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How did you find this grounding exercise? What changes or experiences did you notice? When might you find it a useful practice in your life?

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Lovely written Kate. I esspecially love your first sentences. I like therapists who are also philosophers :-) So do keep thinking about missing socks and other great questions!

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Haha, the great sock debate! I’m sure Nietzsche had the same issues… 😄

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Do you know Irvin Yalom's "When Nietzsche wept"? A great read :-)

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I love Yalom! This one is on my ‘to read’ list. Thank you for the recommendation ✨

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Ahhhh, yes! I love this grounding practice. It is so nourishing and yet, so simple. Thank you for sharing ❤️

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It’s a lovely one, thanks for reading Olivia! 💛

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Yes! Such a great self healing exercise! A friend of mine recently read that we have over 700,000 nerve endings in our feet, that connects to neurons in the spinal cord, that reaches the thalamus. It's fascinating.

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That’s a brilliant fact Paulette, thanks!

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I'll try and remember to ask her the name of the book.

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Yes let me know if you do!

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I haven't read it, but it sounds like a great read. “Your Brain on Art” by Susan Magsamen and Ivy Ross

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I love this Kate! Grounding ourselves is so calming. Tonight I stepped outside to watch the sunset and breathed in the cool autumn air and began to feel my mind settling 🌱

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That sounds so lovely Kate. It's all there for the taking - though this sounds particularly special! I wrote posts about nature as therapist that I suspect would resonate with you if you missed it here: https://lettersfromtherapy.substack.com/p/nature-as-therapist and another about the breath and using our senses which you are also doing!

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Thanks Kate, I will give it a read, it looks right up my alley!

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Sounds like it! I have never been to New Zealand but I imagine it is hard not to be affected by the beautiful scenery there.

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Connecting with the world around us, with nature and the earth, is at the heart of both my own writing and my self care. And yet I haven’t done this for ages! A much needed reminder and a useful practical exercise. Thank you.

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Thanks Bonnie, yes it is so important. This is a simple way of reconnecting. I don't know if you saw this one too, about nature as therapist? Sounds like it is up your street! https://lettersfromtherapy.substack.com/p/nature-as-therapist

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I'm diving down the nature as healer rabbit hole with joyful glee at the moment, I have at least 5 different PhD theses I want to write (I most certainly don't have the capacity to do a PhD, but im very excited by the ideas, yay for ADHD excitement!)

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That sounds so exciting! Generate lots of ideas too which can feel overwhelming as well as exciting! I have to discipline myself to focus on one at a time so I don't end up in chaos! Good luck with it!

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Yes I am VERY good at overwhelming myself very quickly. Got to keep my focus on addiction recovery, even though there is so much im excited about!

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Well done on your recovery work Esther, keep going! It is important work that needs your inner warrior. Perhaps your creativity is part of your recovery too.

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Oh it absolutely it. I've always said I breathed and wrote myself sober, and nature set me on the path when I started hiking, which wad itself my recovery path from bereavement. My inner warrior has been very weakened lately but she's getting stronger, and Mamma Nature is helping as she always does

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I'm glad to here she is getting stronger. We have to honour all parts of ourselves. Try this exercise too!

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I’m blessed to have a wild garden and I love walking barefoot in it, so much so that I’m not deterred by the occasional thorn, and even being stung by an unfortunate stepped-upon bee! 😳

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The feeling of grass underfoot is the best! Sorry to hear about the bee though! You win some you loose some! 🙏🏻🌾

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This is lovely 😊 Thank you Kate 💕

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So glad you liked it Eva, thank you!

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