Tip: No reading
A coaching tip for everyday magic
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No reading is probably the hardest practice I’ve ever attempted, yet in this in-between moment as we cross another threshold into another calendar year, and especially in honor of today’s New Moon, I recommend you consider trying it!
No reading is exactly that. No. Reading. I experienced this for the first time at a 10-day silent retreat which ran on several other rules including, obviously, no speaking. I’ve also seen it in Julia Cameron’s creativity books.
Most people can’t take this practice on for 10 days, and I have not done it for that long myself since that retreat. Instead, I’ve practiced no reading for an hour or several hours at a time. On occasion, I’ve done it for 24 hours. It always feels impossible at the beginning, like exercise, and also like exercise I’m always incredibly grateful for having done it afterward.
The challenge and the power of no reading is that it implicitly prohibits a host of other distractions and habits that keep us firmly in the mind and often somewhat disconnected from the body. For example, no reading means, for the most part, no phone and no computer. No books, no news, no driving, no traveling, no writing.
Instead, here are some things I do during my no reading time:
Paint or draw or knit
Organize, clean or tidy up
Walk, stretch or exercise
Meditate
Look through books of art or photographs
Rest, shower, and dress slowly
Cook (no recipes), brew and sip tea
After several hours of no reading, I feel more present to my life. My mind is clearer. I am more comfortable in my body. I’m calmer. I feel rested and I have a greater general sense of ease.
This is no small thing.
The way we live makes an endless demand on analytical-style brain functioning and tends to repress full body sensing. When we eliminate reading and all the activities we use reading for, it makes it easier for us to downshift into sensing for a little while. And there is great value in devoting some time to that part of ourselves on a regular basis.
Our body is built to intuitively filter vast amounts of information from our environment, and we need this function to be operating to feel well and safe, and to make good choices for ourselves. It’s not enough to think through a decision. We need to feel through it, too. Dropping into full body sensing for a little while can often remind us of important needs or desires that we have forgotten.
If you’d like to learn more about how coaching helps integrate and harmonize these thinking and feeling intelligences, or if you would like support with a personal or professional challenge, please reach out for a private consultation.
