Comments on: not so quick but very dirty.

By: MarjakaThriver

MarjakaThriver — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 22:52:09 +0000

That sounds incredibly fun to me, too! How exciting! I’m glad you got a chance to do something like that. How cool!

I know what you mean about the quieting effect on the mind. I’ve been enjoying that with a landscaping project I’ve been working on in my back yard. Moving lots of rocks around. Yay! ;)

By: Svasti

Svasti — Sun, 12 Jul 2009 23:08:45 +0000

Glad you had fun, luvvie. Sounds like a blast, even with all the dirt and the patience ;)

By: Betty Burke

Betty Burke — Sun, 12 Jul 2009 13:08:06 +0000

I’m glad you had a good time. I’ve been hillwalking in Scotland all my life, yet I still get fulfilment from the weary focus at the end of every long day. It’s a peaceful and sheltered place. But I find it doesn’t last – usually stops at the city walls. (Mental muscle amnesia?) I hope you’re managing to maintain some of that purposefulness anyway. Or does it seem like a lifetime ago already…?

By: Wellness Writer

Wellness Writer — Sun, 12 Jul 2009 04:45:44 +0000

Dear CK,
Sounds like a wonderful trip. Actually the way you’re describing your dig is the same way I feel when gardening. It’s amazingly therapeutic when you’re digging in the dirt and focusing on doable tasks.

My husband and I were in Scotland about 20 years ago, and just loved it. It is so beautiful!

Susan

By: Damien

Damien — Sun, 12 Jul 2009 03:10:58 +0000

There is something grounding about the Earth. Dave Matthews has that song “Digging in the Dirt.” I just mowed all the weeds around my pool for the friends we’re having over tomorrow and it had a similar effect. Gratifying.

By: Jaliya

Jaliya — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 21:44:58 +0000

What a great experience! Yes, getting down in the dirt / soil / earth will soothe the monkey-mind like nothing else. My personal fave is a looong walk — just motoring along, lost in the rhythm of moving … It’s heaven to a body and being that are usually frozen …

You’re onto something important by sensing that shaking the body helps to dislodge and release some of the habitual tension … Peter A. Levine, who wrote the book “Taming the Tiger”, writes of the natural shaking mechanism that fires up in an animal who has survived being chased / preyed at … The muscles go into “release mode” –> the entire body trembles, shakes … It’s an inherent release of tension and excess energy … Humans tend to not do this … we tend to supress / repress this natural reaction …

Sometimes I just put on some fabulous music — Lately, Michael Jackson’s “So You Wanna Be Starting Something” — and I shake all over — shake everything just for the joy of being able to do it. My husband laughs his head off watching me — :-D

The shaking is definitely a friend … It makes us feel alive … makes us feel every boundary of our bodies, and shoots vital energy through us …

Shake on, sister! :-)

By: Ellen

Ellen — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 13:42:45 +0000

What an interesting vacation CK! And I can see how focusing your mind on one thing would be peace creating, along with the manual labour. Love the picture of Scotland too – it looks so cool and green. Ellen

By: Tosha

Tosha — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 05:57:27 +0000

That is actually incredibly cool.. I’ve always been fascinated by that stuff!I’m glad your brain shut up for awhile!

By: Catatonic Kid

Catatonic Kid — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 22:18:51 +0000

good advice, Doc. i was very grateful for my yoga, and even with that, i felt things need to crack more often than one would like.

By: therapydoc

therapydoc — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 19:52:02 +0000

All I can say is, Watch the back! You only get one of them.