—Pema Chödrön
Copyright © 2024 Lisa Olcese
Saturdays are ruled by Saturn, the planet of task and responsibility. Today, notice what you tell yourself about the stuff you have to do…
Most of our suffering is produced by our thoughts about the situation vs. the situation itself. These thoughts come from the survival part of our brain, also known as the domicile of our saboteurs.
We lose sight of the fact that misery can be optional.
The reality is, life will always include responsibilities that we might not choose or wish to embrace, and yet some tasks are not optional. But our approach is.
Here’s how you can make misery optional using positive intelligence:
1. First, recognize the unwanted feeling/behavior and the narrative you might be telling yourself. “Why am I stuck with this..???” “When will this be over…??” “I DON’T WANNA!! WAH!!!!!!!!”
(that last one was hand-picked by/from me)
2. Next, tune into the physical sensations connected with your misery. Too hot? Focus on all the sensations of heat on your skin and body. Don’t want to work on your budget? Focus on the sensations of your fingers typing on the keyboard, or the clickety sound of your jaunty typing cadence. Feel like you’re perpetually doing house chores? Notice the warmth of the water on your skin as you wash dishes, or the colors and textures of fabric as you do laundry.
3. Do PQ reps whenever you notice your Misery Narrative or are in the midst of something you just don’t want to do.
Reminder for those who’ve been through the 7-week Challenge: 10 seconds of focused attention on one physical sensation constitutes one 1 PQ rep. Drifting and relaxing is nice but it doesn’t count! Your mental fitness training asks that you maintain self-command and focused attention on one sense for a minimum of 10 seconds at a time.
In light of this, my PQ practice has led me to aspire to be a better Mono-Tasker. This is a twee bit of revolution in a culture that prizes impossible, exhaustive standards of constant accomplishment.
Honor Saturn’s Day by meeting your responsibilities with the power of your Sage. Make misery optional! Our dreams are supported by the structures we create for them, and Saturn wants us to build solid sustainable structures. PQ reps are like the cobblestones that form the path leading us back to the wisest parts of ourselves. From here, anything is possible!
xo