Saying stuff out loud is a vulnerable act. But alchemy can occur, too.
Dots can be connected, allowing patterns to appear. Clarity and new ideas start to flow.
What’s waiting for you to speak into a greater understanding?
Everything I do is built around these three words: nurture then manage.
We need to nurture ourselves in small, regular and often creative ways, before we can handle the stress in our lives.
Why? Because when we’re stressed we end up starving the part of the brain that takes more considered decisions.
Until our fight-or-flight response is soothed, trying to manage ourselves is like trying to turn down the oven in a kitchen that’s currently on fire; misguided, inefficient, and somebody’s gonna get burned.
Luckily, self-compassion is our emotional fire brigade:
- Self-kindness is being friendly, generous and considerate towards ourselves. Unlike numbing, which often leaves us feeling guilty, self-kindness and soothing leaves us feeling restored, renewed and peaceful.
- Mindfulness, which simply means paying attention. By noticing our thoughts and how we feel with a gentle curiosity, we can recognise that we’re something separate from our thoughts and emotions.
- Common humanity means accepting that we’re only human, and that we’re not alone in being human.
We all feel scared, a failure, too much or not enough in various areas of our lives. The shame of those feelings keeps us isolated and disconnected from ourselves and others.
It’s common humanity which helps us to know that what we fear set us apart from others actually connects us to others, through shared feelings and experiences.
I regularly teach through The Museum of Happiness through their Happiness Facilitator Training and their Happy World Club, and am available for speaking engagements/workshops.
I also offer 1-hour “sand-pit” sessions for exploring ideas, experiences and insights, on a testimonial/pay from the heart donation model. Please contact me for more details.
The Pearse Polyvagal Habitats Theory
I’ve developed a hybrid of polyvagal theory and compassion focused therapy to create a new psychoeducation model.
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“Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much.”
Helen Keller
About Me
I’m Anya Pearse, an intuitive adviser, compassion-focused positive psychology educator and consultant, and Head of Positive Psychology at The Museum of Happiness.
Let The Love In 