Be In The Magic, Baby.

Are you here? Are you really here? Are you reading these words and absorbing their meaning or are you 10,000 miles away from here, wondering off into the land of what was or the possibilities of what will be?

These are questions that I found myself pondering on what was to be a seemingly quiet nature walk. The birds were chirping, bunnies (yes, bunnies!) were hopping a few yards in front of my feet. There was the fresh smell of dirt (dirt has a very specific scent that I love) after the California rain. Epic. Amazing. I feel spoiled simply recalling the scene. But guess what? While I can vividly recall all these details, more so on account of taking this particular walk time and again, I was not truly immersed in these smells, sights, and sounds. Where was I you, ask? Oh, ya know: rehashing and rehearsing. It goes a little something like this: Did I call back [insert any name in my phonebook here] ? Okay shit. Yes, when this is over call . Call and say [insert rehearsal voicemail…continue to rehearse until next random, not-so-important thought floats into mind]. What’s my schedule look like this week? Will I have time to for self-care (…she wastes time thinking about while missing out on the self-care she could currently be embracing!). I wish I hadn’t missed [insert event here]. Now life is less active and fun than it once was and I could have made it and I didn’t and I wonder if they are annoyed with me for that. Speaking of them, I haven’t called them in awhile. Text after this. Text and say I love you. Say I love you and…[insert rehearsal text, potentially including specific choices of emojis-yes, I am detail oriented). I need to be of more service. What can I do? Where can I improve? Do some research this week.

Oh. My. God. Have you had enough time inside my head? Me too. I had enough wondering and wandering, enough analyzing and at times, yes, even obsessing. Enough. And all of a sudden I paused. I looked at the sun in the sky. I looked at the ocean to my left. I took a breath of that dirty dirt smell that makes me so happy and I blurted out loud: Be In The Magic. Be In The Magic, Samantha!

And then I returned to my head ;) And then I told myself: no no no no no—-Be In The Magic.

And it’s been one of my favorite mantras ever since. How can we stop planning, preparing, worrying, anticipating, obsessing, wondering, wandering, analyzing, considering, contemplating, interpreting, scripting, rescripting and/or rehashing?

The simple truth? We can’t. The mind wonders. That is what it was made to do. But what we can do is work on anchoring ourselves into the present moment, learning how to be where we are when we are there—rather than reflecting back later on where we were only to realize we missed the whole damn thing.

Here are a few simple, but not always easy, ways to increase awareness and release the fearsome and troubling thoughts that plague your mind. Know that you are not alone in this experience—and that you can get freedom from the incessant chatter inside your head, that can oftentimes feel overwhelming and exhausting.

Tap into your 5 senses. If you are eating, can you slow down the pace, smell your food, observe the colors, consider the flavors as they enter your mouth? While outside, can you dig your heels into the Earth, touch the bark of an aging tree, notice the colors that surround you, take in the scent of nature? Listen. What do you hear? Each of your senses bring you into the magic in their own special way, grounding you to the present moment and allowing you to be exactly where you are—right here—Be. In. The. Magic.

Gently set that shit aside. Consider the storylines that you are running in your head. Whether they be related to a break-up, a career move, family conflict—try setting whatever it is aside for another time. Easy, right? I understand this may sound like an impossible feat, but when you consider the joy rehashing and rehearsing is taking out of your present moment experience and also consider the very real truth that whatever it is need not be resolved at this exact moment, you may be inclined to give yourself a momentary reprieve to enjoy where you are. Imagine this: whatever it is will still be waiting for you later and you may even gain some much needed clarity and insight after engaging in self-care. Every time you notice your mind wander, bring it back. Again and again: Return. To. The. Magic.

Eliminate the ego. So much of the chatter (referenced above) that takes us out of our moment to moment experience is our fear-based thinking—the ego mind—trying to run the show and spin stories inside our head. We tend to attach to these narratives and take a deep dive into anxiety, fear, worry, discontentment and shame, to name a few. We build false belief systems that do not serve us and disregard our intuitive nature, struggling to trust the truest parts of ourselves—our inner GPS, internal guide, authentic self (call him/her/them whatever you please). The more familiar we get with the distinct difference between our ego mind vs. our Authentic Self the more freedom we can begin to experience. So how does one decipher between the two? Our ego mind is the part of ourselves that berates, judges, nags, forces, pushes, pulls and tries to control the outcome. Sound familiar? Our intuitive nature need not do that—the truest part of of ourselves is connected to love, light, and allowing—allowing life to flow in the direction that it is meant to, knowing that we are always moving in the right direction, even during those times when we feel completely pulled off course. Our intuitive self trusts our path and our process. In my experience, I have found meditation to be the most effective way to increase my awareness around my thought loops, false narratives and shit spirals. If meditation sounds intimidating, that’s totally OK—start really small. Check out this 3-minute exercise or download Insight Timer for heaps of options, including sitting, walking and sleeping meditations. Be. In. The. Magic.

And what about those times, you ask me, when things don’t feel so damn magical? When you want to run, numb, avoid, hide? You may not like this, but guess what? Be there, too. Sometimes those tough moments contain the most magic of all. Sit in the suck, sweet one. Ask for guidance. Call your support team. Cry and scream and feel those feels. There is magic on the other side.

I will leave you with one final thought, another mantra. It came to me in early 2020 (how ironic!), while attempting to find my magic through an uncomfortable savasana: Everything is as easy as I allow it to be. Take that in. Consider those words. Keep them for your own, if they serve you well. I breathe. I notice. I surrender. Everything is easy as I allow it to be.

Go grab some magic.