Hello my dear,

I hope this finds you well. I look forward to seeing you in class this weekend, Saturday and Sunday.

Thank you for the continued love and support as I recover from the car accident. I am healing well from my concussion but it is quite a serious one and very painful. It is a slow journey and I continue to be humbled, and reminded, every day, that I need to do even less than I am doing. The pain is my guide and I am grateful for this opportunity to learn more about the body, it’s needs, and it’s miraculous healing abilities.

As you all know, I don’t take any pain medication or OTC medicine of any kind. I feel there is so much wisdom in the sensations of the body and I want to be able to track those sensations so I know what I need, what I should and should not do, how I am healing, and what feedback to give my doctors and healers. I am dousing myself in all of my holistic wellness remedies and sorcery potions though so I am in good care.

As I continue to do less, and less, I am finding myself moving through space in a new way. The word mindful and slow have taken on new meanings and have a different value in my life now. My daily rituals are steeped in grounding, resting, restoring and being in relationship with the pain. I am working with many practitioners whose abilities continue to astound me. This has reminded me to live in an even simpler way than before; doing less, not plugged into tech at all, nothing ‘smart’ around me, landline phone calls with loved ones, nature walks in my garden as I am not able to walk around the block yet, and other such mindful analog choices.

Because of this I want to invite you to go deeply into your mindful analog world that is always available to us. We must create new habits to create new ways of being. Let’s log off, tune in, and opt out. What does this look like to you? How can you live a more analog life and nurture yourself with your surroundings and rituals? Below I have given you some ideas to play around with. By shifting into a more conscious, mindful, present, analog existence we will be able to concentrate better, improve our sleep, find we have more time in your life for things that are nurturing and truly bring us deep value, we will be better able to relax and cope with emotional waves, and our mind, body and soul will indeed be healthier and happier.

Play with these or come up with your own personal rituals~

~Opt out of all things unnecessary. Keep inbox, text threads, desktop, home mailbox, etc. empty and clear of junk crowding your life.

~Block all notifications from apps so your phone is not constantly pulling you towards it. You are able to keep notifications on for things that are important like certain people’s calls/texts/etc.

~Buy an alarm clock. The first thing you touch in your day should be your body, your breath, the earth, a loved one, a furry loved one, not a device. No need to have your phone, or any other devices, in the bedroom. If you must bring a phone in the bedroom please keep it in Airplane Mode and always keep Bluetooth turned off. Bluetooth must be turned off in Settings and not Control Screen or it automatically turns back on every time you turn Airplane mode off or power phone off and on again. You might think you turned it off but the phone turns it back on, trying to keep you constantly connected to Bluetooth.

~Write things down on paper, with a pen or pencil. Journal on paper, keep your schedule on paper, hand write a letter, type a letter using a typewriter…

~Read actual books you hold in your hands and feel the pages with your fingers.

~Go to the library. Lately I’ve been spending more time there and I love the stillness, the quiet, the collective respect of other’s experiences. It is a lovely place.

~Wear a watch. Not wearable tech but an actual watch with a minute hand and an hour hand that goes around and around. :)

~Be social, but not with social media apps.

~No scrolling.

~Get information from humans, and actual books, not the internet.

~Play music low-tech style; from a radio or even better, a turntable. No bluetooth speakers.

~Photograph using actual film.

~Stargaze without an app.

~Exercise without wearable, or bluetooth, tech.

~Sleep without wearable, or bluetooth, tech.

~You don’t need to track your habits technologically. Stop being tracked. Simply live your life.

~If you find wearable tech, health tracking apps, etc. helpful in keeping you motivated, accountable or present in your practice, try using a human instead. Ask a friend to join you and check in with each other; show up for each other, share your workout or perhaps how you slept, etc. Instead of it sitting in a cloud somewhere, allow it to sit in a loved one’s heart. Share your accomplishments with breathing, three-dimensional humans, not tech.

~Keep technology out of the bathroom.

~Sit in nature; anywhere will do. Simply sit and breathe and notice.

~Draw, sketch, paint, sculpt, or some sort of art project.

~Do a puzzle.

~Learn a second language.

~Volunteer

~Pick up an instrument and practice.

~Go on a bike ride.

~Tak a long bath.

~Play cards, board games, and other non-tech brain games like ColorKu.

~Go to a museum.

~Nap

~Declutter your life.

~Stare into space and wonder.

~Daydream

~Play

~Laugh

~Cry

~Breathe

~Be

Have fun with living analog this month and do share your experiences with me. I feel there is much value in connecting on such important topics. It helps to hear how others are practicing and sharing our own personal experiences help us set them as new patterns in our lives.

Take good care of yourself and know how much you mean to me.