Life is not always easy. That’s why it feels good to know there are other people out there looking out for us; sending us some good vibes. You guys do that for me, whether you know it or not. I feel your kindness even when I’m offline, and I thank you kindly for it.
But, as wonderful as you all are, I am still always looking for other sources of inspiration, and I am (as of late) totally open to signs from the universe. Such as the one that I received at the very beginning of the year when I asked my Viking Runes “is it OK to talk to imaginary mentors, such as Lagertha the Shield Maiden, as part of my New Year’s Revelation?” In reply, I received the rune of one-year-cycles, which has the symbol of two L’s on it (which I interpret as Linda & Lagertha working together):
[Image source: me]
Well, today’s post includes a new (kooky) idea that I came across and loved so much I just had to share it with you.
But first – a flash back to 2 years ago (!?) about a similar idea of letting fate or chance decide your motivational mantra. The post was about “gaining awareness” and included a graphic comparison of what I thought it felt like to obtain wisdom versus information overload:
[Image source: screen shots from (site since removed) & The Perfect Storm]
2 years on, and the painful spray-to-the-face idea feels more pertinent than ever. We get bombarded all day every day with information that the media giants think we need to know… NOW… and beep-beep… now… and… blippity-beep… now…
UGH.
The trick to managing the impact of the deluge is, in part, ‘the art of critical ignoring‘ which I’ve written about before, but I think it might also be the reverse: the art of focusing… but in a potentially non-critical, more intuitive way.
The post from 2 years ago included a ‘game’ that leaned into this leaning out of over-thinking. A traditional word-search matrix of letters is presented to you, but without the list of words that you are supposed to find. Instead, you let your eyes wander across the board, and the first two words that you find is the message you needed to receive today. I’ll pop it down below again for you to try. (There are 13+ words you can find, both HORIZONTAL & VERTICAL, plus part-words that come from those larger words. The original post (here) gives you more details if you’re curious.)
So – scroll down so that the whole letter-matrix below is visible, then take note of the first two words you see:
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[Image source: me]
How did you go? Did the two words resonate with you, or give you an impulse to do something, change something, feel something??
Yes?
Fabulous; enjoy!
No?
Well try this new idea that I just came across on an Instagram reel (I now can’t find the source – sorry!). It’s a little like Douglas Adams’ “The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy” in which 42 was the “Answer to the Ultimate Question of Life, the Universe, and Everything”.
I’m not sure why they changed it from 42 to 47, but they did… and I’m calling the trick: “Advice from page 47”. It felt particularly compelling because 4 is my lucky number (and 7 is my hubby’s). The ‘game’ goes like this:
- Pick up the nearest book to you
- Turn to page 47
- Read the top line (or first full sentence / whatever works best)
- take the sentiment on board as advice for the day
That’s it.
Here’s what I had on my bedside table:
“Katabasis: to hell with love” by R.F. Kuang, page 47, line 1:
“Now move your toes, ” she whispered.
Not just a sentence, a gentle instruction from an invisible she.
That might sound like some inconsequential advice, but for me it is pretty profound. I have learnt over the last couple of years that micro-movements can make a big difference to the way that our bodies (and our brains) process pain. I’ve written before about the need to unclench your fists, as well as having a go at both Foot Yoga and Tai Chi Walking to improve my pain management – but the simple instruction to “move your toes” has actually been my mantra for the last few days, and I’m super grateful for the reminder to keep dropping from my brain into my body.
I liked it so much, that I was tempted to try the game out on some more books… but I was also nervous about jinxing myself (as I did when I was younger playing with Tarot cards).
Me being me, I just couldn’t help myself… so I tried it three more times with books that were on my bookshelf right next to my desk:
+ “Suite Française” by Irène Némirovsky: try to calm him down. (Which actually had a lot to do with something else that was happening in my life at the moment, so thank you for that.)
+ “What we can know” by Ian McEwan: Everyone loved the poem. (Which had nothing to do with me or my life, but was the synopsis (in a way) of the whole book I had just finished.)
+ “Pride and Prejudice” by Jane Austen: “Thank you – but I always mend my own.” (Which came from Mr Darcy telling Miss Bingley to back off when she offered to fiddle with his quill… read out of context, but within the coded-context of the time, this snippet of an exchange suddenly seems blush-worthy… but no help for me today… unless it relates to the wider sense of mending my own health (a metaphor I have written about before in a post titled “on the mend” as well as the need to “save yourself“.)
OK – so the advice from page 47 may or may not work – but if I circle back to the original advice I received, before I was trying too hard, then the idea – “now move your toes” – works for me… and the fact that it was whispered, avoids the “now, now, now” bossiness I was trying to avoid from mainstream media.
Anyway – you try it – grab the nearest book and turn to the top of page 47 and let me know how you go!
Lastly, if you’re interested in further exploring where randomness and your subconscious can take you, here’s a few more of my posts you can use – pick a number from 1 to 7 in your head then scroll down and read that one:
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- (Subconscious) visualizing for healing
- Free-writing for migraines
- Carl Jung’s “Active Imagination”
- Dream analysis for migraines
- Angel number 5
- Runes, ravens, and self-reflection
- Jumbled Journal prompter
Take care taking care my friends,
Linda xox
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PS – the two words I saw in the word-search were “cover / master” – make of that what you will, especially given that I chose to (re)cover old material to (re)post and (re)master… and what of the fact that my eye read ‘cover’ when the original word was ‘discover’? Hmmm…
PPS – I tried looking at page 42 instead of 47 in my original book and it was nowhere near as useful… sorry Mr Adams.
PPPS – because I’m feeling all loved-up (and I keep forgetting to do it); here’s a blogroll of 8 blogs that have joined Team Mindful Migraine – thanks guys, welcome onboard:
Linnéa’s Adventures in Wonderland – Just another pretentious blog (she has chronic migraines too)
Boozilla: learning to fly one room at a time
Great Lakes Mindset | Outdoor Recreation & Adventure
The Mindful Migraine 
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