I've been reflecting on what it means to maintain my center and I'm realizing my understanding is evolving.
For a long time, I thought maintaining center meant staying there. Always feeling at home within myself. Always aligned.
So, when I wasn’t aligned, I took it really hard. Drifted moments felt dramatic. As if I had “messed it all up” because there’s zero room for “error.”
Now, I’m living into a deeper practice of unconditional acceptance, compassion, and love. Which requires me to understand that:
Maintaining my center is more about my response to drifting, than the drift itself.
Insight
When I drift into discomfort, feeling disconnected from clarity, purpose, and confidence, my tools are my first line of support:
- Naming the emotion without the story. Feeling the sensation in my body along with simply saying “I feel [insert emotion]”, instead of analyzing the thoughts that come with it.
- Breathing into it. Staying with the discomfort for a few moments, letting my breath move the energy through me. Envisioning my heart center purifying the energy.
- Praying. Asking my Spirit Team for help. Saying, "I don't know what to do here, but I know you do. Thank you for helping me attune to your guidance."
- Observing the pattern of thought, not the content. Noticing the spiraling thoughts without getting pulled into the narrative. Saying, “My mind is jumping to conclusions” instead of “Oh no! What am I going to do about [content/situation]?”
These practices have the same intention: bringing my Divine Presence within to the uncomfortable moment.
Because I’ve come to understand that Presence is the only thing can soothe and dissolve inner and outer disharmony.
Here's why this matters:
When we're in distress—drifting and starting to spiral—our brains (and energy) literally shift.
Neuroscience shows us that during moments of stress or dysregulation, the prefrontal cortex (part of the brain responsible for executive functioning, decision-making, and emotional regulation) stops firing effectively.
Meaning we cannot access our best thinking in distress. Therefore, there's greatly diminished access to wise choices and behavior in that moment.
But when we bring Presence, we re-engage the inner capacity we need to move through the moment with maturity.
We return to center through the doorway of Presence.
