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Your Weekly Check-In August 16, 2024

Hi Reader,

Take some time to reflect on this past week before heading into the weekend.

This practice is a tool to help you keep track of your relationship to work, yourself, and your boundaries. Use the questions below as a guide to help you reflect on the week.

Questions

1. How did you stay aligned with your values this week?
2. What help did you ask for this week?
3. What from this week must you release before you can tend to your joy this weekend?
4. What boundaries and practices will help you release what must be released?
5. How will you commit to joy this weekend?

Rest Practice:

We often speak of rest in the same breath as "stillness" and "quiet," but sometimes rest boisterous and energetic, filled with noise and song. Sometimes, rest is a primal scream reverberating through the body in the key of collective rage. Sometimes, rest is a low hum.

How do you experience harmony when you rest?

This week, I played music for the first time in months. I picked up my guitar and plucked tuneless melodies to experience the vibration. The notes didn't need to make sense as much as my body needed to soak in the reverberating bath of sound. I needed to feel in tune with something. What better "thing" than music?

The best musicians don't just listen to the notes; they also hear the space between and around each individual note, and it fits within the overall composition. They listen for the speed of vibration between notes to determine whether those notes are in tune. In other words, they listen for consonance and dissonance.

The differences between consonance and dissonance can be physically felt. Consonant notes evoke a settling, calming sensation in the body and are associated with harmony, whereas dissonance creates tension and the desire for resolution. Dissonance is associated with the feeling of skin crawling, pins and needles, or uneasiness.

When we feel stressed, our bodies internalize dissonance and need relief. One way to experience relief is through a physical experience of consonance.

This weekend, take a minute to experience the vibrations of your voice. You can hum, say "ah" for 10-15 seconds, recite your internal monologue aloud, or do something else to create vibration in your body.

As you make noise, place a hand over where the vibrations in your body are strongest. Continue to make sound and close your eyes. With eyes closed, place a hand on the floor. Notice how the vibrations in your body change.

If you feel dissonance with your hand on the floor, change up the sound until you find one that feels more consonant. Sustain that sound until you can feel consonance resonating throughout your entire body. Notice what whole-body consonance feels like, then go about the rest of your day.

To go deeper, experiment with sound healing meditations at different frequencies. Try to match the sounds you hear or create different sounds that feel harmonious with the meditation.

Return to this practice when you need to experience harmony within your body.

See you next week.

Peace,

Taj

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