It’s All Part of It
It’s all part of it.
That’s a phrase that a coworker and I from my Hospice days used to use on the regular. What does it mean? It’s all connected. Death, taxes, sex, money, relationships, politics, all of it.
So this month I’ve been thinking a lot about how once you get good at practicing interoceptive awareness you start to notice a clarity and even a shift in your attitude and awareness in other areas of your life. And that means opportunity and growth.
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Interoceptive awareness is quite simply the ability to perceive the physical sensations that arise from within your body. Sounds simple. Takes practice to do. Especially if you’ve spent years ignoring or suppressing those signals. The good news? With practice those signals come back! You’ll get better and better at listening to them over time.
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Let’s talk about sex, ba-by (if you’re of a certain generation you’ll sing the rest of this with me). If you don’t know what I’m talking about google “Salt-N-Pepa”. You’re welcome. Ok back to the sex talk. Dan Harris and the Ten Percent Happier Podcast had a great episode out recently entitled, “Mind-Blowing Sex with Dr. Lori Brotto” in which they reference the importance of mindfulness and interoceptive awareness. It turns out that learning how to get in tune with your body and its sensations can improve more than just your relationship with food. (I can feel my referrals pouring in as I write this). It’s TRUE. And also, it doesn’t hurt to work with a sex therapist if you’re feeling stuck. Think about it for a moment. If you’re stuck in body shame, worried about how you look or how your partner thinks you look, you are not fully in the moment. Now consider how things might be different if you could let go of that worry and body shame. Enough said.
And then there’s money. Ooooohhhhh, our relationship to money can be a LOT like our relationship to food. As Jen Sicero says in ‘You are a Badass at Making Money,’ “we love money, hate money, obsess over money, ignore money, resent money, hoard money, crave money, bad-mouth money.” See? Insert the words “food” or “sex” in place of “money.” When we start to get really clear on what we want to do with our money and what our money can do for us, things start to shift.
What happens when you start to notice the ways that we talk about money, food and sex?
It’s all part of it. Here are a few book and podcast recommendations around sex and money which I have found helpful and informative. I’m sure that I don’t have to say that this is clearly not an exhaustive list – but might get you started. Also – to my editor sister (and anyone else) I apologize for probably not following the correct citation format. I’m going for ease of reading.
On topics around sex and relationships:
Books: Come As You Are, by Emily Nagoski; Mating in Captivity, by Esther Perel
Podcasts: Where Should We Begin, by Esther Perel
Other resources: OMG Yes – a website dedicated to replacing taboo about sex with healthy, honest truths.
On topics around money:
Books: Women and Money, by Suze Orman; I Will Teach You to Be Rich, by Ramit Sethi; You are a Badass at Making Money, by Jen Sincero; The Soul of Money, by Lynne Twist (I haven’t read her book but I’ve heard her speak and she’s phenomenal), We Should All Be Millionaires, by Rachel Rodgers
Podcasts: I Will Teach you to be Rich Podcast with Ramit Sethi; Hello Seven with Rachel Rodgers; Women and Money with Suze Orman
I hope you’ve enjoyed this info and found it thought provoking and helpful. Please take a minute to sign up for my not-super-regular, semi-random email. You’ll find out about exciting new developments such as group coaching and other cool things that could change your life.
XOXO,
Coach Beth