Creating space to heal. I thought I knew what it meant, but now I know I didn’t fully understand, and in truth, I’m learning more about this space and creating space every day. One day at a time, one thing at a time, you can create space to heal.
When I first thought about creating space, I began to look for a physical space, a calm space to sit and have some quiet time. This journey started with decluttering in my home. It then extended to my car and my beach hut. While this was great, I realised that I couldn’t always rely on having a physical space to go to if I needed a moment to myself. I needed to find that space in me.
As my learning grew, I discovered that creating space is a practice that opens up more than just your physical space. It opens up your time and energy to allow more room to live, to create and to enjoy life.
But how do we create space beyond physical space?
Echart Tolle describes creating space well when he talks about mini meditations. Mini meditations are something everyone can do because they are so very short – just a few moments – you don’t have to practice meditation to feel their benefit.
You can take a brief moment, just 10-15 seconds, where you step out of your habitual stream of thinking that you identify with so much. That thinking that you don’t even know is there because you don’t know there is anything else. But in this moment when you step out of your habitual thinking, you can bring a moment of presence into your life. When you step out of this stream of habitual thinking you can realise an opening up in you- creating a space of awareness or presence.
Creating space can be challenging, mostly because it requires us to become comfortable with being uncomfortable. We must let go of things we’ve become comfortable with, the familiar.
It’s in the layers we shed that we find space to heal. Shedding or letting go may even feel like a loss, but remember that the space created opens us up to something new, something healthier and more joyous.
So how can we create space to heal?
Here are some ways that you can create space for yourself:
- Notice when you feel overwhelmed and observe what led to that feeling. This can help you identify the things you could shed.
- Remove the relationships that are harmful to our well-being.
- Identify any habitual negative thought patterns that run your minds and do work to change them.
- Create time for solitude.
- Meditate to learn to be still. Start with a one breathe long mini meditation. You’ll be so focussed on your breathe, your mind will be clear of habitual thinking.
- Record your thoughts and feelings in a journal to declutter your mind and give your heart a chance to express those innermost feelings.
- Practice mindfulness at moments throughout your day to help you be more present.
When we learn how to be still, to create silence and spaciousness, we create room for new and healthier things to develop in our life.
We can practice positive thinking, changing our thinking patterns. We can develop healthy new relationships that promote healthy living habits that lead to better health. We can form relationships that bolster our well-being. We can practice self-compassion and grow our self love. With space to heal, so much joy is invited into our life, and it all starts with a decision to create more space to heal.
