I love Quiet Time.

I am returning to the school environment after being away for the last few months. Prior to taking an official break, I took advantage of a few training opportunities while I was still in school mode. My last experience involved an activity where a group of (maybe) sixteen adults (school employees, myself included) were asked to arrange themselves in a line by the number of years they have worked in schools. My immediate response was to move to the beginning of the line.

As mentioned in my writing, I feel the world more than I can articulate it into words. In the activity, I felt as if I were just beginning. I felt the same as I did in January 1996 when I began my first contracted work as an on site substitute teacher (site sub sally) at Rancho Buena Vista high school in Vista, California.

This feeling continued into the summer months.

I am participating in a yoga teacher training beginning the weekend of August 17-18. I purchased the books for the course ahead of time. When I began to read, I quickly became aware of how little I knew of the practice.

In June, I was once again made well aware of the complicated relationship between a 52 year old woman, stress, HIIT workouts, and blood sugar levels. I have been aware of this for the last three ‘spring semesters’ (Feb – May). I had avoided information regarding menopause because my mindset assumed the information would tell me menopause is a thing that happens to you and the results are just part of life. Because of the obvious pattern, I moved toward learning more. I learned about hormone balancing. I also learned more about nutrition. When I moved toward it, I (once again) quickly became aware of how little I knew.

A week or so ago, I visited with a friend and the conversation turned to mushroom ‘coffee’. We assumed we were talking about the same brand, and then she showed me her container and it was different. She said something like, ‘there’s so much to choose, how do you keep up.’ Her tone was one of subtle exasperation. I’d add the emoji with hands over face. Because it was the third week of July, and I have the gift of a summer break, I had an answer. At least I had an answer that made sense to me. My answer was the authentic algorithm.

And now we return to the first sentence and make the Quiet Time connection.

It is my opinion and experience that when one intentionally becomes familiar with a regulated state of being where one can recognize thoughts, feelings, urges and impulses in response to what’s happening or what one ‘perceives’ is happening, one can make choices that move them in the direction of desired outcomes that are free from harm to self or others. The choices are leading one toward the breadcrumbs that are available when one pays attention. In social media, one can create an algorithm with every like, comment, share, and follow or unfollow. The choices will attract more of the same. If this is done with intention, one will find their ‘feed’ to reflect their interests. In one way, interests could be likened to ‘beliefs’. What one ‘believes’ about, one brings about.

In Quiet Time, one has the opportunity to slow down and pay attention to what’s happening. In Quiet Time, things have a way of settling to see/feel clearly. There is a fairness in Quiet Time. An organic win-win. A way of authentically grasping a natural sense, or connection to, the something more.

In Quiet Time, it’s okay to not know while at the same time know you will get what you need.

As it relates to today’s excerpt, Quiet Time allows one to recognize split energy and offers the space to consider reasonable choice making that contributes to a shared humanity.