Inner work frameworks, practices, and questions – all in a five-minute read. Delivered to your inbox every Wednesday morning before you even wake up. Written and curated by Andrew Lang.
Self-Connection Doesn't Need to Be Complicated: The Wednesday 1-2-3
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Happy Wednesday Reader! I've written this three times throughout the week and scrapped it each time. And the question I found myself finally asking was: why am I making it this complicated?! So, instead of what I was planning on sending, here's a teaching on how we can un-complicate the practices that help us feel most internally connected: 1. TeachingTake a moment and think about the times you feel the most you. What's happening when these moments occur? Are they planned or do they have a tendency to sneak up on you? Do they help you feel calm and settled or do they help you feel exuberant and bouncy? Or something else completely? (There are no right or wrong answers here!) A few months ago, I reached out to Jessica Denise Dickson, a brilliant Enneagram teacher, and asked her what inner work practice was feeling most impactful and internally connective for her right now. I expected to hear something very expert-y and Enneagram-specific. Instead, she shared something so, so beautiful and real: “My practice is to take time to put oils or lotion on my body. Embodiment is not only nervous system regulation or somatic practices, but also how we relate to our body and how we’re in relationship with our actual bodies. This practice gives me the chance to slow down. To feel the texture of my skin and the way it transforms as it’s moisturized. To lovingly nourish every part of my body regardless of how I feel about it. I just start with my face and slowly go down, one body part at a time. It helps me be more aware of my body throughout the day and especially when I touch my soft skin!” Sometimes we can overcomplicate our attempts to feel at home in ourselves, adding little "shoulds" and "musts" and "it's got to be this one way" narratives. Instead, this week I invite you to experiment with a simple practice like this one – and perhaps this exact one! Try it out and see what you notice. 2. Questions
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⏪ If you missed last week's email:Want support building (and finally sticking to) a daily practice?If you're like me at all, you've repeatedly tried to meditate, journal, walk, or workout regularly just to have the routine fall apart after a week or so. It's a brutal experience. And it's this experience that led me to start the Inner Work Cohort: I wanted to hold a space where we could develop practices that fit us without all the shame and guilt and self-judgement. No one-size-fits-all solutions; no "this is the one thing that will work;" no attempting to fix or save anything or anybody. This cohort is about being human. It's about becoming more present to and more connected with the details of our lives. If this resonates with you, I seriously hope you'll consider joining.
Hope all is well-enough with you, |
The Wednesday 1-2-3
Inner work frameworks, practices, and questions – all in a five-minute read. Delivered to your inbox every Wednesday morning before you even wake up. Written and curated by Andrew Lang.
Hey Reader, This month, I'm taking a pause from writing a new issue of The Wednesday 1-2-3 each week and instead sending out some of my favorites from the past two years. Hope you enjoy! In the middle of reading Rumi's wonderful poem, “A Great Wagon,” there's a stanza that stuck out to me as deeply familiar: Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing and rightdoing, there is a field. I’ll meet you there. When the soul lies down in that grass, the world is too full to talk about. Ideas, language, even the...
Hey Reader, This month, I'm taking a pause from writing a new issue of The Wednesday 1-2-3 each week and instead sending out some of my favorites from the past two years. Hope you enjoy! In 1955, psychologists Joseph Luft and Harrington Ingham developed a framework for mapping our awareness and self-awareness called the Johari Window. Here’s how it works: (And a quick note: when I first learned this framework, I found myself labeling qualities in different quadrants as good/bad. If you notice...
Hey Reader, After almost two years of writing a new issue of The Wednesday 1-2-3 every week, I'm taking a short pause this month! With the October Inner Work Cohort starting up and our family now in school-mode for both our kiddos, this seemed like a good time to temporarily remove something from my plate – but that doesn't mean you won't still get something from me. 🙂 Over the next five weeks, I'll be sending out some of my favorite issues from the past two years. (And the good thing is,...