Addressing the heart and mind blockage, and getting back in congruence

Written By Rachel Wahba-Dunkley

I'm in a cocooning phase - a time of intentional slowing down, resting, delegating things as I'm able to, moving my body, and regulating my nervous system. I know social media loves the term “nervous system regulation” right now and is using it as click bait, but I actually mean it!

Being a few weeks in, I'm realizing that it's been tough to get into the groove of it. I've been changing my routines and it's been really great, but my mind hasn't caught up yet. Cognitively I know I'm slowing down, but it hasn't translated to my emotions yet.

So if you're someone who can relate to that, knowing something in your mind but still having a tough time feeling like that thing is true in your heart, then welcome to being a human! 

Quick psychology nerd moment: typically when we know something to be true but have a difficult time internalizing it and feeling the truth of it, that means there's a blockage. Those blockages can be trauma, spiritual warfare, or simply the fact that your brain is learning something new and that process takes time. 

Whatever the case is, here's three things I’ve been doing to help my mind and heart be more in sync, and things you can do too…

Commune with God regularly

This can look like the standard devotional time (prayer and Bible reading), but it can also look like: breath prayers, prayer of examen, seeking spiritual direction, worship, lectio divina, spiritual location, or centering prayer. (If any of these interest you, let me know and we can chat! I'd be happy to share more info about these contemplative practices.)

The goal is to be with God and allow that time to fulfill you, anchor you, and release the tension in your internal world. Information about God is helpful, and we need to allow ourselves time and space to receive, embody, wonder about, and apply the information to our lives. That's where communing comes in, to allow yourself slow, unhurried moments to do just that.

For me, that's been looking like breath prayers, centering prayer, and lectio divina. I’ll confess to you that centering prayer has been a little bit harder for me, since it can be tough to silent my mind, but I’m reminded that the goal of centering prayer isn’t perfect silence the whole time, but rather to commune with God and to return as many times as needed. I’m still learning to receive that grace! 😬

Journaling

There's many ways to journal - bullet journaling, brain dump, prayer journaling, etc. - and what they all have in common is that you release the tension of your inner world through writing. Research shows that writing with your hand relieves more stress because there's an active, physical process going on as opposed to typing on a laptop or notes app. Just like working out helps you feel less stressed, it's the same with writing.

For me, I've noticed that prayer journaling is my thing. I usually start with writing “Hey God, I love you. Here's what's going on today" and then brain dump every thought (even the cringey ones) that comes to my mind. Sometimes it's a long bullet-point list, other times it's an essay. The format doesn't matter too much. What does matter is that writing is happening, allowing the thoughts to flow and help me connect to God in the midst of whatever's going on.

And for those of you who hate writing but still want the benefits of journaling, I invite you to try walking or moving your body while speaking to God. Think of it like audio journaling, but instead of recording it on your phone, you’re talking it out loud with God while moving your body. the underlying concept is still there - allowing your body to release the tension through movement and processing the information in a reflective way. (And, shameless plug to join us in The Soft Place where we do a lot of this!)

Asking people to pray for you

I know this is a hard one, but it's a reallyyyyy good one. A few weeks ago, I was going through a tough moment and really needed prayer. I texted a few people to ask them to pray for me, and immediately I felt a little better. Just knowing that I have people who I can reach out to for help provides relief, and then knowing that their prayers will help me provided relief too. It felt like help was on the way! They sent audio notes, offered phone calls, and let me know they were praying.

I think the key is to reach out to people who will actually pray for you. I mean this kindly, but not everyone who says “I'll pray for you” will actually do that. Likely because they have positive intentions but life be lifing and maybe they forgot. So think about reaching out to people in your life who you know will pray (and if you're looking for that, I invite you to come to our weekly prayer calls!)

I know it's a lot to think about. And when the mind-heart blockage occurs, it feels frustrating to have to “do” more to resolve it. So may this be an encouragement to you that you're able to manage difficult situations. Through the power of the Holy Spirit that lives inside of you, you're able to commune with God in the morning and feel the blockage lessen. You're able to spend your lunch time journaling and talking to God. You're able to join a prayer call and ask for prayer.

My prayer is that you believe it too friend. 💜

Need more support? Lemme help you sis:

  • The Soft Place where you can journal with God without the pressure to be perfect

  • Righteous Rage Room where you can vent without getting all the spiritual bypassing comments

Rachel Wahba-Dunkley
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