Mental Balance - Part 3 - Spacial Awareness
Happy Spring! Continuing with the discussion of Mental Balance… and next important attribute has a lot to do with balance itself, proprioception and vestibular function. Basically, spatial awareness.
When we refer to physical balance, we need to know of course quite simply where are bodies are, and most certainly in respect to objects and people around us. Do you ever wonder why even when there are hundreds of people around us at a concert or conference we don’t all go bumping into each other more often? Isn’t it quite amazing how agile we all are to make sure we stay in our own spatial bubble. Now, however big that bubble is surely varies from person to person in their comfort level. There is an unspoken rule for ‘getting to close’ to a stranger. Have you ever had someone invade your personal space to where you immediately feel uncomfortable?
But back to how do we do this for our minds. How does spatial awareness apply when we are talking to our own minds, in our own heads… obviously, a non-issue was it applies to getting too close to another. But is that true? Can we not only get too close but too far mentally from someone or something? This might apply more to emotions and connectedness but just being able to see where your thoughts go in relation to the outside world. Does it engage with what is around you or is your mind unbothered to do so?
When you are walking in the woods, does your mind ‘connect’ with the nature around you? Do you feel in tune with the trees, birds, wind, flowers or is your mind a million miles away thinking about work? Or the opposite can be quite true, you are in a meeting but you can’t seem to focus on the conversation at hand.
A lot of the proprioception in the physical world relates to clumsiness, dropping things, not be able to apply the right pressure to an object due to lack of sensing it correctly. So how do we ‘sense’ our mind well enough? How do we keep our spatial awareness and sense of mind movement in good working order?
For one, mindfulness… the age old saying ‘be in the moment,’ ‘be in the present.’ This is not to say there are not occasions we should just let our mind wander, we should just zone out… brain breaks are important! But every once in awhile, it’s not a bad idea to strengthen your spatial awareness and sense of movement.
Take a notepad. Write down all the things on your mind. Do not order it at first. Just write freely until everything on your mind is now on this blank piece of paper. For example, I wrote the other day, ‘finish taxes,’ ‘get jog in,’ ‘call mom back,’ ‘scared for dog,’ ‘excited for niece,’ etc.
Once you have completely ‘emptied’ your mind… now organize. Start with categorizing them. Are these things related? What can you group them into? The ‘to do’s,’ ‘good thoughts,’ ‘bad thoughts,’ ‘random.’ Then actually label them for what they are. Are they worries, are they comforts?
How heavy are they? Put a 1 to 10 scale on them (1 ‘not heavy,’ 10 ‘very heavy’) Really feel them out for a moment. Take them from intangible thoughts to tangible.
Now identify what you will do with them. Where are these thoughts in respect to today, right now. Is this something you can address today? If yes, circle it. If no, give it the spatial distance it needs. Write ‘about when’ you will deal with it. It’s not to say forget it, which you likely won’t anyway, but what it is doing is taking what is in your mind and organizing it, giving yourself an edge… cutting down the clutter, giving your mind the ‘space’ to deal with the priority items more effectively.
“Clarity is the elimination of mental clutter.” - Steve Maraboli
“Our life is shaped by our mind, for we become what we think. Joy follows a pure thought like a shadow that never leaves.”
— Buddha