As summer’s sultry vibe settles in, time seems to slow and expand. We have places to go, things to do, people to meet, and yet the heat dictates a slower pace.

While this can feel frustrating when we are trying to get things done, it also provides an opportunity to reconsider the value of taking a slower, more deliberate approach. For healing and self-awareness, for example, softness, curiosity, and compassion can yield more subtle and profound rewards than aggressive action.

If your mind is feeling a bit noisy and cramped these days, or if you’re seeking inspiration or guidance and wondering why it hasn’t shown up, consider where in your day you might reclaim some pockets of time where you are not overloading your senses with someone else’s thoughts and ideas. Try driving, walking, or cooking without audiobooks and podcasts. Eat without talking, reading, or scrolling. If you find that quiet can send you into a ruminative loop, try “turning the channel” and opening your curiosity to your surroundings — pay attention to bodily sensations, ambient sounds and smells, interesting visuals in your environment. Open your senses so that your own creativity, inspiration, and intuition can get a word in edgewise.

If you've been to Luray Caverns in Virginia (pictured above), you know the surprising visual twist contained in this image. While this looks like a vast underground cavern covered in stalactites (mineral deposits hanging from the ceiling) and stalagmites (rising from the ground), that's not quite true.

In effect, I had gone swimming in a murky stew of panic, mistrust, fear, anxiety, and grief and had come home without cleaning off. (Hand sanitizer doesn't touch it!) I could have gone on feeling bad and radiating bad feelings to my family. These things are contagious. But it has made a big difference in my life to learn to distinguish the emotions and thoughts that are mine — up to me to experience and process — and the "debris" that is floating around and can glom on to any of us. Just awareness of a percentage gives me relief and perspective. What's mine I can deal with. The rest, I know to release.

One thing I have noticed in my work is that people often know exactly what is causing their pain, illness, or distress. It might be unhealthy habits, a trauma that hasn't fully healed, or a difficult situation they feel unable or unwilling to change