Healing Awareness Week: The Sublime Art of Doing Nothing
One of the first steps to healing is awareness. After all, how are we going to notice any improvement in our physical, mental and spiritual health unless we are aware of how we are thinking and feeling and acting?
Self-awareness
At Leaves Institute, this is why developing greater self-awareness is a core component of every one of training courses – from the four-week Jikochiyu (Jik-oh-che-you) self-healing course to our two-year Healing Diploma.
So, what does it mean to become more self-aware?
In essence it means becoming aware of our thoughts, emotions and actions. It means asking ourselves ‘What am I to myself and to the wider world? What am I trying to do in my life?’ We can begin to develop greater self-awareness in a number of different ways – through meditation, journaling, asking for feedback from people we trust and through self-reflection. When we are able to be more honest with ourselves about what we want and think and do, our thoughts and actions can become more congruent.
Gratitude - for the good and the bad
Alongside developing our self-awareness, learning to experience more gratitude in our lives is another important component of healing. When we can be truly grateful for what we have, we often become happier and more fulfilled even though nothing in our external circumstances has changed. True mastery comes when we can be grateful not only for the elements of our lives that appear to be working well but also for those parts that seem less positive.
Problems and challenges that come along in our lives capture our attention. While they might not be what we want, they might be what we need and if we can adopt an attitude of curiosity and be willing to receive whatever the universe is endeavouring to show us, we can increase our self-awareness and move on. The secret is not to resist problems and challenges but to accept them and be open to the lessons they reveal.
An opportunity for growth
Of course, often this is easier said than done. When our mindset tells us that something is a problem we may respond with emotions like anxiety, fear or depression. However, if we can learn to relax our minds and step out of these patterns of thought, we can see things from a different perspective and something that feels difficult can become an opportunity for growth.
Importance of play
Aside from meditation, a really effective way to relax the mind – and one that we teach at Leaves Institute as part of our Self-Creative Therapy course – is play. As adults we are accustomed to thinking about our lives and ourselves in terms of productivity and results. We rarely, if ever, allow ourselves to simply relax and play. Yet, if we can do this, we can escape our fixed patterns of thought and enter a more creative space. Our founder, Yumiko Asakura, has worked with some of the most deprived children in society, many of whom do not know how to play. She teaches them how to be in the moment and relax, which helps them to experience a greater sense of freedom, even in the most challenging circumstances.
Presence without purpose
When we can reconnect with our innate creativity and our ability to play, we can learn to be happier irrespective of our circumstances. As adults, we may need to learn (or re-learn) how to do nothing and just play. For some of us, this might mean going outside, enjoying the sunshine, looking at nature, being in the garden, walking. Ideally, the art of playing means having no particular purpose or objective. It means following whatever you feel like doing and just enjoying being. Mindfulness – becoming really aware of the here and now – can help you to experience a sense of presence without purpose.
Ironically, one of the most helpful things you might be able to do for yourself is to learn the sublime art of doing nothing and subtle science of letting go.
To learn more on awareness, consider joining one of our courses or register your interest to find out more below.