Cultivating a Deep Life

This may sound counterintuitive, but the whole point of doing inner work is to slowly turn your focus away from yourself and out into the world. There are at least two problems with the current ethos of mental health. First, mental health is still too much of a stigma. Second, many assume that mental health is about a constant state of looking inward. Both are unhelpful.

As I always tell my clients, the goal is to graduate from your current challenge(s) and on to bigger and better challenges! The purpose of finding freedom from anxiety and fear is not to keep looking for more of it or always checking to see if it’s still there. That’s not what my clients want. They want to release the anxiety and fear, so they can follow their dreams and goals. So, this is the true purpose behind discovering and maintaining mental health.

The most successful and profound way to maintain mental health and move out toward the world from your center, is to cultivate a deep life. The deep life propels you forward into meaning and joy.

A person who cultivates a deep life: 

• Finds and builds community
• Practices mindful eating and exercise
• Creates time for some form of meditation and silence
• Seeks regularly time in nature
• Engages with stories and ideas through books, podcasts, film, and art
• Listens to inspiring music
• Practicing kindness to others and one’s self
• Gives generously to others
• Habitually practices creative acts

Perhaps the best way to describe the deep life is that it’s the opposite of escaping, of checking out. Those of us who live a deep life are in the moment, present, hopeful, kind, and loving. It’s never too late to begin cultivating a deep life.