In our current days of Covid-19 it has been incredibly difficult to travel. If you want to go on that destination vacation despite our lockdown restrictions, today’s episode may be a little helpful.
How we may not be able to physically leave our local confines, we do in fact have the ability to trick our brains into feeling as if we are on a vacation.
Sit back, relax, and let Kathy and Jason walk you through, how you can get started on your own mental vacation.
Transcript
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kathygruver: hey everybody welcome back to the fire earth podcast i’m your co host Kathy group.
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Jason Mefford: And i’m Jason medford and today we thought we would take a vacation together.
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Jason Mefford: Oh might be asking why are we doing that, where.
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Jason Mefford: You know this whole.
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Jason Mefford: You know, an hour and 21 coven thing we can’t go anywhere and, yes, you know, we have not been able to travel like we have before and I felt it, you know my wife’s felt it we’ve we usually would have been traveling it’s been a long time, you know in fact.
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Jason Mefford: Actually uh i’ve slept in my own bad for like a year and a half, I haven’t really gone anywhere up until just except to see my mother in law.
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Jason Mefford: pretty much for a year year and a half, until this last trip that I just went on so.
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Jason Mefford: And I know that many of you might be doing the same thing right you’re going a little stir crazy it feels like groundhog’s day you’re like damn it, I just want to take a vacation I just want to go to.
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Jason Mefford: xyz wherever that happens to be so we thought we talked a little bit about some ways that you can go there, even if you physically can’t go there, right now, so.
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Jason Mefford: You got Kathy what are some suggestions you have.
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kathygruver: Well here’s what’s really cool about our brain our brain does not recognize the difference between what it’s thinking about and imagining and what’s actually happening.
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kathygruver: This is why, if you start to remember things from the past that are really upsetting you can actually put yourself back into that physiological stress response.
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kathygruver: If you think about the greatest thing that ever happened to you, those endorphins are going to go and you’re going to relive that.
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kathygruver: This is why we can get so into movies, like screaming he’s a good guy I don’t get it a cartoon we get so into it, we think we’re fighting the bad guys right along with Harry Potter right we’re in that with them or.
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Jason Mefford: We wake up actually like shuttered as.
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Jason Mefford: Well, yes.
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kathygruver: or it’s a horror movie I were watching a horror movie as a kid and screaming that Jason was on the roof of the car and it’s like they can’t they can’t hear me but you’re so into that with that you know they really listen to the audience as a screen right they’ve never go in that closet.
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kathygruver: So our brain just thanks those things are real, is why we can wake up from a dream and be like.
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kathygruver: Did you save me from that dragon you know I mean i’ve actually woken up matic people because it’s like there’s something happened in a dream.
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kathygruver: Or you feel incredibly guilty about something that happened in the dream I had a client that had a dream, he slept with his neighbor’s wife.
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kathygruver: And wanted to go tell the neighbor and i’m like no that’s a very bad idea let’s just keep that between us, let us know that it didn’t happen.
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kathygruver: let’s not open that up, but he felt this this huge amount of emotion for something that wasn’t even real so given all that you can go on a vacation in your mind.
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kathygruver: Everything part of you will think it’s a real thing, and you will find yourself more relaxed.
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kathygruver: more productive more ready to move on to the next next task, which is a great thing because, like you said day so right now I mean i’ve not been on a plane in a year.
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kathygruver: I am losing my mind my boyfriend have found ways to do little day trips we didn’t San Diego for a couple days we did a camping trip, we did cambria for a couple days.
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kathygruver: But it’s not the same as like getting on a plane and getting away to some location, that is really going to take you out of yourself, so we can do it in our minds.
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Jason Mefford: Well, in some of the ways that we could do it in our minds right, I mean there are, for example, some guided meditations some relaxation.
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Jason Mefford: You know hypnosis sessions other things like that that actually kind of walk you through that right so.
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Jason Mefford: So the one way is you know you just got to kind of settle yourself down there’s different ways to get there right but, but again if we’re relaxed, you know daydreaming is not a bad thing.
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kathygruver: yeah exactly.
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Jason Mefford: and especially the more senses, that you can bring into it right.
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Jason Mefford: The more that you’re actually going to be able to experience it.
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Jason Mefford: yeah I know I know I know for some people, you know you can close your eyes, being in you know, in a hypnotic trance or be very, very relaxed you close your eyes, you actually like vividly see things when I close my eyes, I see black.
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Jason Mefford: Right and so, for me, it’s a little.
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Jason Mefford: it’s a little different right but, but again I can sense things happening, even if I physically can’t see it, I can sense smelling something.
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Jason Mefford: Or, I can sense myself kind of moving you know, like if i’m walking down stairs or climbing up a mountain, you can kind of feel yourself doing it right, and so that, so the more that you actually do that, the more real it becomes to your subconscious mind.
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kathygruver: Absolutely absolutely and to your point about not being able to see something I have worked with hypnosis clients who cannot see what i’m describing.
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kathygruver: But they still get it, they can experience that, in their body.
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kathygruver: Just because you can’t visualize a lemon doesn’t mean you don’t understand the concept of a lemon you don’t have to Google when lemon looks like every time you go to the grocery store.
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kathygruver: You recognize there’s a part of your brain that goes to lemon that’s a dog that’s a stapler you know you don’t have to like a little thing to look that up and get a picture.
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kathygruver: So yeah I mean so often what i’ll say is visualize imagine picture or pretend, and just as an example, so let’s say your thing as the beach.
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kathygruver: If you want to go to the beach, you know you close your eyes and you can feel yourself sitting in that chaise lounge.
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kathygruver: And dig your toes in the sand past that warm sand and that sort of wet cool sand under there with all your toes you can feel all those little grains of sand.
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kathygruver: And you put your hand over the edge and you’re trailing your your hand and that sand and you feel the warmth and you feel the shells we feel all that sensation that texture.
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kathygruver: And you could feel the warmth from the sun, on your face is cool breeze walks by rules you just a little bit, and you can smell from down the beach that that.
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kathygruver: suntan oil smell that coconut oil, and you can take that inhale and smell that salty air from the ocean and that little spray that gets on your face.
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kathygruver: A little bit of salt on your lips, and you hear the ocean laughing on the on the beach, and you hear the goals ahead, and you can hear that breezes it goes by it.
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kathygruver: You know, the more you think that kind of thing you’re by thinks you’re on vacation like just that couple seconds of just doing that.
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kathygruver: Much more realized like I wouldn’t say they’re.
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Jason Mefford: Like I could taste the salt and.
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Jason Mefford: yeah you can feel you can feel the heat because that’s The thing is, even if you can’t.
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Jason Mefford: You know visually see it as your eyes are closed you your body still is sensing that those things are happening.
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Jason Mefford: And, and what Cathy just went through right there exactly you can go through, and you can do that yourself right.
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Jason Mefford: Now if if you just stop if you’re so analytical and you and you don’t start getting into the details and it’s not going to get you very far right i’m at the beach sitting in a chair.
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Jason Mefford: And if you just stop there.
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Jason Mefford: K you’re you’re at the beach what’s the beach like what color is the sand, is it warm is it cold right because there’s.
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Jason Mefford: But, but the more that you get into the details and again, you could tell the way you were talking, you were bringing in the different senses you feel the sun, on your face as you put your hand into the sand or your toes you feel the warm sand at the you know at the top, but as you.
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Jason Mefford: Stick your toes down in you get the.
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Jason Mefford: cool wet sand on the bottom right.
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Jason Mefford: If you’ve ever been to the beach you, you have experienced that right.
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Jason Mefford: And so just thinking about it in that detail takes your mind back to one of those previous experiences and if you are there.
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Jason Mefford: Again yeah let’s go again for five minutes 10 minutes half an hour whatever you can do it just gets you back to that place of how you can actually effectively go on a vacation in your mind.
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Jason Mefford: Absolutely whenever you choose to.
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kathygruver: yeah I customize it for you, if the beach isn’t your thing don’t go to the beach, you know I had a woman who she does stand up paddleboarding she loves to do it on rivers and lakes and things like that.
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kathygruver: And so I took her on this paddleboarding trip through this sort of mountain the past almost like.
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kathygruver: You know, with some little mountains river kind of running through very calmly, though, but she can see the you know the sheer cliffs on either side and.
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kathygruver: You know the feeling of the paddle hit in the water are doing that stroke and then changing and the feeling of the wood paddle in her hand and what it felt like on her feet as the water kind of went up over the board and.
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kathygruver: You know that’s The great thing about being able to customize these.
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kathygruver: When I do these in groups it’s harder because i’m just doing sort of blanket stuff and you know, maybe your beach looks different than my beach maybe it’s rocky black sand because you’re at this volcanic sand in the in Hawaii.
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kathygruver: So you know we’ll say something like you know see those things that you’re seeing.
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kathygruver: Because you know I don’t know what you’re saying you know, or if I take people through the woods and i’m like you know you feel the Chris please crunch, under your feet well, maybe for you, it was spring.
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kathygruver: And it’s misty and raining the warm smile on your face and maybe it’s a cloudy day you know so.
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kathygruver: The customizing it to you is so important, this is why I love doing these audios for people because we’ll talk about it, ahead of time and then i’ll create the perfect one, for you.
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kathygruver: This is something you you don’t need guided for you could absolutely do this yourself, and it will just take you away for a while yeah.
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Jason Mefford: yeah so that’s that I mean that is a great thing and again is as i’ve seen people kind of get stressed out, I mean I was talking to somebody last week, and she said, you know i’m an introvert I don’t mind being in my little house by myself.
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Jason Mefford: But after 11 months, you know it’s like for me it’s even a lot right, and so I know that so many of us are kind of feeling that way so so that’s it that’s a great thing you can do.
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Jason Mefford: Another thing you know that I was going to bring up to is you know give that a try, because it does work and it’s great, but if if if you’re if you’re not quite sure if you want to do that another thing that you can do.
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Jason Mefford: as well is watch TV or movies that put you in either that emotional state right So if you want to feel happy lovey, then you know romantic comedy might be a good thing to do to get you in that emotional state.
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Jason Mefford: But one of the things that we’ve done, you know as well is like I said, my wife and I we haven’t really traveled usually we’d go, you know, two or three times a year some place.
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Jason Mefford: we’d usually go back to Australia, because that’s from my wife is from you know once once every year year and a half, something like that, two years and we didn’t get to go back so you know watching she’s actually watching this show right now it’s like Australian outback truckers.
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Jason Mefford: Which is like it’s kind of an odd thing but it’s actually a pretty cool show i’ve sat down and watched it a.
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Jason Mefford: Little but why does she watched that because she’s seeing the scenery right of back home in Australia she’s hearing the the dialect right the the.
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Jason Mefford: The different ozzy accent, you know and a lot of the truckers sound a lot like one of her brothers, which is.
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Jason Mefford: You know fun too so so watching that show puts her in that state, you know where the same thing, where I like I like watching some documentaries.
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Jason Mefford: About you know different places and all where is that place and seeing the scenery there and then kind of imagining yourself.
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Jason Mefford: In that place right so again, we can pretend, and this is probably why you know books movies, are so great, because you get to escape the reality around you and get to pretend for a little while that you’re the other person.
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Jason Mefford: In the story and it’s perfectly cool it’s okay to do that, right now.
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Jason Mefford: If you’re escaping you know 23 hours a day, doing that then it’s probably a problem, but you know, take a little bit of time to actually do that whether it’s five minutes half an hour two hours you know watching a movie.
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Jason Mefford: yeah actually help again substitute for you the fact that you’re not physically able to be there, but you’re still able to sense it and go there in your mind as well.
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kathygruver: yeah and once a week I played dungeons and dragons which is this amazing escape because I got to create this character.
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kathygruver: That can do all this magic and all this anything you know and for a couple hours a week, a week.
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kathygruver: i’m thrust into this incredible world with a great storyteller and I get to have this whole other experience it takes me away from.
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kathygruver: Well i’m going to do this linkedin thing and I got I have clients that you know it’s it’s that that that healthy vacation you know cuz the smoking crack is getting expensive.
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Jason Mefford: yep.
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Jason Mefford: yeah so take a vacation in mind, we thought that would be helpful because again like I said i’ve i’ve seen people.
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Jason Mefford: Really stressed out freaking out when is this ever going to end Well let it end in your mind a little bit today right just go somewhere else today for a few minutes and.
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Jason Mefford: Even if physically can’t be there are bodies still senses it and, again, as you were listening to this is Kathy started, you know walking through our experience at the beach i’m sure all of you felt yourself get more calm you felt yourself there, even if just for a few minutes.
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Jason Mefford: How much of a difference, I can actually make in our lives.
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kathygruver: it’s all in your control it’s all in your power you just to make the choice to do it so go forth take a vacation i’m Kathy Griffin I could reach to Kathy gruber.com.
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Jason Mefford: And i’m Jason effort, I can be reached at Jason method calm and we’ll catch you on the next episode of the fire and earth podcast see yeah.
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yeah.
