Jun 15, 2021
5 Minute Genius
Will you allow it?
What happens to you when you sit and give yourself nothing to do for five (whole) minutes?
No social media. No texting. No television. No conversation. No book. No child. No pets.
How often do you give yourself five minutes to just do nothing?
We’ve been given things to do or learn our entire life. Someone’s paying attention to us, Elmo’s on, we’re creating magic with our siblings, we’re completing chores, or we’re occupying ourselves with a coloring book.
There’s a good reason why children should keep occupied, but adults don’t need that anymore- in fact, the pendulum swings far off balance when adults allow themselves constant “to do” and “to consume” all the time. The brain fills and fills and fills, and then overflows and slowly but surely the body reaches disharmony and dis-ease.
On a physiological level, doing nothing lets your body de-stress, which leads to side effects including but far from limited to healing, proper digestion, weight loss, and improved heart function.
On a spiritual level, empty space holds whispers from the universe. It connects us to the divine. It tells jokes. It takes weight off of heavier spaces. It unlocks creativity. Empty space lets our mind’s mind wander and stumble upon hits of genius.
Genius doesn’t come when you have your head in a book, when you’re scrolling Facebook, or when the news is on (quite the opposite is happening when the news is on).
Genius is the music between the notes. Genius is your highest self, and your highest self can’t get through clearly when you’re looking at a screen.
Because we’ve been conditioned our entire lives to the idea that we need to be doing something always, coupled with our society’s instant gratification systems, “boredom” can be super uncomfortable.
You’re at lunch by yourself and your phone- god forbid- dies. People literally panic in this situation because they don’t know what to even do with themselves. “OMG should I pack my lunch up and finish it at home?” “Should I go charge it in my car for a few minutes?”
Suddenly lunch doesn’t taste as good, and let’s face it: did you even have a nice lunch out if you didn’t post a picture of it somewhere?
Next time you have the chance to be bored for a few minutes, allow it to happen. Simply notice what comes up for you. If it’s uncomfortable, where in your body do you feel the discomfort? How long does it last? Does it move around? What thoughts surface?
Noticing what comes up when you sit with yourself for a few minutes might give you some insight as to why being bored is so uncomfortable for you. I used to be very codependent- the thought of hanging out with myself seemed awful. Fast forward through a lot of growth, and my favorite activity is sitting in silence.
