Today's exercise uses emotions and a colour visualization to help connect with the present if you are experiencing things like isolation, depression, or disconnection.

Then we will continue this week's theme of using anger as a valid way to find your way towards collective and meaningful sustained action.

Credits, contact, and more info

This podcast series was created, written, edited, produced and is hosted by Jen deHaan.

Jen has a Certificate of Graduate Studies in Developing Healthy Communities: Nutrition, Behavior, and Physical Activity from Tufts University, a degree in adult education in the arts, and various certifications and experience in group fitness instruction.

Artwork, logo, and graphics: Jen deHaan.

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Transcript: On episode pages found here.

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This podcast is a StereoForest production. Made and produced in British Columbia, Canada.

The content provided in this podcast is for informational and educational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. This podcast is not a substitute for professional mental health services, therapy, counselling, or medical care. The views expressed are personal opinions and experiences, and individual results may vary. If you have specific mental health concerns, please consult with qualified healthcare professionals. We have some resources to get started here to search for local resources. Please see this page on our site for more info.

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This is a Stereo Forest production from StereoForest

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.com.

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Information, resources and opportunities to support the show

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and connect with others are available at StereoForest

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.com slash Daily Reconnect.

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This podcast is for informational and educational purposes

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only and is not a substitute for medical

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advice, diagnosis or treatment.

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If you have specific mental health concerns, please

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consult with a qualified healthcare professional.

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Now, on to the show.

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In today's episode, we will practice an exercise

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that uses emotions and a color palette to

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connect with the present and then we'll explore

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how to use anger again, our theme of

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the week, to motivate us towards shared goals.

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Welcome to The Daily Reconnect.

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It's now March 12th and I'm your host,

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Janda Han.

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This quick session aims to bring you back

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to the present moment when you're feeling disconnected

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or adrift from reality.

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Together, we will rediscover our place in this

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unpredictable world, our physical bodies and our wandering

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minds.

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Let's reconnect with what's real and present here

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today.

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After we complete this exercise, we will gather

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the strength within us to tackle our day

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and continue navigating what is often a struggle

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life in these fairly wild times for many

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most.

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Anyways, let's take the elements that resonate during

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the following exercise and you can leave behind

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anything that doesn't work for you.

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Modify whatever you need to while we progress

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through the exercise.

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You are not required to follow anything exactly.

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I'm giving you full permission here to adapt

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and improvise.

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Something doesn't click, just let my voice be

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the thing that you hear and connect with

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or find your own path to connection.

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This is your moment for you to re

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-center and reset.

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Today, we're using emotions in order to reconnect

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with ourselves so we can connect with each

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other.

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Any environment you are in is fine for

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this exercise as long as you can take

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a moment for yourself.

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You can be seated or standing or walking

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at a comfortable, sustained pace of your choosing.

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So find that comfortable position or pace and

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take a few deep breaths before you begin.

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And now let's bring your attention to your

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emotional state.

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Notice how you're feeling in this moment.

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Is there like a dominant emotion or a

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mix of emotions going on?

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Allow yourself to acknowledge and accept your emotions

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without any judgment.

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And it's also okay to use an approximation

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of your current emotions or use prior days

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to inform what you might be feeling.

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Delayed processing emotionally is real for many of

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us and it's also a valid experience.

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Now imagine that each emotion has a color

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associated with it.

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For example, joy might be yellow or sadness

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might be blue or maybe anger is red.

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Allow yourself to see these colors for your

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current emotions in your mind's eye and just

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notice how they might interact with each other

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or overlap.

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Now notice any insights that might arise from

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what you notice from this palette or notice

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that there might be a lack of one.

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If it is difficult for you to understand

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your current emotions or perhaps it just doesn't

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make sense or it's too stressful to assign

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the colors, know that this is entirely valid

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as well and it's also an important thing

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to notice.

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And continuing with this visualization, imagine that you

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can use color to heal and balance your

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emotions.

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Perhaps you can surround yourself with a soothing

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green light to calm your anxiety.

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You can try using this technique in order

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to help reconnect you during times of the

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day where you feel disconnected from reality or

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you notice yourself dissociating.

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Imagine a color that might be able to

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bring you back to the present moment or

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help you analyze what's going on or address

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any anxiety.

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And finally take another deep breath and when

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you're ready open your eyes if they're closed

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or bring yourself back to this present space.

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Notice how you feel and take this sense

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of emotional awareness to help you throughout your

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day.

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And now we will continue on to some

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motivation.

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So as our exercise comes to a close

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and you find yourself reconnected to this present

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moment, I invite you to notice any anger

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that you might be feeling or remember any

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anger that you may have felt during the

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recent days or weeks if that's something that

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isn't present for you today.

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Your anger might be a quiet smoldering feeling

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or perhaps it's an intense fiery feeling or

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perhaps it's momentarily absent because we're dissociated.

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But as you recognize it, it might be

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a frequent visitor in your days right now.

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Our world gives us plenty of reasons to

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be angry.

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We have these economic systems that prioritize a

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few people's profit over the basic needs of

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many.

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We have so much political everything going on

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right now that point the finger at vulnerable

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communities quite frequently and that might be some

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of us.

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We have environmental destruction continuing and the personal

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impacts of these systemic failures, they show up

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in our days every day, in our financial

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stress, in our health struggles, in our communities

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that are fractured apart right now.

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And despite what you might have been told,

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feeling angry about these real things in our

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lives doesn't mean that you've failed at being

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mindful or failed at meditating or failed at

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being present.

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Quite the opposite.

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It means that you're paying attention to what's

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going on right now.

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It means that your moral compass is functioning

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just as it's supposed to as a human

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being.

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The problem isn't that you're angry.

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The problem is that we've been conditioned to

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experience anger alone, in isolation, to see it

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as a burden that we individually have to

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manage and process alone or suppress in so

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many of our communities and situations in the

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workplace and so on.

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We're taught that anger is unprofessional or unattractive

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or inappropriate.

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And these messages often serve a purpose for

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someone because isolated anger rarely leads to things

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changing.

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So what happens when we bring our anger

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into a relationship with other people, around other

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people, when we gather and honestly name what

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we're angry about?

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Something happens.

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Something transformative.

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We discover patterns in our individual experiences.

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We begin to trace these patterns back to

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their systemic roots.

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And most importantly, we begin to imagine or

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come up with ideas for collective responses.

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So today, I encourage you to take your

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reconnected presence and use it to reconnect with

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other people through authentic conversations.

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Share what you're angry about, not as a

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complaint, but as an offering, a piece of

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your truth, some vulnerability that might resonate with

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someone else's experience.

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And as you listen to the responses to

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other people's anger, notice the shared values that

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emerge amongst you.

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Are you all hungry for more meaningful connection

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or economic security or for a sense that

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your contributions are valid or valued or matter?

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Are you looking for sustainable relationships with the

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environment?

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These shared values are the foundation upon which

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movements for change are built.

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Remember that every significant social transformation throughout history

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began with people coming together to name their

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shared pains and their shared dreams and their

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shared values.

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Reasonable work days and voting rights and environmental

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protections, none of these things came from people

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suppressing their anger, but from communities coming together

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and channeling it towards very specific collective goals

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that are sustained until they're reached.

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Your anger is telling you something very important

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about your values, so let's listen to it.

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When joined with other people who share them,

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it becomes a renewable source of energy for

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creating that concrete change, for continuing over time.

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It helps you persist when the work gets

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really difficult.

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It keeps you honest when compromises seem easier

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than transformation.

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So as you move throughout your day today,

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I invite you to carry both your centered

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presence, your connection with reality, and your honest

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anger as tools for reconnection with yourself, with

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other people, and with the possibility of a

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world that can be aligned with those deepest

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values that we share.

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You are not alone in what you feel,

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and together we can contain the wisdom and

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the power needed to create meaningful change.

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You are here, you're capable, and there is

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great power within us connected again, and the

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world is so much better with you in

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it.

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So that's it for today.

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It's Wednesday, March 12th.

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Thank you so much for joining me here,

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and let's connect again on Friday.

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Thank you for listening to The Daily Reconnect.

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Episodes are released on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday

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every week.

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This show was created, written, hosted, edited, and

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produced by Jen DeHaan.

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Links to contact information, ways to support the

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show, transcripts, the free newsletter, and our community

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discord can be found in the show notes.

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This is a Stereo Forest production.