I am getting a great deal out of the comments too; thank you. I'm in kind of a flaily spot right now and it's great to see what works for others and to give some thought to what has worked/might work for me again.
1. I have a twice monthly group of 5 women (it doesn't have to be women but that's how it ended up over the years) who get together for a structured conversation called Dialogue, for one hour. We have been doing this off and on for over 25 years with a varied number of groups, for a while as many as 10 but usually 5-7 people. This current group has been meeting regularly since 2018 and we did it over Zoom during the height of the pandemic. It was really a godsend for me in those days of isolation.
It has really helped me keep in touch with myself over the years. The Wikipedia article is a good summary of what it is, but we use a slightly different set of rules based on Angeles Arrien's book The Fourfold Way. Which is a GREAT BOOK to go through and think through. I return to it over and over.
2. I am a relentless journaler in the vein of Natalie Goldberg's "writing practice" and Julia Cameron's "The Artist's Way." I write a stream of consciousness journal in longhand almost every day. Reading it back weeks or months later really helps me listen to myself.
3. Getting out in nature, especially near water, is really the best thing for me. Just sitting in my back yard and watching the birds helps immensely. I learned this when I made a huge error in 2021 and moved into an apartment with no balcony and no green space at all. I had to walk to a nearby park or get in the car and drive somewhere to have any green space. Big mistake and made me very depressed. Yard work makes me feel good when I can get started.
4. I pray alot or something equivalent. I don't have any sort of organized theology, as you know, but I repeat various Buddhist or Christian prayers and ask for help for myself and my loved ones. I have a very unformed New Agey kind of bent (tarot cards are a thing I enjoy a lot) but my actual religious or spiritual beliefs seem to be perennially under construction. I still find the Desiderata highly comforting despite its origins.
5. In past decades when I went to a highly liturgical Christian church I really did get a lot out of it. I have been thinking for a while I might join a liberal church again but I'm not sure about that. I found a gorgeous liberal Lutheran church and went there for a long time and the ritual and the "production values" were comforting to me. I actually served on their board in my 30s. Amazing to remember. Seems like another life.
6. My practice has completely fallen apart but for years I went to a Saturday morning yoga class -- had to stop because of the pandemic and also I had gained a lot of weight and that particular class was pretty athletic in nature and my knees couldn't take it any more. But I am always happier when I am doing yoga a few times a week. I just do it at home using some of the routines from that class that I memorized. If I would get back to that it would help me I know.
7. Just being in the presence of my kids and listening to them talk makes me happier than any thing else ever.
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winterfish
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Date: 2024-09-28 02:14 pm (UTC)1. I have a twice monthly group of 5 women (it doesn't have to be women but that's how it ended up over the years) who get together for a structured conversation called Dialogue, for one hour. We have been doing this off and on for over 25 years with a varied number of groups, for a while as many as 10 but usually 5-7 people. This current group has been meeting regularly since 2018 and we did it over Zoom during the height of the pandemic. It was really a godsend for me in those days of isolation.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bohm_Dialogue
It has really helped me keep in touch with myself over the years. The Wikipedia article is a good summary of what it is, but we use a slightly different set of rules based on Angeles Arrien's book The Fourfold Way. Which is a GREAT BOOK to go through and think through. I return to it over and over.
2. I am a relentless journaler in the vein of Natalie Goldberg's "writing practice" and Julia Cameron's "The Artist's Way." I write a stream of consciousness journal in longhand almost every day. Reading it back weeks or months later really helps me listen to myself.
3. Getting out in nature, especially near water, is really the best thing for me. Just sitting in my back yard and watching the birds helps immensely. I learned this when I made a huge error in 2021 and moved into an apartment with no balcony and no green space at all. I had to walk to a nearby park or get in the car and drive somewhere to have any green space. Big mistake and made me very depressed. Yard work makes me feel good when I can get started.
4. I pray alot or something equivalent. I don't have any sort of organized theology, as you know, but I repeat various Buddhist or Christian prayers and ask for help for myself and my loved ones. I have a very unformed New Agey kind of bent (tarot cards are a thing I enjoy a lot) but my actual religious or spiritual beliefs seem to be perennially under construction. I still find the Desiderata highly comforting despite its origins.
5. In past decades when I went to a highly liturgical Christian church I really did get a lot out of it. I have been thinking for a while I might join a liberal church again but I'm not sure about that. I found a gorgeous liberal Lutheran church and went there for a long time and the ritual and the "production values" were comforting to me. I actually served on their board in my 30s. Amazing to remember. Seems like another life.
6. My practice has completely fallen apart but for years I went to a Saturday morning yoga class -- had to stop because of the pandemic and also I had gained a lot of weight and that particular class was pretty athletic in nature and my knees couldn't take it any more. But I am always happier when I am doing yoga a few times a week. I just do it at home using some of the routines from that class that I memorized. If I would get back to that it would help me I know.
7. Just being in the presence of my kids and listening to them talk makes me happier than any thing else ever.