SUBTLE: so delicate or precise as to be difficult to analyze or describe. (Oxford Languages).
The subtle is often beyond words – though poets, artists, and musicians come the closest to capturing the qualities of subtle. When creatives translate the subtle well, we feel it.
The subtle often eludes the capacity of our mental processing — but can touch something deeper within us, causing an inner stir of awakening. When we experience the subtle, often childlike curiosity arises.
How is the subtle and our nervous systems linked?
Subtly is experienced in the pause. The fast-paced over, stimulated ways of modern life have pushed experiencing the subtle to the outer edges, only discovered on rare occasions when we are forced to stop. Unfortunately, this same pace and lack of pause have short-circuited many people’s nervous systems resulting in anxiety.
When we slow down and pause with what is right in front of us, we remove the veil that separates us from the subtle, and our nervous system has the opportunity to restore.
3 Ways to Restore your Nervous System Through the Subtle:
- Pause – We must create pauses within our day-to-day to slow down and allow the subtlety of what is in front of us to land.
- Take time with masterful artists, poets, and musicians. Allow their creations to land deeply. Be still and allow this experience to unfold.
- Nature is an expert guide in reclaiming our ability to experience the subtle, as the subtle is one of the ways in which Nature speaks. When moving slowly or sitting in Nature, focus on what is right in front of you. With your attention in the present moment, allow the moment to unfold and the subtle to land on your heart.
As spring emerges, may you find subtle, and in this, your nervous system restored.
