Have you had a joy snack today? It’s when you stop to take in something that might otherwise go unnoticed but when you pay attention, you get a bite of joy. I’d never heard of joy snacks before this podcast conversation I had with meditation and yoga teacher, and massage therapist, Deirdre Wilcox, but tidbits like this are just one reason that she’s one of the people I regularly go to for wise counsel. And in this episode of the podcast, Deirdre and I talk about the power of the pause.
Deirdre talks about the pause she implements when we converse, the moment to let a question sink in so that she can respond in a thoughtful way that is more in-line with her wise mind. We talk about how pauses can help us when our buttons are pushed so that we can work to build bridges instead of walls with the people we love. Or in the cases where building walls is the most appropriate course of action, that we do it intentionally.
Deirdre introduces me to the idea of interosception – the way the mind perceives and gathers all the available input from the body – and how pauses to allow that to work to create freedom from our 1st level reactions into more accurate responses that are in-line with our deeper wisdom.
In this episode, we hear about the breath practices that help us to align with small pauses. In the breath, we can find ways to notice all the pauses in life around us – in the ocean, the lunar cycle, the solstices and find a way to anchor our natural pauses.
At the end of our time together, Deirdre describes a few small pauses she takes in a day to notice and remember what is around and how these short moments of mindfulness can help to slow our race through life and instead enjoy the here and now.
This is a great episode about using an extra beat to access better information, respond with more care, and pay closer attention. I know you’ll love it.
Episode 134: Perfect with P.J. Gudka – Sharing the Heart of the Matter
Search (and subscribe!) for Sharing the Heart of the Matter on Apple, Amazon, Spotify or Pocket Casts OR Listen to on Anchor Episode 27: The Power of the Pause with Deirdre Wilcox
Links for this Episode:
Episode 27: The Power of the Pause with Deirdre Wilcox on Anchor
Deirdre’s website: http://deirdrewilcox.com
The Heart of the Matter 
Joy snack sounds like a wonderful concept – and I don’t mean a bag of pork rinds. 😆 I’ll have to think about how I intentionally find the time to do that today – likely a bike ride with our T.
Have a nice weekend ahead with your family, Wynne!
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Bike ride with T – sounds like a wonderful joy snack. I hope you all have a great weekend too! 🙂 ❤
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I’m with Ab…a ‘joy snack’ sounds yummy…and purposeful! Thanks, Wynne…and Deirdre. I love the reminders to slow things down, take an extra beat…or two…to improve the quality of our responses, our interactions. Listening to you two = joy snack! 😘
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Slow things down, take an extra beat – you’ve summed up so much great wisdom! By the way, I found my glasses yesterday over by the bag of Doritos the kids left on the counter. I’m not sure that it counts as a joy snack but it was evidence I was over there eating something… 🙂
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Oh…that’s hilarious, Detective Wynne! Funny what we find when we retrace our steps. All roads lead to ‘joy snacks’…Doritos or cupcakes! 🤣
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❤ ❤ ❤
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A “joy snack” is a great term/concept. I know I occasionally take a pause and eat a cupcake, for “medicinal purposes,” so no I have another snack to feast on. Love this.
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A cupcake for medicinal purposes – I love it, Ally! Yep, I’m all in for joy snacks. 🙂
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Thanks for a great podcast – I totally believe in life “pauses”!!!! And now I have myself a new theory to celebrate – “joy snacks”.
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I can see how well you use pauses, Mary! Thank you!
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I love the idea of joy snacks! Today, I got to see the red eared slider in the pond several times. Turtles make me happy. Joy Snack! 😋
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I’m so glad you told me that a red-eared slider is a turtle. That sounds like a beautiful joy snack, Belle! 🙂 ❤
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Well, chocolate turtles can also be a joy 😋
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Yes – and the ones with caramel too? Yum!! 🙂
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I haven’t listened to this yet, but I’d better get on with it so I don’t miss out on any more joy snacks. A joy snack in my world today would be making a check beside the items that I’m so far behind on, but that sounds a lot like work! I’m going for a few bites out of a joy-full snack—the calorie-less kind!
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That sounds like a perfect joy-snack, Julia!! Let us know how it was!! 🙂
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