I grew up in a world of words.
Both my parents did their masters in linguistics. And loved the land of books and stories.
Reading, writing and talking quite a lot, came naturally.
And never went away.
It became one of the things that made me ‘me’.
Over the years, words did a lot for me.
Broadened my horizons, led me to interesting ideas, helped me articulate them and inspired me to learn…
But sometimes the things that ‘do a lot for us’ have a way of blindsiding us.
Because of all their pluses, we fail to see their minuses.
Or rather, we fail to see what we’re missing because of our over-reliance on them.
I could find words for almost anything.
So I never needed something beyond them.
Or so I thought.
It came as a surprise… in a time of change… that there was more to me than words.
This is an atomic essay I wrote about it:
This is my most engaged essay on Ship30 so far.
Took me less than half an hour to write.
For a while I wondered why it resonated.
I get it now.
Many of us do this.
Look for words and words alone.
A lot has been said about befriending the ‘voice in your head’.
But it’s equally important to know our silent parts.
Everything I’ve read about non-verbal communication is set in a social context.
They’re all about reading the room and getting better at interpersonal communication.
But what about wordless self-talk?
I’ve been exploring this for a year. And the deeper I go, the more I’m drawn to it.
More on this in coming issues!
Things I’m learning
My training in clinical hypnosis winds up in a month.
Busy time with assignments, exams and lots of unconscious banter😄
I’m doing the Internal Family Systems (IFS) online circle. The basic premise of IFS is that we are all multiple (with parts or sub-personalities) and that it’s normal & healthy.
So glad I joined. It’s an exciting place! Hoping to dive in deeper after June.
Books I’m reading
Supergut and Brain Maker
Both books talk about our microbiome- the many, tiny organisms living in us. Their role in health and disease, reclaiming a friendly gut flora and challenges along the road.
Brain Maker is more focused on ‘the gut as a second brain’ idea and the link of gut health with neuropsychiatric illnesses.
Supergut goes more into how SIBO (Small Intestinal Bacterial Overgrowth) and SIFO (Small Intestinal Fungal Overgrowth) contribute to many of our chronic diseases.
I’ll share more as I chomp through them 🥦
Someone just knocked on my door…
Went to check and found 2 mynahs😳
Couldn’t click a photo, got the roses in my garden as consolation : )
Heavy rain week!
Thanks for reading 😊
I’d love to hear from you. Get in touch on Twitter or at swarupa@skinandpsyche.com
If you like this, please share with a friend or two.
Talk to you soon,
Swarupa
Wow, I didn’t know that you were a linguist!
IFS is very interesting. I’ve been doing some work on my ‘parts’ and it’s going well for me. Hopefully, I’ll get to spend more time with it after my hypnosis training is completed : )