Choosing Better Thoughts: A Path to Inner Calm with Laurin Wittig

Laurin Wittig shares her personal journey of learning to manage and transform her thoughts in stressful situations. Drawing from years of practice and self-discovery, Laurin reveals how she has cultivated the ability to pause, breathe, and shift her perspective, allowing her to navigate life’s challenges with more calm and clarity. Through engaging anecdotes and practical advice, she encourages listeners to explore their own thought patterns and embrace the power of curiosity and mindfulness in creating a more peaceful, joyful life.

In this episode we get curious about:

• The process of learning to change thought patterns in stressful situations.
• The importance of creating space to consciously choose your reactions.
• Techniques for relaxing the body and mind to reduce anxiety.
• The power of perspective and curiosity in personal growth.
• How past experiences shape present reactions and how to break the cycle.
• Practical tips for managing emotions in difficult conversations.
• The role of mindfulness and self-awareness in emotional well-being.

=> Learn more about Laurin Wittig and Heartlight Wellness: Healing the light within you!

Bio: Laurin Wittig is an intuitive energy worker, Reiki Master, Shamanic practitioner, and the founder of HeartLight Wellness and the HeartLight Women’s Circles. She also hosts the Curiously Wise: Practical Spirituality in Action podcast and is an award winning author.

Laurin’s non-traditional journey from lots of health issues to robust wellbeing awakened her to her own healing gifts and sparked a passion to assist others to travel their paths with less pain, more joy, and a deeper understanding of themselves and the world around them.

Website: HeartlightJoy.com

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Credits:

Audio Engineer: Sam Wittig

Music: Where the Light Is by Lemon Music Studio

Photography & Design: Asha McLaughlin/Tej Art

Copyright 2024 Laurin Wittig

But it's been a process and the thing that I've been practicing is changing my thoughts. And I'm thinking particularly when in a stressful situation and that can be anything from a difficult conversation with somebody who is just difficult and you can't quite disengage from them. Or today I was having an annual test done and there was some questions that kind of created a little anxiety in me. Everything's fine. But I just, it made me think about how I needed to, and I did during the process of waiting for results.

There's nothing wrong with me, which was true. But I chose to change the self-talk so it's not easy to do. It's really not easy to do. We have so many sort of pre-programmed ways of reacting to things that we don't even really, I, I know, I didn't believe that I had any control over or any choice about. I would get angry and I would get choked up.

I would get sad and I would get choked up. I couldn't speak. My voice was trapped. And even just sometimes trying to explain myself to somebody who doesn't think the way I do, which is in symbols and metaphors and knowings and even that can be quite stressful. And then I find I get tongue tied, and then I start berating myself, why can't I do this better?

I didn't get swept up in it. Here's the main thing that's required. You have to create some space in which to choose not to react. So, for example, when I start to get a little defensive in a conversation, I have learned to literally relax my body, especially my hands and my shoulders and sometimes my jaw.

It's certainly true for me. So, changing your perspective starts with that space. And perspective is such a superpower. If you can consciously change your perspective about whatever situation you're in. Whatever's going on around you consciously choose to change your perspective. It gives you that space to get curious.

You know how I like curiosity. And when you start to get curious, you start to see things from a broader perspective. I call it a higher perspective a lot of times cuz I often feel like I lift up out of my body and look down upon the situation so I can see it with more distance, literal distance. And so, for me that breathing, that relaxing is the first step towards creating that space, that space for perspective.

That's not my business as theirs. My business is why am I reacting in this way? Why am I getting upset or getting anxious or feeling defensive? And that breath and that curiosity asking, why am I reacting this way? Creates space. It creates a beat. In writing we call it a beat, where you, take a pause or an acting, so you take a beat, you take a pause.

Why am I feeling that way? We're just having a conversation. Or why am I feeling that way? I just had a test and I know it's fine. And often it's the past invading the present. Often we react that way because in the past, something triggered that kind of reaction in us, and we have repeated that in so many different times and places and situations and with different people that it's a habit.

What would be a, a better way to react? What would be a way that would make me feel better to react? And I'm not saying you choose to capitulate to whatever the other person's saying or that you choose to just not think about something that you need to think about. How could I react. What did I do in my medical testing today?

I sang myself a little song. It's about going with the flow. You know, it's my, one of my favorite singers is Fia, F I A. She's Scandinavian, but sings in English. And she's very spiritual and it's like a mantra. Her songs would become like mantras to me. Anyway, so I, I sang that to myself. I was in the room by myself for a few minutes.

In past situations, similar situations, I was able to stay calm. I was able to relax, which of course always makes things easier to deal with when you're relaxed. I was able to see the truth I knew within even though the tests were indecisive so far, and it allowed me to just be present in that moment and I let go of all concerns about what could be, what it might be.

And what was going on right now in that moment for me today was I was laying down on a very comfortable bed, and I was sure in my bones that I was fine. And I was able to be jovial with the staff and the doctors and, you know, it just was, it was easier and it was easier for them. And it was easier for me. And I walked out of there feeling very good about the situation and about the, the process.

I did not feel like I had any control over it. I felt a victim of my own emotions. I felt like other people had created this feeling within me. But I noticed that, I noticed that my throat was tight. I noticed that I was on the verge of tears for no good reason. I noticed these things about myself, and that noticing alone begins to shift things.

And so, once I got good at noticing, then I started to think, well, what if I could change this? What if it is such a superstar of a question? What if I could change the way I reacted? What would it take? And then of course, I've taken classes, I've worked with a lot of healers. I have learned a lot through my own healing work for my clients.

What am I telling myself inside about this? It's making me so crazy. And then once I got a little better at that, I did something that is a little uncomfortable to do if anybody else is home. But I would have conversations with myself in the mirror as if I were talking to somebody in one of these situations, and I would practice how I want to react.

It helped me to see the expression on my face, and I was able to really begin. To feel that change within when I chose not to react in the old way, but rather to react in a more useful way. Useful either because it kept me calm and I felt better. Useful because I was able to be present for the other person as opposed to planning what my next thought was.

What I was gonna say next to defend myself or whatever. I was able to be present. I was able to listen better. I was able to be calm. I was able to recognize my thoughts like I did today. Oh, I'm feeling really anxious about this, when there's really no reason to be.

That helped. Singing a song to myself, even if I didn't do it out loud, the lyrics were running in my head. That helped. It helped to shift my attention away from the thoughts I, that were not serving me well, and helped me to then have the space to choose better thoughts, to choose a better way to approach the situation, to react to the situation.

That was not a problem for me today. This is from years of practice. So now I find that I can do this in the midst of conversations, difficult conversations or places where I would be a little defensive about things that I don't need to be defensive about. I don't have to prove myself. I don't have to convince anybody else about my worldview.

So, I just wanted to share this with you because it's a really powerful. Way to grow as a person to grow in, in terms of taking yourself out of a victim mode or out of a blame mode or out of a judging yourself. I used to judge myself for not being able to manage my, my emotions. It wasn't my emotions; it was my thoughts that needed managing.

And that's a lot easier to do cuz your thoughts are what kind of generate the emotions a lot of times. I've also been learning to be in the present. So instead of borrowing from the past, what is that script? Why do I react this way? Because I've always reacted this way.

So, all of these things create more peace in my life. They create more easy. Bring easiness to relationships, whether it's friends or family or people at a, at a store. It allows me to let go of anxiety. It allows me to let go of fear. It allows me to let go of that feeling of not being in control of myself.

So, I just wanna encourage you to try this on, see if it fits you. And you know, if you don't like the way I have gone about doing it, find your own way of doing it. But it is a powerful thing that allows for a lot of room for growth, room for deeper understanding of self. Room for getting curious about other people as well.

Each week we come out with a new episode. Sometimes it is interviews and sometimes you just get me and my musings. If you have something that you would like me to talk about, I would love to hear from you. If you are watching this on YouTube, you can leave me a comment in the section below, and if you are listening to this on a podcast, then you can email me at laurin@heartlightjoy.com.

Keep in mind, it's Laurin with an I. L A U R I N @heartlightjoy.com. Look forward to seeing you next time. In the meantime, choose good thoughts and stay curious.

If you want to know more about me or my intuitive energy healing practice Heartlight Wellness, please head over to my website. www.heartlightjoy.com.

Curiously Wise is a team effort. I am grateful for the skill and enthusiasm. Arlene Membrot, our producer and Sam Wittig, our audio engineer bring to this collaboration. Our music is Where the Light Is by Lemon Music Studio.