Welcome to Authentic Woman

home

It’s fine advice, but how do you go about it? Here are a couple of practices we find helpful. The first, Soul Date, is a guided meditation where you take a few minutes to connect with your core and bathe in unconditional love. It’s easier than you think and really works. To try it now, click here and choose Soul Date. The second is a powerful writing exercise that connects you with your deeper thoughts and feelings with total acceptance. Both techniques help build compassion and appreciation for yourself.

WRITE YOURSELF FREE
This writing exercise, known as Proprioceptive Writing, was developed by teacher Linda Trichter Metcalf, PhD. It can help you untangle from “thought balls” you may find yourself stuck in and help you plumb your own depths with reverence and compassion.

YOU'LL NEED:
· 20 minutes
· Baroque music (such as works by Vivaldi,
Bach or Albinoni)
· A candle
· Paper and pen

Light the candle. Take three deep breaths to bring your attention into the present moment. Turn on your music and put pen to paper. Listen to your thoughts. Write them down, whatever they are. As you write, be aware of any ideas or feelings that seem ‘juicy’ or emotionally charged.
When you come across one, write:

BAROQUE ON THE BRAIN
Baroque music, based on a rhythm of about 60 beats per minute, slows the heartbeat and shifts brain waves from the beta (14-100Hz) to the alpha (8-13.9Hz) range. The beta state, especially the higher levels, is associated with anxiety, feelings of separation and the fight-or-flight stress response. It’s the state busy women spend most of their time in. The alpha state is associated with relaxed focus, receptivity and increased serotonin production. It is ideal for creativity and expanding consciousness.

‘What do I mean by…?’ Say you were writing: ‘I had a rough day again today. My boss looked at me in that way.’ Then you might ask (and write): ‘What do I mean by my boss looked at me in that way?’ Let your thoughts flowon the page in answer to the question. Asking the question and slowing down to write it out allows you to drop deeper in your thoughts. It enables you to hear a more profound layer of truth. You can repeat the question: ‘What do I mean by…?’ as often as you like. Keep writing throughout the process, even if you’re only saying, ‘I don’t know what to write.’ At the end of 20 minutes, read over what you’ve written. You may be surprised at what thoughts surface when you are really listening to yourself and how differently you feel after the exercise.

return to workshop