Retaining focus and the power of screaming into the wind
Pinch and a punch for the first of the month! White rabbits! No return. Boom! 🐇
I feel like this week has flown by following the Create Your Own Reality retreat I hosted last weekend (see retreat highlights on Instagram here). It was so delightful to return to Ty Mam Mawr – Welsh for ‘House of the Great Mother’ – and see the land in full summer abundance.
The food was amazing, with help from my husband Mike and dear friend Laura. We had fresh cold press juices that we made on site each day (I have been LOVING my new juicer! So I brought it onto the retreat with me).
I’m also so grateful to my co-host, Craig Seaton. It’s powerful to create these spaces together. And each retreat is different! We’ve had some attendees come to all three Create Your Own Reality retreats that we’ve hosted. Their growth has been genuinely phenomenal! And all in just the space of 8 months.
I’m definitely feeling the summer vibes of movement, growth and vibrancy! So let’s go shall we? Here’s this week’s Friday Feels, with snippets from my world of coaching, meditation and breathwork – with the intention to share information that brings joy, wonder and self-reflection.
1. Song of the week
Good Morning by Max Frost (listen on Spotify and YouTube)
At the start of my coaching sessions we dance! A one-track boogie to get the body moving. It’s a simple act to connect to each other, welcome in joy, get the blood and oxygen flowing and also shake off any funk. This is a pumping track for the morning! Good morning, indeed!
2. Quote of the week
“What if we were exactly what’s needed? What then? How would I live if I was exactly what’s needed to heal the world? These are very important questions.”
— Rachel Naomi Remen, On Being
YOU are what’s needed. It’s easy to think the world is fucked and put the blame elsewhere. What is it like to take responsibility for your life and what’s unfolding?
My own internal pendulum swings between feeling empowered, focused on creating a beautiful life and embracing the here and now, to feeling disillusioned, freaked out about the future and unsure of myself. I take comfort in knowing that there’s nothing new about what we are experiencing. Sure, the backdrop to our unfolding human drama is new. But the struggles and pains of the generations alive today echo what has been. It always has.
The German philosopher Hegel outlined how humanity’s progress is always messy and seems to lurch wildly from one side to the other, staggering forward in some kind of progress. This School of Life video is worth bookmarking or nipping out of this email now to watch (if you feel angst about the future, this is a hard recommend for you to watch! I think it’ll settle your nervous system).
If I allow myself to drop into a sense of personal responsibility – that I am radically responsible for my life and the choices I make – I feel empowered. So what if we were exactly what’s needed? What if everything is unfolding exactly as it should? Maybe to trigger us into inspired action? Or to create enough chaos to wake us up? How would you live if you were exactly what’s needed to heal the world? These are, indeed, very important questions.
3. Practice of the week
Screaming into the wind!
At the retreat this weekend, the group had a long conversation over coffee and a beautiful breakfast seasoned with foraged blueberries and elderflowers. Gradually the conversation shifted to Roe vs Wade. The energy built, as the women on the retreat shared their stories of their own challenges in the patriarchal system. Instead of just brushing it under the carpet, I decided we should work with the energy that was here. During the retreat, Craig and I have a plan which we can deviate from, if we intuitively feel something else would serve the group better.
Craig and I led the group up into the hills. Across bushy heather, scrambling over rocks, with the desire to get to the highest point. The wind got stronger the higher we climbed, eventually following no path. We led the group in 3 rounds of holotropic Breathwork along with drumming. At the end of each round, we invited them to tense the body as tight as they could (screw up the face, tight jaw, shoulders up, glutes clenched, fists tight) and then release the breath and body with sound.
Their screams and roars were whipped away by the wind, followed by sobs. Often anger is the precursor to fear and sadness. As the anger was released, the healing tears of sadness had space to come through. Each person broke down in their own authentic way. The sense of peace that was there at the end was profound. And we finished the day, sitting by the fire, telling stories and laughing until our faces and bellies hurt. What a rollercoaster! When our big emotions can be safely held, it’s amazing how much we can process and let go of.
Give it a go sometime. If you are feeling worked up, find a space in nature or somewhere private and shout and stomp and let it all out! Just be gentle on your vocal chords + body.
4. Teaching of the week
Why You Can’t Pay Attention (& How To Reclaim Focus) Johann Hari interview on the Rich Roll podcast.
I remember working in social media back in 2011. I was sitting in a conference room with grey haired men in grey suits, taking part in social media training for big pharma companies (I was working on a gene therapy client). I was the only woman in the room and the only person under 45 years old. I recall the grey haired men rolling their eyes during the training, scoffing how Facebook was really just a fad.
Fast forward 11 years later, and the huge and deep impact of social media is a pressing topic of our time. From how it influences our politics, and the mental health of our children, to shortening our attention spans. This interview with Johann Hari by Rich Roll is an interesting romp around our stolen focus. I personally can name 12 adults who’ve self-diagnosed or formally been diagnosed with ADHD in the last 6 months alone. Our environment shapes us greatly, so I can’t help connecting the dots to our patchy focus and tech use.
How is tech shaping your life? I consider my head space a sacred space! And our conscious awareness is like our super power. Given my love of mindset work, and insider knowledge about social media, I have quite clear and firm boundaries around tech use. Sure, I am not perfect with it and can fall into mindless scrolling if I am not vigilant. It’s something I help my clients with as well, so they can use social media as a tool to earn money rather than as a time and energy drain.
I am a big fan of Cal Newport who has similar work to Johann Hari. I mentioned Cal Newport in a previous Friday Feels from May 2022 here, which you’ll want to check out if you respect your sacred head space.
5. Client win of the week
“it felt really good – I noticed my body bracing for a “no” with the worry of old childhood patterns around money… but the exact opposite happened!”
How do you feel about debt? For many people there can be a lot of shame and anxiety, which can really rattle personal growth. But does it need to be that way?
I’m guiding a group through a powerful mindset coaching programme, Thinking Into Results. One of the lessons focuses on how we often don’t do what we know how to do. And this can impact our results, as well as create frustration. Because we realise we are not doing what we already know!
One of my clients recognised that she was procrastinating taking action on her finances. She had the shame of debt lurking over her, so she was reluctant to do more than she had to. It was a clear gap in her performance, which stemmed from her childhood conditioning around money and not getting support.
After our coaching session and despite the fear being present in her body, she made the decision to lean in and have various conversations with her bank and credit card provider to restructure her debt. Following that action, not only did she get the ideal offer she wanted but she got new business that same day! She had someone reach out to her – a totally new person she’d never met – and they paid up front for 6x sessions.
There’s a fundamental law in the universe which is action – reaction (read more on this law here). Take responsibility, take action and have an equal reaction! And this is what happened here. I’m super proud of her courage to lean into the discomfort and level up, and get rewarded straight off the bat! This is how you get to transform your relationship with money and financial success in a powerful way.
Are you curious about working with me?
Coaching: I have a couple of coaching spots available, so get in touch to learn more about working together. Or read more here. From business coaching to life coaching, and career transformations and recovering from stress/burnout.
Manchester Psychedelic Festival (14th – 17th July): I’m hosting breathwork and meditation workshops at this special weekend festival. Check out details and book tickets for any of the events here.
Rewilding retreat (3rd – 4th Sept, Newquay): Surf’s up! I am supporting this beautiful retreat with yoga, surfing and breathwork. Check out details and tickets here (It has totally been a goal of mine to do more with retreats + the sea so I was very excited to be invited to be part of this – yay for rocking goals!!)
That’s it for this week’s Friday Feels!
Big love,
Briony x
P.S. If you’ve never read one of these blog posts before, oh hey! 👋
Friday Feels is a weekly newsletter and blog where I share inspiring things from my world of coaching, meditation and breathwork. It’s my honour to share what I know and am passionate about. Thanks for sharing this space with me.
And I’d love to hear from you! Any cool things you’re studying and learning about spirituality, personal development or just general life stuff, please do share! I can even feature it in a future Friday Feels email and give you a shout out x
I run my free weekly breathwork sessions, every Wednesday at 8pm UK time. Here’s the Zoom link – pop it in your calendar, so you can join whenever you feel like it.
Photo by Ben Mack: https://www.pexels.com/photo/sky-with-fluffy-clouds-in-sunset-5707682/
