Keep Your Mind Where Your Body Is (Relationship Series Ep #18)

Your mind can time travel in seconds, replaying a conversation from last week or jumping ahead to problems that haven’t even happened yet. I felt that pull recently, and within 24 hours, two completely different moments landed on the exact same message: keep your mind where your body is.

One came from a TV show that asked a deeper question about why we fight so hard to survive if we’re not really living. The other came from a simple reflection about flowers and why we buy something that will eventually die, reminding us that beauty is meant to be experienced while it’s here.

In this episode, we explore how easy it is to be in your life but not actually in it, and how that quiet disconnection can create a subtle feeling of lack, like something is missing. I share a grounded approach to presence that doesn’t require perfect silence, a long meditation, or a complete lifestyle shift. When life slows down but your mind doesn’t, you need something that works in real time.

I also guide you through a simple 5-4-3-2-1 practice using your senses to reconnect with yourself, regulate your nervous system, and come back to the present moment.

✨Reflection Questions✨ 
 How often am I actually present in my life?
 Where do I tend to go when I leave the present moment?
 What helps me reconnect back to myself and right now?

Your life isn’t happening somewhere else. It’s happening right here. Don’t miss it💜

Transcript

Welcome To Pure Possibilities

Shannon 0:00

Welcome back. You're listening to the Pure Possibilities Podcast. I'm your host, Shannon. Something very interesting happened over the last 24 hours. I came across two completely different things, and they both pointed to the exact same message. And when things repeat in my life, when messages come through, I recognize that either the message is meant for me or it's meant for someone else, and that it's important that I convey the message. So here we go. Last night I was watching the show A Million Little Things. I don't know if you've seen it or not. It was out of several years ago, but I was watching it and one of the characters previously had cancer and she was now in remission and she was realizing that she wasn't actually actually one of the other characters said to her, Why did you want to beat cancer if you aren't even going to live your life? Or why did you fight for your life against cancer if you aren't even going to live it? And I was like, Oh, that's interesting. And then she decided to start a podcast, ironically. And she said, Keep your mind where your body is. Keep your mind where your body is. And I was like, Oh, I like that. Keep your mind where your body is. And that kind of hit me. And so I made a little mental note of that. And then this morning I was watching a reel from the Drew Barrymore show. And the caption on the reel said, Why buy flowers if they're just going to die? And of course that captured my attention because I love flowers. And I was like, huh, that's an interesting question. And the answer was, flowers are here to remind us to be in the present moment. They grow, they bloom, they're beautiful for a short time, and then we let them go. And both of those moments were saying the exact same thing. Be here, not in the past, not in the future, right here in the present moment. Because if you really think about it, so much of our life is spent not actually being in it. We're so busy, we're replaying the past, we're thinking about what we should have possibly said in a conversation. We're wishing something went differently, we're wishing that our life was different, or we're planning, we're worrying, we're trying to control the things that haven't even happened yet. And when life truly slows down, our mind doesn't. You could be sitting in a quiet moment with someone you care about, or even just by yourself, and your mind is somewhere else entirely. I actually noticed that this morning when I was getting ready. My mind kept wandering and I had to keep pulling myself back to the present moment. And it made me wonder how often are you actually noticing what's around you? Like really noticing the space that you're in, the people that you're with, the moment you're living, because it's really easy to be in your life and not actually in it. And that even goes for, you know, like noticing those two different experiences that I had with both of these messages coming through to me about being present in the moment. I connected the dots that both of those messages came through to me in different ways from different sources within the same 24-hour timeframe. I could have completely ignored it, but I chose to connect it and really take in the message that they were both saying to be here right now in this moment. And when we're not present, we miss our life while we're living it. We're always waiting for what's next, thinking about what needs to happen or mentally somewhere else. And it creates this feeling. I feel like it actually creates a feeling of lack, that we need more. And it creates this feeling of never fully being here right now in this moment. And it's subtle, it can be really subtle, but it absolutely matters. But when we actually choose to be present, it makes a big difference. And you don't have to master being present. You don't need to set aside a specific hour in the day. You don't need to have it be completely silent. You don't need the conditions to be perfect. You just need to notice where you are, what's around you, what you're experiencing, what you're feeling right now in this moment. We're gonna pause for just a moment. And I would like to invite you, if it feels comfortable and safe to do so, go ahead and place a hand on your heart and one on your belly if that feels good for you, and soften your gaze. And as we move through this practice, you may feel a pull to close your eyes. You can, of course, do that if it feels good for you, and go ahead and take a deep breath in and release. Now just begin to notice what are five things that you can see colors, shapes, light, something that's in your space.

Pause Notice Reconnect Explained

SPEAKER_01 5:32

Just notice. And what are four things that you can feel? Maybe it's the chair beneath you, your feet on the ground, your clothing against your skin, the air around you. Just allow yourself to feel. What are three things that you can hear? Maybe it's your breath. Maybe it's a sound in the distance. It can be really subtle. Just listen. What are two things that you can smell? Even if it's a faint scent, just notice. And one thing that you can taste. Go ahead and take another deep breath in. And release. What just happened?

Shannon 6:43

Nothing in your life actually changed, but something shifted. You came back, back into your body, back into this moment, you returned and reconnected back to yourself. And this is what I talk about when I say pause, notice, and reconnect. Because this is where your life is happening. It's not in the past, it's not in the future, it's right here in this moment. So anytime you're feeling disconnected or like you're not present in your life, go ahead and tap into your senses. What are five things that you can see? Four things that you can feel, three things that you can hear, two things that you can smell, one thing that you can taste. It only takes a couple of minutes to reconnect. So just begin to notice how often are you actually present? And when you leave the moment that you're in, where do you go? Are your thoughts going towards a person? Are they going to a situation? Are they focused on worry? Where do you go? Where does your mind go when you leave the present moment? No judgment, just awareness. We're going to move into the reflection questions, and they will also be noted in the show description if you need to come back to them at a later time. If it feels comfortable, go ahead and take another deep breath in and release and sit with this. Question number one: how often am I actually present in my life?

SPEAKER_01 8:28

Question number two, where do I tend to go when I leave the present moment? And number three, what helps me reconnect back to myself and the present moment?

Shannon 8:43

Just notice what comes up. Okay, we're gonna go ahead and pull a card from the Magic of What If card deck, volume two, available on my website, purepossibilitiespodcast.com. Gonna pull from volume two today. And let's see what the energy of the cards is for today. Ooh, this is a good one. What if I surrender and get out of the way? That's been coming up a lot for me lately, too. Hmm. And I feel like when you are able to maintain presence and be in this moment, that in itself is a way of surrendering. It really is. We don't get to hold on to every moment, just like the flowers. They grow, they bloom, and then they go. But you do get to be in it while it's here. And you get to experience it and feel it and enjoy it while it's happening. And when you allow yourself to be more present in your life, you start to feel it differently. Remember to keep your mind where your body is. Your life isn't happening somewhere else, it's happening right here, right now, in this moment. Don't miss it. Thank you for being here. Have a beautiful, beautiful day and an amazing week. Much love.