This article is the third in a series of articles that focus on 
how you can effectively overcome negative self talk, emotional reactions, runaway thoughts and things that go bump in the night.
The gap is the space between thoughts. It’s your source of inner peace, joy, creativity and freedom.
I just got back from a walk in the wilderness with my baby boy. Not only was it a bonding father/son experience, it was also precious to commune with nature. We do this daily, and each time I return to the office uplifted and inspired.
Out in nature, finding the gap is easy, but what about when you’re stressed and out of time, and the only nature around is the wilting plant on your filing cabinet?
One of the gifts of nature is the calm and nurturing “space” that it creates in and around us. Although I highly recommend a good dose of that which only mother nature has to offer, as often as you can, there is another way to quickly and easily simulate that “space”.
You can switch your neurology into a similar mode to that which nature induces, anywhere, any time, by opening the aperture of your awareness. This literally means allowing more light into the periphery of your visual field. This is done by allowing your eyes to become aware of not only what’s directly in front of you, but also of what’s in the outskirts of your visual field. It’s a change from tunnel vision to open awareness, and the result is “space” (aka the gap).
By shifting your focus to include what’s in the periphery of your visual field you activate your nervous system’s parasympathetic arousal. While in the cool, calm & collected state that is associated with parasympathetic arousal, it is impossible for you to be fight-or-flight mode, meaning that any stress just went out the window (pun intended).
Open Awareness simplified:
While looking at whatever you’re looking at, allow yourself to also become aware of what’s in the far left and far right of your visual field. Don’t turn your head to focus on what’s in your periphery, just let that remain blurry in the outskirts of your awareness. Take a few moments to let your visual field expand. Your eyes don’t open more, you just let more light in, and begin to feel lighter.
If you’re in a heated discussion, whether, face-to-face or over the phone, notice that peripheral vision helps you compose your thoughts and become more present. If you’ve got a mental block, or performance anxiety, notice how peripheral vision enables you to relax and flow.
Adding open awareness to the breathing technique that you got in our previous Tip is the structure of the Cool, Calm & Collected technique, which is highly effective at enabling you to find the gap.
Find the gap, and you’ll find yourself. And you’ll find that you’re capable of more than you think!
Continue reading – Find The Gap – Part 4
Written by Jevon Dangeli – NLP Trainer & Coach
To watch a presentation of Jevon describing Open Awareness, see this video (Open Awareness – Holding Space in Coaching, Therapy & Life).
