Maybe social media isn't all bad ....

One of the unexpected side effects of starting a women's circle is that I’ve needed to go onto social media to promote them.

And I really don’t like social media.

I don’t’ like that when I see things that others post, I feel inadequate. It’s not just the obvious things that we all hear about - the fact other people's lives look more beautiful, happier, more full of friends and fun times. It’s also the posts where it seems like other people have a wiser attitude, and a beautiful and easeful way to live life. This also leaves me feeling a little bit inadequate too.

But every now and then I also read something that really resonates, and I learn something.

It happened this week. I read a post about a tribe in Papua New Guinea who have zero depression. And it really struck a chord. (I’ll put the links below)

Apparently the tribe practices a thing called ‘night clearing’. Each evening before bed, the children are asked to name what hurt them that day; what was frightening, embarrassing, or caused them pain. And the parents just listened. They didn’t give advice, they didn’t try to fix it, they didn’t even sympathise. They just listened. And then they sat together in silence.

And this tribe has zero depression.

Why does this work? Well, normally we keep these experiences, and their associated emotions stuck in our bodies. We don’t let them process. We think we are processing when we try to put a positive spin on things, but really we are just preventing the process from happening. But by speaking these things aloud the whole body and mind system can process things, however it needs to, without intervention. And then the nervous system can settle.

And the amazing thing is, that this is exactly what happens when we sit in Circle.

In Circle we speak aloud whatever is stuck inside us, whatever is waiting to process. And in the Circle we can hold the space that allows the processing to happen. And it is almost like magic, while being very real and grounded.

So, if you want to try this, come to the next Circle.

And if you want to try this alone, try speaking aloud to yourself. Record yourself on your phone and maybe even listen back. Or just speak it aloud to your cat or dog. Try doing it without putting that positive spin on it. Try doing it without trying to fix it for yourself. See if you can let your nervous system settle itself.

It’s worth a try.

And if you want to talk about any of this, get in touch! I’d love to hear how it works for you.

Here is the link to the original post, if you are interested.

https://www.instagram.com/p/DWwAKO1jHrP/?img_index=13