45 minutes.
So instead of getting a ride home, I decided to wait.
I walked to the waiting area.
Television on. A home improvement show and commercials.
People with their head down on their phones.
I chose a seat outside of the waiting area in a quiet corner.
Those who know me well know I don't love excess noise.
I don't love loud spaces.
I don't love big crowds.
I don't love having the television on unless it's for something specific.
I don't like the radio on in the car.
I don't love social settings where the music is louder than the conversation I'm trying to have with someone.
So there I sat.
I didn't bring work along.
And I gave up mindlessly scrolling my phone for the next 7 weeks, so ... there I sat.
Phone off. No book. In the quiet. In the corner.
It was good and hard all the same.
Good because I love giving my nervous system breaks from noise anywhere I can.
Hard because I think about what I can accomplish in 45 minutes versus just sitting in a quiet corner, doing nothing but wait.
It had me thinking about the concept of noise.
The numbing out of noise.
The distraction and stimulation of news, shows and social media.
Everywhere we go.
Not just the volume of something.
Also the constancy.
Information always coming in.
Noise. Noise. Noise.
This month in The Nourished Woman we're spending time talking about nervous system dysregulation - aka your stress state.
Most of us are running around in chronic states of stress.
A chronic state of stress creates dis-ease.
Which also influences emotional eating, mindless eating and overeating - all coping mechanisms for stress.
So naturally when we can understand ourselves in context of our stress state and learn to better regulate our nervous system...
>>> our emotional eating, overeating, and late night eating will subside.
Did you also know that in order to be in a true binge, you must be in a stressed state?
So finding ways to return to the relaxed state is not a luxury.
It's key to resolving and repairing your unwanted eating habits.
So back to nervous system dysregulation...
In our culture, we've come up with all these bio-hacking techniques like cold plunging, red light therapy, prana mats, breathing patterns all to help us regulate our nervous system.
Which is lovely and necessary and helpful.
I love a good bio hack - I use them myself.
But I read something from health advocate Debra Williams this week that resonates deeply.
"Self care and bio hacks nowadays are one big coping mechanism for a very dysregulating world making us sick."
While it's absolutely necessary to find ways to regulate our nervous systems, I'm curious about ways of living - totally within our control - that can help keep us from being so dysregulated in the first place.
And the first thing that comes to my mind is our environment of ....
....noise.
How many hours this week have you been on your phone?
Constantly pulling it out at every pause in the day...
Here's what I'm noticing...
We get up with our phones, we use them while we get ready, we drive to work with a podcast or the news or music, we check things over lunch or break or at the stoplight.
We drive home and sit down with our phones.
We eat in front of the t.v.
We watch shows and scroll all night.
We take our phones to bed for more.
And then we wake up and do it again.
So here's what I'm pondering and I want to invite you to ponder too...
Look at the number of hours you're on your phone every day...
How much noise do you consume each day?
Maybe you too long for ...
... quiet
... more quality downtime
... rest
... less stimulation
... more energy
... a clear mind...a calm mind
... more peace, more joy
... a slower pace ...
>> in mind, body, and heart.
I think we can agree that as a culture, we're addicted to the very thing (noise) that prohibits peace and we're also resistant to the very things can provide it.
Stillness. Solitude. Being with ourselves and our own thoughts.
How does someone quiet the internal and external world?
I wonder if implementing boundaries around the external noises can help create more stillness internally.
Consider where you consume noise.
Hours on your phone.
The ringer ON (and on at high volume)
Noise in the car.
In the background at home.
Television.
Podcasts.
And not just having the phone on...but phone in your possession.
Always on you - in your pocket or in your hand.
What could you discover when you give yourself a break from the noise?
That’s my weekend wish for you.
