Your Inner World Determines The Quality Of Your Outer World

We know about our outer world… that mad rush of people, places, tasks, pending deadlines, discussions and debates which can also lead to conflict situations where we politely, or alternatively, aggressively, navigate and deal with daily. 

Our Inner world is one that is a reflectionary reaction to the outer world

Our habitual thoughts, way of being and ‘lens’ on the world that determines how we react or respond to situations and hence our experiences in and of the world. For example if you are the worrying type, you may over-plan, are probably afraid of changes, and unlikely to disrupt your daily routine with a spontaneous activity. We need to stop, take time to think of our inner world: our thoughts, our attitude, our complex emotions that drive our various ways of interacting with others.

Are you aware that there is a second layer to your “inner world”, which you could call your “third world”?

This is our true inner, deeper self and our inner life. This third world truly speaks to us as when we are in silence; when we are meditating or when we are being present and mindful such as when in deep prayer. In the mad rush of life, this is the part of the inner world that is often neglected. The part that absolutely needs to be remembered in order to address the barrage of demands and the overwhelm and onslaught from the outer world.

How do we access this “third world”?

The simple answer is to develop the ability to be  “in the moment”, to be present and to be mindful.  This seems like another thing on our To Do List: which, in an overwhelmingly busy life …  is anathema to most of us. Many of us feel like we are already tail-spinning through life.

So what are some of the ways you can take care of the third inner world?

If integrating mindfulness techniques seems foreign … here are a few simple daily practices. The emphasis here is on daily practices to hardwire this new good habits. Looking after the your deep inner world  will certainly determine the quality of your outer world! 

Before you choose which technique/s resonate with you take into account that neuroscientists have ascertained that our brains respond better to short bursts of mindfulness.  

We often chat about the gold standard being 20 mins a day. However, that’s not an easy way to begin. Rather start with developing a few tiny new habits to get you going. The trick here is to DAILY  polish the diamond of your third inner world! 

Here are a two simple, yet powerful suggestions:

1. Resist opening your eyes and kissing your cell phone good morning

A mindfulness practice first thing in the morning sets the tone for your day. Start with a ‘micro-activity’ like getting out of bed and lying on your bedroom floor to do a breathing exercise for literally one tiny, short minute. Build up to three minutes, five and perhaps 20 minutes wont seem that out of reach.
How?
Breathe-in to the count of 4 ; hold to the count of  7 and breathe-out to the count of 8. Do this 4 times.

2. Pick other ‘regular moments’ in your day as triggers for another micro activity of mindfulness

These moments become cues for your brain to shift into a mindful mode … even if for just one or two minutes. Think of this as using your windscreen wipers while driving. Your thoughts, queries and concerns can accumulate and clutter your brain, giving you the sense of having brain fog.  Often we aren’t really aware that we are not as brain fit and clear minded as we could be. Just like dust, particles and raindrops on a windscreen clutter the glass but we only really realise how much after weve cleaned the windscreen again. 

Think of a few regular moments during your day that you can clean and clear your windscreen, in order to feel a sense of reset for the next hour or two. Here are my moments, beside the one that kick-starts my day on my bedroom floor:

? After I reverse out my driveway, I hesitate and breathe deeply (using the 4-7-8 breathing technique) before I drive to my clients.

? I “reset” ; stand still and feel my toes while I am waiting in the reception area in corporate offices. 

? Something else to note about waiting rooms: we are often asked to ‘go and take a seat’. I prefer to rather stand. We sit for hours in our car and in meetings. Rather stand in the reception area, relax your shoulders and your jaw and use your mindfulness breathing to be present, in the moment and  alert before your meeting. 

? EVERY single bathroom break. Take those two minutes to close your eyes and give yourself a mini windscreen wipe: a break from all the visual stimulus of the day that can clutter your brain! 

What are your windscreen wipe moments? Let us know! 

For more practical ideas, squiz through the our book , each of the 21 sections provides the science behind these simple, implementable ideas. In addition, each chapter ends with “So what, now what…” which is a useful way to integrate a new habit into your life.  Our book is called:  “The FAB Quotient: Experience Resilient Energy and Fight Fatigue” 

Joni Peddie & Celynn Erasmus

www.resilientenergycenter.com