A collective Pattern Interrupt – why now is a great time to consider whether your habits are serving you.

This last few weeks has been a rollercoaster, right.  Emotions swinging all over the place.  
 
One minute, anxiety and fear from the threat of this new illness which is tragically claiming the lives of so many. Unease about financial stability.  Bombarded with messages from the media, all with their own agenda, trying to sift through and find some truth to stay informed.  
 
The next elation, enormous gratitude and heart-warming happiness at having been given the gift of slowing down.  Sitting in the sunshine in the garden watching the children play.  Reading to them more than I ever have before. Suddenly and strange clarity aware of how very little we need to feel joy.
 
And through all this, we are trying to adjust to the situation.  Many of our usual routines no longer fit into this new way of living which has been asked of us.  I don’t know about you, but I found myself during the last couple of weeks desperately trying to maintain some sense of normality and routine to get by.
 
Our daily lives run on patterns of behaviour, subconscious programs which mean that we can get on with things while still using our conscious minds to ponder.  And suddenly these programmes have been rattled and some of them broken, now defunct.  When these programmes are deep the change can bring up a lot of resistance.  
 
One of the patterns that I notice in myself is the Being Busy program.  The idea that I need to be busy in order to be productive/useful/of worth. It gets interesting when you dig down into this stuff doesn’t it.  So, when my usual routines were interrupted by the escalating news of the virus my subconscious continued to drive me into those same patters – stay busy.  And even restricted from my usual work patterns I managed to succeed at Being Busy.  
 
The Being Busy program isn’t a joyful thing for me.  It is a sense of compulsion, driven from a place of lack.  I am not enough therefore I must do more.  I don’t have enough therefore I must do more.  I don’t make myself busy with stuff that brings me joy, I fall into victim mode and become resentful that I can’t do the things I want to do.  
 
Do you ever feel that way?
 
Being Busy is just a question of how I currently choose to prioritise my time.  About the habits that I have created based on my underlying subconscious beleifs..
 
There is a technique used in hypnotherapy called the pattern interrupt.  
 
Where our automatic patterns are interrupted and the subconscious becomes more receptive and open to change.  The sub-conscious doesn’t know what to do next and awaits instruction.  
 
It occurred to me this morning that we have all been given a collective pattern interrupt.  
 
That’s why even though this is a terrible situation, it is also an opportunity for many of us.  
 
This is the perfect time to create new programs, to figure out what we want and what to change.
 
Our subconscious is awaiting new instructions, new programming.  What new habits have you always wanted to install into your routine?
 
Here are a few of the habits that I want to cultivate:

More time with your children
Less screen time
Daily exercise
A regular mediation practice
More creativity 
To make healthy, home cooked meals
To learn a new skill
 
This doesn’t mean that you should feel under pressure to achieve, this is simply a window of opportunity which can be utilised to form habits for the long term which will add richness to your life now and beyond lockdown.
 
With this in mind I am holding a Free Meditation on Thursday morning to explore this idea further. The meditation will offer space for creative visualisation.  An opportunity to contemplate what you want, what brings you joy and what you love to do. To clarify what is meaningful to you, what you value and where to focus your attention.  
 
What do we want to be saying “No” to more in our life, and what do we want to be saying “Yes” to in its place?
 
Where are the habits that don’t support our vision for our most fulfilled life coming from?  
 
What stories are we telling ourselves over and over again that support these undesirable habits?
 
Just by following this line of self-enquiry we can begin to make change to the deeply ingrained thought patterns and behaviours.  By shining a light on those unconscious programmes we can begin to move forward in the direction that we want to go.
 
So, I would love it if you could join me!  All you need to do is head over and join the Happy Healthy facebook group, and I will be Live at 9.15am on Thursday morning to guide you in the meditation.
 
And finally, here is a link to a fascinating podcast with Dr Joe Dispenza on the Science of Changing Your Mind, if you are interested to hear more about how we have the potential to change our mindset.

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