Having Sway: communicating with sway in our lives

My friend, Dana Ainsworth, created something called, The Wonder Club. She curates experiences to bring us back to a sense of wonder. Her events are heavily structured and developed in advance so that we are effortlessly tossed into a wild, chaotic, whimsical moment of deep connection with ourselves and with the group. That, is sway.

Again, we start with structure in order to find freedom. What are the structures, the skills and techniques, we practice so that we communicate with sway in our lives?

I can tell you mine:

• QUIET: Contemplative, quiet, short practice. I do a 15 minute quiet meditation and breathing from the Rick Hanson’s Foundations of Well-Being. This is like a warm drop of amber liquid, building up over time, calming my nervous system.

• MOVEMENT: Exercise 45 minutes 4 times per week online with the phenomenal Sabrina at Beyond Fitness with Sabrina and a Sunday Hike (the hike is new for 2024).

• SELF-KNOWLEDGE: I see a phenomenal therapist on and off when a growth spurt demands. I write in a journal, but this can make me too self-focused and perseverate over things, so I watch it. Mostly, I am working to move from “knowing” and “understanding” to “being” and “behaving” in many realms. It’s fine to know we can’t control others, but give it a try!

• SKILLS: I work on avoiding Gottman’s Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse in my communication. And Harriet Lerner’s Dance of Anger is a lighthouse reminding me to pull away from dysfunctional dances in relationships. Again: let go of control, trust others to take care of themselves and know I can only control me.

What do you practice in order to have sway in your life?