Episode 27: The Power of the Pause with Deirdre Wilcox

Posted on by Wynne Leon

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 66: The Power of Story with Wynne and Vicki – Sharing the Heart of the Matter

In this episode, Wynne Leon is with co-host, blogger and author, Vicki Atkinson. We are changing our format starting with this episode. Vicki and Wynne are big believers in the power of story – to connect us, to create intergenerational healing, and to make meaning out of the events of our lives. To set the stage, we will be starting with someone telling a story in each episode. In this case, Wynne tells a story about what happened when she and her kids recently rescued a bunny. We got to see and learn a little bit about the nature of life, death, and our part in the circle of life. Please forgive me for talking too fast as I tell the story. It’s part of my learning process to transition between interviewer to being in the spotlight. My nerves pushed me to rush so I need to practice slowing down. In this episode that is about 15 minutes long, after I tell the story, we talk a little bit about the elements of a good story. Drawing from the research of Will Storr and his Ted Talk, we highlight some of the features that come to play in most of our stories, whether they be personal narrative, fiction, or something in between. Vicki brilliantly likens our new route starting with this episode, Route 66. Please join us for the scenic and beautiful places we go when we share the power of story. Links for this episode: Episode 66 show notes Vicki’s personal blog: Victoria Ponders Wynne’s personal blog: Surprised by Joy Vicki’s recently released book: Surviving Sue Wynne’s book about her beloved father: Finding My Father’s Faith
  1. Episode 66: The Power of Story with Wynne and Vicki
  2. Episode 65: How to Be the New Guy with Mark Petruska
  3. Episode 64: Knowing a Person with Vicki and Wynne
  4. Episode 63: Keys to Collaborative Success with Vicki and Wynne
  5. Episode 62: The Loop Files with Rick Kaempfer

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

20 thoughts on “Episode 27: The Power of the Pause with Deirdre Wilcox”

  1. 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!

    Liked by 4 people

    Reply

  2. 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! 😘

    Liked by 3 people

    Reply

    1. 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… 🙂

      Liked by 2 people

      Reply
  6. Pingback: Well Said Saturdays – July 22 – The Heart of the Matter
  7. Pingback: Quiet, Please! – The Heart of the Matter

  8. 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!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  9. Pingback: Photos of the Week: July 29 – Surprised By Joy
  10. Pingback: July’s Greatest Hits – The Heart of the Matter

Leave a comment