Not through force, pressure, or following a long list of ‘should’s.
But through the ongoing practice of returning to yourself. Knowing yourself. And allowing more of who you are to find expression in your life.
Join Rachael, meditation teacher and coach, for insights, explorations, and moments of presence to uncover what it means to create your life The Soft Way.
When Your Mind Keeps Looping: There’s More Space Than You Think
•Rachael Ebanks-Gold•Season 1•Episode 15
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When something heavy takes hold in the mind…it can start to feel like our whole world.
In this episode, I explore what it means to step out of that feeling of being consumed, and gently reconnect with the infinite space that’s always here.
✧ We explore
The shift that can happen when anxieties are met with presence
A simple way of relating to thoughts and emotions as passing, not permanent
An experiential practice of resting in a wider sense of awareness
✧ A question for you
What changes when you begin to notice the space that’s always here?
WORKING TOGETHER If you want a space to connect with more of who you are and move towards what lights you up, I offer 1:1 depth coaching. Find out more: https://www.rachaelebanksgold.com/working-together
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Thank you!
SPEAKER_00
Your soul craves something more. Your heart wants joy. Not busy enough. You're done with all the shirts and ready to reconnect with what truly nourishes you. Welcome. I'm Rachel and this is the Soft Way Podcast. A space to quiet the noise beneath the pressure and listen to the voice within you that's always known your truth. Join me for thoughtful practical insights to help you ground the presence, connect with your higher self, and let this version of you lead your life with playfulness and gentle power. And without the pressure to figure it all out. Because you are supported. Life is with you. So come on home. Hello. Hope you are doing well. So today I want to talk about something that's been helpful for me as um kind of a shift in perspective, I guess. When my mind is a bit full, shall we say, and something's taken hold and I can't stop thinking about it or worrying about it. Maybe you know that feeling when your mind keeps going back to the same thing, and it starts to feel quite consuming, like it's taking up a lot of space. Sometimes it can feel like it is your entire world for that moment. There might be some anxiety that feels like it's following you. So your body is involved, your body is reacting to the fear, to the expectations, to everything that the mind just keeps turning over. And I've noticed that when this experience, this kind of preoccupation is met with presence, that something else becomes um available, something else becomes known. So that's the piece I want to explore today. This idea that even when things can feel all consuming and just full, there's actually more space than we realise. And so that doesn't have to be the only experience. While it can be a very real experience, it doesn't have to be the only one in that moment. So there was a time a few years ago when I was going through something that was really anxiety-inducing, and it was just all I could think about, and I was going to like worst-case scenarios, and yeah, just it was hard to just get through the day, basically. And at one point I was outside, I was looking up at the sky, and I immediately saw this big dark cloud, and it really stuck out because there was a lot of space around it that wasn't dark, and something just kind of clicked in my mind that this thing that I was caught up in, even though it was dense, it was heavy, it was dark. So it felt like everything, but it wasn't everything. So is this part moving within something much larger? Like a cloud moving through the sky. So I've been playing with this idea a bit more that what we're experiencing in those moments is happening within something much larger. So our awareness is kind of like the sky. So the sky is always there, it's wide, it's open, and then there are things that move through it: clouds, airplanes, birds, just like our thoughts, our emotions, our worries. Some of them are light, some of them are not so light, but they're all kind of drifting in and out, you know. So they come and they go. So we can get caught up in the cloud and completely forget about the sky. Forget all the space that's around it. Forget that it's not the whole picture, it's not the whole of us, it's not the whole of our lives, it's not the whole of what's possible. So we don't need to pretend that things aren't challenging, but we can certainly help ourselves to remember that there's more here than that thing, that thorn at your side. So, in a way, this connects to what I was sharing in the last episode about tuning in. Because when we're caught in that gripping and that overthinking, that's when we're losing connection to ourselves, to the deeper part of ourselves. And when we choose to come back, we can start to feel that connection again. So, shall we move into our little practice moment? So engage with this as loosely as you like. You might be driving, so obviously keeping your eyes open and hands on the steering wheel. I'm sure I don't need to tell you that, but that's what people say, don't they? Um, but yeah, just kind of follow the the guidance as far as as you would like to and adjust for your state of mind, for your environment, whatever you need to do. But wherever you are, you can tune in, basically, is what I'm saying, in your own way. So allowing your body to settle in whatever way feels comfortable for you, letting your gaze soften if you can, or even close your eyes if that feels right for this moment, and just beginning to notice your breath, just feeling it as it is and from here noticing what's present sensations in the body thoughts in the mind, maybe images, sounds noticing what you notice and releasing any judgments that might arise any reactions. And as you continue to settle into presence, perhaps you can also notice the space in between the things that you notice. So in between the moments of sensation, in between the thoughts, the sounds, the images, noticing space in your body as you breathe in the space around you, in your environment, and also beyond it. So continuing to be aware and also allow your awareness to continue to open. And whatever arises within this space, allowing it to be like a cloud that's moving on through. Just letting it be here. Letting it move resting in a sense of openness. Seeing how everything that presents itself is moving within something far larger. Bringing your awareness back to your breath, back to your body, lifting your gaze, opening your eyes, taking in the space around you. Or maybe just taking a moment to notice how you feel. Notice what feels different, if anything. When you allow yourself to notice the space. Even when things feel quite full, quite consuming, that that space is here, it's always available, it's always here to be noticed. We can't control all the things, but we can absolutely come back to a state of awareness that helps us to feel more capable and life to feel more doable. We can always do that. Okay, that's it for today's episode. Thanks so much for being here. Wishing you well. Um, you can't get a little bit of a
