There it is… That wobbly feeling… Emotional instability.
The whole world feels it, especially days before a U.S. Presidential Election. Instability, especially emotional instability. Not knowing what is coming next. Second guessing what is coming next.
So many are focused on the possibilities of the future. And some are adding worry energy to the mix which keeps your nervous system on high alert.
This energy mix is not supporting wellbeing in any way.
You can’t prepare for these kinds of feelings. What you can do is acknowledge them. And support your emotional and energetic systems with whatever kind of self-care you can muster.
Here are three things I turn to during times of emotional instability:
1. Grounding.
Grounding is a process of being aware and present in the physical body.
What can make you feel ungrounded?
Here are a few:
- Pain or trauma.
- The frantic pace of life nowadays.
- Uncontrolled, frantic thoughts or worry.
- Negativity from our own thoughts or from other people.
- Too much stress.
Unfortunately, doing a grounding practice is not permanent. It is a practice. We can become ungrounded with a thought. Likewise, we can become grounded with a thought or a sound or a physical experience.
Here are some of my favorite ways to create grounding:
Calm down the stress response.
The FIRST thing that you HAVE to do is calm the stress response. Otherwise, any other intervention is unlikely to have any effect at all.
I invite you to go to this website and download the four-minute track called Nervous System Balance. This is a powerful series of four tuning fork sounds to calm the stress response and bring balance to your nervous system.
I recommend listening to this track once a day.
https://www.soundwellnessinstitute.com/balance
Nature and Nature Sounds
Spend some time in nature, even if it is leaning your back on a tree in your back yard. Going for a walk. Standing with bare feet on the grass. Sitting by a lake or river.
Nature sounds will do the same thing to create calm. Find a few tracks of nature sounds on your favorite streaming audio platform and have them playing in the background while you are doing other things.
Slow movement
A slow movement practice like yoga, tai chi, Qi Gong, or similar practice is an effective way to ground and become present and aware of your body.
Sound Wellness grounding
Here is a link to a webpage on our Sound Wellness site where you can listen to or download three tracks to support managing emotional instability.
The first track is a recording of two tuning forks called a Perfect Fifth. The sound of these forks has been studied scientifically and found to stimulate the most important cycle in your cells essential to your wellbeing: the nitric oxide cycle.
The second track, called “Reset” is helpful to use when you are overtired, overstressed or not feeling well.
The third track is a grounding meditation to connect you deeply to our beautiful Earth and to your body.
CLICK HERE: https://soundwellness.com/serenity/
2. Mantra.
Whenever my mind gets into the non-stop mind mode, I turn to Mantra to quiet it down and shift my energy. Many years ago, I noticed that my mind in non-stop mode was always focused on negative thought patterns, like worry. Here three of my main ‘go-tos’.
OM
Years ago, our family was going through several tough times all at once and the only thing that would calm down my mind was stubbornly singing OM non-stop to shut down the chatter. Because I was often doing other things at the time, I would usually sing OM in my mind. It worked really well – as long as my OM was more stubborn than the worry chatter. And after a while, I was able to be more easily grounded and present.
OM at 417 Hz
Another recording I have used since the beginning of the pandemic is a recording on YouTube of Om Chanting at 417 to remove negative energy. I will often have this playing softly while I am doing other things. It has really helped to create clarity and calm.
Here is a link to listen: https://youtu.be/8sYK7lm3UKg?si=ade78Si2P2_fhCzx
Medicine Buddha Mantra
Another practice that I love that creates strong emotional stability in my being is chanting the Medicine Buddha Mantra. It is a powerful way to shift into peace and calm. For many years, I have shared Medicine Buddha circles to give people an opportunity to feel this peace and calm. Here is a link to one of the most recent ones from the Summer Solstice:
3. Heart / Brain Coherence
We are taught from a young age that the left, logical, part of the brain has all the answers for living our lives. I am sure that you have found that it doesn’t. Your heart does. Your brain is not designed to guide your life. It does not have the capacity for that. Your heart does. Your brain is designed to support your heart.
We have it all backwards!
Living from your heart – and not your brain – is essential for creating emotional stability even in the most challenging times.
I invite you to explore the following simple exercise to create coherence between your heart and your brain.
- Begin by focusing on your heart allowing your awareness to settle there. Place your hand or hands over your heart, if you wish, to help you bring your awareness there.
- Now imagine your nose is in your chest in from of your heart. Breathe at least 5 deep, slow breaths in and out of your heart.
- As you continue to breathe in and out of your heart, add a gentle hum on the outbreath. Do this for at least 10 to 15 breaths. More is better.
- As you continue to gently hum with your focus on your heart, allow the sound to nourish your heart.
- Notice how you feel.
I encourage you to play with these practices to help you navigate these amazing and challenging times. You are not alone. The more time you can spend in that beautiful heart of yours, the more you bring peace and calm to your life and to this world.
In Health and Harmony,
