The "Why" Behind Slowing Down

It can be so true, and so annoying when you tell yourself or others remind you to slow down. But why slow down? There are often important things for us to see, grapple with or realize that we are not able to at a faster pace.

My use of the term "Faster pace" I am intending as a more general term for how fast and or distracted we are in our minds. Some examples of this might be: distracting with mindless scrolling on the phone, numbing with TV, the energy drink, that extra coffee, generally going from one thing to the next without pause for extended periods of time, workaholism (any of the "isms" for that matter), compulsive behaviors etc.

These behaviors are indicators that we are escaping/avoiding something. The other part to this is, are we ready to deal with the thing(s) that will show up when we slow down? And sometimes we don't know until we start trying to slow down. Sometimes we have to start getting ready, to get ready to start dealing with things. Having a therapist to work with is helpful, especially when you're not ready to deal with things on your own and or there are "bigger T" traumas to unpack.

And whats underneath? What are the things/experiences we avoid? Often they include hard truths, difficult experiences, accepting something we are not yet ready to, grief, trauma. Sometimes we don't know because we've been running so long, the thing(s) we're actually running from are sort of like a dull droning in the background of our awareness.

So how to slow down? There are lots of ways. If traditional meditating and mindfulness and sitting still are a challenge, here are some ideas. None of the following are meant to be substitutes for therapy with a trained professional, but may be a good starting place: Abstract art without an intention. Finger painting, scribbling etc. Journal about your day, about how you're feeling, about what might be underneath. Sit with a friend in silence for 10 minutes focusing on your breath (or a candle, or one focal point), and talk about how it felt. Go for a walk, walk briskly for one minute, medium pace for one minute, and slow for one minute (treadmill and stationary bikes can work too). Have your dog or pet lay on your lap and pet them for 10 minutes. Also yoga, cold plunges, saunas are other ideas that can help you to slow down. Sometimes just talking things out with a trusted person helps us to start to center. Try one or a combination of these to see what works for you. Or try something else, maybe something you know works for you.

And what do we find when we slow down long enough? Often its not some huge revelation after 10 minutes. It might start as just a nagging, becoming aware of a buried knowing in your body. Or just an annoyance. Sometimes we're so distracted on the first couple times we try to be still or quiet our mind, we wonder if we should even try again.

This is why its important to try to create a practice of slowing down. Because maybe its on your 10th or 11th time or 32nd- but then slowly things begin to rise to the surface of your awareness: maybe- past experiences, insights about where you are in your life right now, truths about your relationships you've been hesitant to acknowledge, next steps you know you need to do but its uncomfortable. All these things and more can be reclaimed at our internal lost and found. But we have to choose to work through the annoyance (and maybe other feelings!) first :).