Hi, I'm Anne. And I'm Helen. And welcome to Metaphysical Street Smarts. What is Metaphysical Street Smarts, Helen? 

Physical is everything you can see with your human eyes. You can see, touch, feel, taste as a human. Metaphysical is that which you cannot see. Wi Fi, microwave energy. When you feel somebody staring at you, you can't really feel eyesight.

So metaphysical is that which you can't perceive with the human eye. Street smarts means let's take the woo woo, the energetic, the airy fairy, and add it to logic so that you can have a better experience of yourself. in this one. 

As always, we invite you to take what blesses you and leave the rest. We're so glad you're here.

Let's jump in. 

Hi, Helen. Hi, Anne. How are you this week? I'm well. How are you? Isn't February 

flying by? Flying by. It's the 20th. We are, this episode is airing the 20th. When we're recording, it's It's cold and snowing outside. I wonder when this comes out, what it'll be like. 

And it's episode 20 on the 20th?

Yes. 20th episode. Woohoo. Oh, that's weird. I didn't even notice that. 

Love it. 

To 2020, 2025. So many 20s. 

Yeah. Hmm. So what cosmic nudge do we have for our 20th? Podcast. 

Ooh. My cosmic nudge for this week is, I was watching someone on, some influencer, cleaning influencer on Instagram, just like talk about the spaces in their home that are peaceful.

And I was like, where in my home is like that? I think the place in my home that I'd love the rest of my home to feel like is the bathroom. Because that is, we have a tiny bathroom. We have one bathroom in our house. Two boys, two parents. So that room has to be fully functioning and very minimal in order for it to work well for all of us.

And um, sometimes I will just go and sit in there because it's so, it's easy to clean. I don't feel like there's anything I need to fix in that room. And in other rooms, where I feel a little bit less peaceful, I feel like I'm in a constant state of doing or fixing or looking for things to do there, and not just taking care of myself or letting myself rest.

Essentially, how do I bring that energy, that freshness and clarity that I feel in the bathroom, how do I bring that to the other rooms that, when there are so many other people, well, three other people in this house, to consider? 

So that the way I heard the question, the answer that I would offer is that the feeling place of the peace needs to be within.

You know, having a peaceful spot in your house, that's great. If you have a big house and your children are older, that makes zero sense when they're young boys and your goal as a mom is safe and fun. You know, and we live in a very abundant culture right now. Our kids have a lot of toys. We have a lot of stuff.

And it's finding peace. With each stage, because the truth is, if you sat and looked at all those toys and knew one day you'd have no toys in your house. Mm hmm, right. So our home, when our boys were in school still, junior high, high school, all the friends could hang out here. Mm hmm. And no, I didn't have a designated peaceful room.

Adults that came over would say, oh your home is so peaceful. It's an energy field. It's not a physical, this is my beautiful little room. And for me personally, It was, can I meditate here, there, everywhere, which, bless my life, because I can drop into a healing state, I can tap with anybody, anywhere, parking lot, doesn't matter, I can do hands on healing in any situation, so for me, I used it that way, and I always reminded myself, um, I don't know if you knew, both my boys are fertility babies, and so the, um, The possibility of not being a mother, of not having them, just changed my whole paradigm on all of it.

You know, if you parent really well, they grow up and leave you. It's the weirdest thing, right? They don't need you if you do a good job. And so, always, I just wanted to love every stage. Now that doesn't mean that there wasn't the time. We had been out boating and A maid came, and I come in, I look, and it's like just so nice.

Yes! And I shut the door, and I looked at my husband, I'm like Oh my gosh, it's so clean in there, like, I, I don't know, do we want to lock the kids out? So we were joking, so yes, I did like it clean and it was rarely that the whole house was cleaned up at once. And for many years when I was working and multitasking, I did have maid service and the maid service was more about, that meant we picked all our junk up so they could clean.

Right. Because, you know, four busy people living somewhere, it just gets. piles of stuff everywhere. And so it's like, well, if the maids come in, we're going to pick up and put away things so they have access to all the surfaces. So that was one thing. And then I just learned to enjoy it when it is there for a moment.

And, um, and I decided that I would create my meditation spot, my peaceful spot to be within me and go wherever I go. Yeah. And then the other aspect is, you know, I mean, that's why people will build the man cave or the woman cave, you know, this place. And it could just be your desk. Make your desk comfy, cozy.

It could be a chair that you could have. A quiet moment and look at a pretty painting or the window. It doesn't have to be a whole room unless you're of that income bracket where you can do that. And yet, you know, we, well our house was smaller when, at that time I was talking about coming home. And then this house is, is bigger but I had the kids all over.

Again, I knew it was a very fleeting small part of my life that it would be crazy busy. And I remember one day a friend was over and, She looked at the big garden tub in my bathroom and there was little toy soldiers all the way around it. And she said something about that. She said, well, you know, you should have your child pick that up so you can have your nice bathroom.

And I'm like, you know, the toy soldiers are almost over. Why would I rush it? And it's true. I haven't seen a toy soldier around a bathtub in decades. Oh, 

You should, I'll tell your sons to put soy soldiers in your bathroom. 

Aww. And I, you know, I missed it. I missed it. Like they went through a phase, one of them, where they're like the super teeny tiny ones and they were so hard to find.

I mean it all goes so quickly. So I wanted peace in motherhood, deeply involved with enjoying every messy stage of childhood. And then I took that piece with me everywhere I go. And again, having a whole room that's peaceful, yeah, if it fits your lifestyle and your income bracket, that makes sense. 

Mm hmm.

There's something there to be said, because I don't think there's anything wrong with making it, like, as easy on myself as possible. It's hard to tell if I'm I feel like I have house dysmorphia. I don't know if my house is as messy as other people's, or messier, or I don't think it's cleaner, but like, is that the issue, or is the issue that I care?

When I really could just be looking at does it work for me? Yeah, I don't know. Yeah, 

so you would have to really question what are you caring about that you don't live up to somebody else's opinion or that others will judge you or that you're judging you. Yeah, it's, it's always this evolutionary, you know, step into a consciousness.

Can I be happy right where I am? Or is there an invitation to, to accomplish more, something different? 

I think I'm, have an opportunity to say, yeah, it really just is this messy being a mom of little people. A working mom. It really just is. I can, you know, I can choose to stay in my room and wallow, or I can get up and enjoy my house and my life anyway.

And it'll go so fast. Mm hmm. Yeah, and 

then what? They outgrow all those stages. Then you can have a house with, you know, four peaceful rooms. 

I know. So are we ready for our listener question today? Yes. Okay, perfect. So we have Sarah today, and this is Sarah number two, but this Sarah has an H. What does your daily mindfulness practice look like if you have one, and what are some practical steps to start a daily mindfulness practice?

Do you feel it helps? If so, what does it help with? 

Thank you for the question, Sarah. So, um, uh, where I started, I don't even remember how long ago, Was with washing my hands with soap and water, really tuning into the water, the feel of it. Um, I started there. I've done so many things, uh, mindful walking. I do meditate quite a bit.

Um, that's a, that's a daily, almost a daily practice. I'll go through stages. Sometimes, you know, everything on earth cycles. Sometimes I'll be very into meditation time or spiritual study time, and then other times I'll be in a cycle of integration where it's like, I just, I'm full. I can't put any more high frequency in for a red hot minute.

And so, the practice I have today is more about How present can I be all the time? And yet, you know, I started with just, it was good if I could just remember brushing my, um, washing my hands. And then it was like, when I'm brushing my teeth, can I love my skeletal system? My teeth are alive. To me, that's fascinating.

Or, uh, you know, you do your hair, you blow dry your hair, you brush your hair. Could I just be in gratitude for my hair, and, and, and what it feels like? Could I be mindful in the shower? And the temperature of the water and the way the soap smells. So my first way, because I was a busy mom at the time, was to bring it into the activities I was already doing.

And I was not very good at it, just saying. So the biggest challenge was remembering to do it. And then sometimes I'd be all present, and then my mind would be off in a hundred other directions. So advice I would give you is, Don't judge it. Just your intention that you want to be mindful is so beautiful.

And then, um, whenever I want to up level my mindfulness, there's a little timer. It's an app, I think. It just has a little bell that goes off and you can set it for however many minutes. So if I'm in a new stage of growth, I might set it, depending on where I am, for like every 15 minutes and I'll check where my mind is.

Or if I'm really in a mood to play, I will, I'll set it for every five. And just so I can lovingly catch my mind drifting and say, Oh, drifting. Here we go. Let's focus again. What do I feel? What do I smell? What do I hear? What am I thinking? How am I feeling in my body? What are my toes doing? What are my hands doing?

Just bringing it back in over and over and over. And then the other piece of advice I would give is just start reading about it, look up mindful quotes, look up, just ask, um, you know, what is mindfulness, what, what are mindfulness practices with an S, and the more you just teach your mind, wow, there's so many people into this, and there's so many teachings on it, you'll just, Start guiding the mind that you want more and more of it.

And then, if you really want to accelerate your journey, if it fits your lifestyle though, if you have time, before you go to sleep, or if it's the next morning, or say at lunch, whenever you have time, just write down, Hey, I was mindful when I did this, I was mindful when I did that. If you can list a few successes, your brain catches on a lot quicker.

Successes. Okay, cool. And I was um, Mindfulness. I mean, at its core is just being mindful of 

our thoughts, right? Not exactly being mindful of your thoughts. Mindfulness is a practice, and the way I think Sarah meant it, is about being fully present in your body in the moment. So it's actually, your thoughts are rather quiet.

When you're really engaged with the running water onto your hands, and the smell of the soap, and the feel of the water, and the way your hands move, and the, the gliding, and the texture, and the temperature, and Your, your mind is quiet. There's no judgment. There's no fear. There's no guilt. There's no snark.

It's, that's why people study mindfulness because it gets them out of the crazy mind. So it's actually not being aware of thoughts because the thoughts will quiet. It's about being fully present in experience instead of lost in the mind. You know, a lot of Buddhist monks who have been studying mindfulness for centuries, right?

Um, I forget which one it is, but somebody said, what do you think of, you know, Americans when you think of them? He goes, I think they're lost in thought. I am. And so a big part of it for me is, you know, recognizing, Oh, look at that. I'm so in the flow. I don't have thoughts running. And that happens for me a lot when I am creative, cooking, painting, gardening.

Um, that's easier for me. And again, it took a lot of work in the beginning. So I used props, alarms, studying, reading, setting time to just attempt to be mindful. And then instead of criticizing and judging myself, Noticing how often I would get it right, 

right? It's just a 

gentle, okay, come back to this. And that's what the bells are so 

good for.

Yes. And when you realize where your crazy mind's going all the time, you'll find the pattern that makes it easier. And then Sarah, I would offer you one more tip, um, which is taught in a lot of mindfulness practices. You know, say you're, I don't know, you want to be mindful in the. Driving somewhere. So you're going to be thinking about the cars around you can be checking your mirrors, all of them, you're going to be feeling the seat, feeling your feet, feeling the chair, feeling the vibration of the car, appreciating whatever's going on.

And then if your mind wanders off into worrying, or judging somebody or something, you just say, Oh, worry, there you are. Okay, coming back to presence. Judgment, there you are coming back to presence. If you name it, It's a little easier to come back, and I didn't have that tip in the beginning, and I just really stumbled around, so now even, I'm, I'm pretty good at mindfulness, pretty skilled compared to where I started, and yet, if I have a lot going on, or my chemistry is acting weird, or the earth is in a big, you know, transit, I really struggle again, and yet now I just say, oh, distracted, oh, look at that, thinking of this, and, and lovingly, that is mindful.

I'm mindful of my thoughts, like you said, Anne, and yet the true practice is to be mindfully present with quiet mind. 

Yes. Mm hmm. That's such a good question. I'm excited. I'm gonna do the hand washing one. I love, I, I don't know, but I also feel like I need to write everything down because I forget to, I hear all these things, I'm like, I want to try that, I want to try that, and then I forget, so I need to, if I want to, Incorporate these, I take it one week at a time, and I guess that's the benefit of sound editing, is I get to re listen.

And if you're gonna do the hand washing thing, you know, for me, sticky note. Sticky note. Sticky note. Mindfulness. Yep. Or I would not remember. Right? And, um, you know, be gentle and kind. So, Sarah, my question for you would be, have you yet complimented yourself? for wanting to take on the biggest challenge humanity ever faces, quieting the mind.

Have you told yourself how awesome you are that you're even considering it? I love it. Kindness, 

kindness, kindness. We're all just people. All just, I guess, spirits in maidsuits. 

Yes. Trying to figure out how to do presence and connection when we feel so dang separate and we have crazy, crazy minds. 

Yes. Well, Sarah, thank you so much for your question today, and thank you, Helen, for answering as always.

Being here and present. So I appreciate your time. 

Oh, I just love this. Sarah. Thank you. And I hope later you'll email Anne and let her know how you're doing with your practice and what's working for you. Thank you so much. All right. 

Thanks you guys. We'll see you next time. Bye Helen. Bye bye. That's all for today.

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