Michel E. Spruance - Emerge Mindfully: Less Stress and More Joy from Difficult Times

EMERGE MINDFULLY

Less Stress and More Joy from Difficult Times

MICHEL E. SPRUANCE

Copyright 2022 Michel E. Spruance.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means,
graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by
any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the author
except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

Balboa Press

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views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

The author of this book does not dispense medical advice or prescribe the use
of any technique as a form of treatment for physical, emotional, or medical
problems without the advice of a physician, either directly or indirectly. The
intent of the author is only to offer information of a general nature to help you
in your quest for emotional and spiritual well-being. In the event you use any
of the information in this book for yourself, which is your constitutional right,
the author and the publisher assume no responsibility for your actions.

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ISBN: 978-1-9822-7797-0 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-9822-7799-4 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-9822-7798-7 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2021924849

Balboa Press rev. date: 03/18/2022

This book is dedicated to my family. You are my constant teachers day in and day out. I strive to live this work because I love you. Thank you for your incredible love and support. And to the ancestors and teachers who came before me: thank you for lighting the way.

CONTENTS

T his book is a love letter to the world. What I want for you, for me, for our world, is that we can live into our potential as kind, brilliant, loving beings. I feel moved to share this curated set of mindfulness tools that I believe can uplift us to build a world we want, rather than return to a world that was.

Everything in this book is an offering from my heart and my own experience. As I strive to live mindfulness each day, I learn, I grow, and I stretch. I am on this journey with you, and I use every single tool in this book in my own lifesometimes well, sometimes poorly.

I offer these tools because they work. With practice over time, my life becomes more joyful and less difficult. And sometimes, in a moment, these tools can shift me from despair, fear, and sadness to deep, deep delight and peace.

On that note, I invite you on this journey of emerging with me, creating a new world for yourself moment by moment, piece by piece.

WHY THIS BOOK? WHY NOW?

Y ou deserve to live a fulfilled and joyful life. It doesnt mean that it is always straightforward or simple, and it certainly doesnt mean you wont experience difficulty and hardship. A fulfilled and joyful life includes traveling through dark winters as well as bright summers, and all of the transitions in between.

When you nurture yourself with kindness through your winters of difficulty, chaos, uncertainty, or despair, you renew yourself and step back into the world stronger and more alive than before.

If youve picked up this book, some part of you is calling to be nurtured into something new. Perhaps you found this book while recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic, or perhaps you found it while in a life transition such as a job change or divorce. Perhaps you are experiencing what feels like your own very dark time, and this book appeared, and you arent even sure why exactly.

And yet, something in you is stirring. You sense spring will follow winter, and you are curious about how to reemerge in a way that feels authentically alive and less at the whim of the world. Eyeing a new reality, you tiptoe back into the world, and this book is meant to help you emerge from difficult times into a new, healthy normal that you choose .

Throughout this book, Ill reference the pandemic of 20202021 as a shared experience. You can apply all of these lessons to your personal transitions or challenges. No matter your personal story, the practices in this book will help you imagine living vibrantly, giving you practical tools to have less stress and more joy as you build your life on your terms.

What is interesting about referencing the pandemic of 20202021 is that it has been a shared global experience. Over time, we are emerging into our old world, and that world is not the same world we had left. And this process is cyclical, providing the perfect example of how to emerge into the life you want from any difficult or uncertain time.

As we find our way forward from the pandemic, Ive spoken to so many folks who are scared in one way or the other. What if this happens again? Can I trust the vaccine? Can I trust the people who dont take the vaccine? What if my company never goes back to the office? What if my company tells me I have to go back before Im ready? What does all this mean for schools? Will my business survive next year? I dont want to go back to the way it was before. Most folks are exhausted.

And the rules are still shifting, just as they have been since March of 2020. All of that uncertainty causes stress. Im not talking vaguely about stress here. Im talking about the real physiological fight-or-flight reaction that is constantly triggered in your nervous system as you try to navigate these perpetually changing waters.

And here is the thing: even if you are reading this years past the pandemic, when you are in your own difficult winter or challenging transition, it feels just like all of what I described above. Often you will not know who to trust or what to trust. Youll lose sleep and feel isolated. Youll exhaust yourself. This is how stress occurs. This is the human condition.

Because the human condition is timeless, the practices in this book are timeless, and they offer an effective antidote to the stress response. Here youll be given simple tools you can use to clear the stress out of your nervous system instantly. Youll enjoy exercises created to help you step back into your life so that it feels like you are choosing your life rather than just surviving it.

Im not promising unicorns and rainbows, although rainbows are always a possibility. I do promise that if you try the strategies in this book, youll very likely sleep better, be happier, and make more life-affirming choices as you navigate the continued flux of our world. These are timeless and proven strategies packaged to make a difference for you right now.

You deserve to define what reemerging into a new world looks like. You need not be at the whim of fear, reactions, and anxiety. You can make healthy choices to stay grounded and move into the world intentionally, in a way that nourishes both you and your community.

WHATS HERE TO
SUPPORT YOU?

I own a yoga studio in downtown Seattle, right in the heart of what has been the deserted land of Amazon employees since March 1, 2020. As my employees and I have worked to keep this small business afloat, weve noticed that things have seemed to shift about every three weeks. Three weeks also seems to be a timeframe that folks feel they can commit to without being overwhelmed.