When you try to do too much, your nervous system goes into a stress response. Since the body believes it’s dealing with threat – aka your to-do list – you live in survival mode. In survival mode, your nervous system’s telling you to deal with the immediate threat. In dealing with the immediate “threat” day after day, you can lose sight of the bigger dream.
We live in a filler culture. We fill up with busyness, work, social media, a packed social calendar, small talk, shopping, food, alcohol and more. We believe we need to add more to be more.
The most endangered element in our lives is the space element. To digest and transform the sensory input into something that strengthens us, we need physical, mental and emotional space.
When we don’t have space in our digestive system from eating too much or too often, we become sick and toxic.
When we don’t give our mind and senses space from constant input, we get overwhelmed, angry, attached and even addicted.
When we numb ourselves in excess with substances, we don’t give our heart the space to feel. Our relationships become surface and more chaotic.
The irony of all this? We push hard to get what we want by adding more and more to our schedule and senses. We run on adrenaline, mistaking it for true energy. We do the opposite of what’s necessary to access true, grounded energy. We disconnect from our deeper creative intelligence.
In Ayurveda, we heal with the principle of “like increases like, opposites balance”. In a world of overload, “The Medicine of Subtraction” can be the path to power. The non-essentials you remove from your life give you the space to connect with your body, heart and mind. Space is essential for knowing yourself.
At the start of every week I open up my calendar and to-do list. The first thing I ask myself is, “What can I remove and be even more effective in living how I want to live?”
If it feels unrealistic to you, start small. It’s the 1% changes repeated over time that have the biggest impact. Take the week to observe how your body, mind and emotions feel. Repeat!
Make space for something more beautiful and true with The Medicine of Subtraction.