The Art of Resting

Especially in a world driven by busyness and its related stresses. I don’t think it’s going to change anytime soon, so it’s up to each of us to seek an antidote to help ourselves – that of rest and rejuvenation.

Society still hasn’t learnt the lessons post the pandemic of instilling these virtues into everyday life. More and more is crammed into every second, resulting in a feeling of overwhelm.

Yet our ability to tap into an antidote couldn’t be easier, with one located right on Melbourne’s doorstep. The Daylesford and Macedon Ranges region is famed as a destination for rejuvenation. Earlier this year, Daylesford was also named as one of the most welcoming places on earth – making it the ideal place to start the resting process.

Located on the Great Dividing Range the region’s elevation creates a cool climate with crisp clean air. Each season brings its own beautiful changes. I truly believe the region echoes New England in autumn, while touches of snow dust the countryside in winter.

Year round, mineral water (full of health benefits) trickles from natural springs dotted around the region. The Wombat State Forest and Macedon Regional Park provide numerous walks to connect oneself with nature. While our many hilltop villages, such as Woodend, Kyneton, Trentham, Daylesford and Creswick provide welcoming hospitality, boutique shopping and noteworthy eateries using produce grown locally in our rich chocolatey soil.

But how do we slow down and ensure we appreciate such natural wonders? We have become so accustomed to busyness that our brains are constantly in flight or fight mode. When was the last time you could sit and just ‘be’? To truly benefit from external influences in our natural environment we need to calm and still ourselves.

Specialist Brain Trainer, Perri Curtis (a seasonal visitor to the region and part of the Acre of Roses wellbeing team) recommends individual brain training to break the busyness cycle through ‘filtering and focusing.’

In summary, Perri notes that ‘our human brains receive 11 million bits of information every second. But our conscious minds can handle only 40 to 50 bits of information a second.’

No wonder our brains feel busy! So how do we filter out and focus on what’s important and create a quieter less busy brain?

It turns out that our brains are naturally good at both filtering and focusing. We are literally designed this way. MIT neuroscientists have identified a brain circuit that helps us to do just that. It’s controlled by the front of our brain, the prefrontal cortex, and filters out unwanted background noise and other distracting stimuli.

One of the functions of a neuron is to determine whether incoming messages should be filtered out or passed along. We filter out things constantly…like how our clothing or glasses feel, background noise, visuals that don’t interest us, etc.

Our brain also has a natural capacity to direct its focus… in other words to decide what patterns it’s giving its attention to.

Our brains pattern finder is called the Reticular Activation System (RAS). And it can be trained to look out for what’s already positive in our lives, ‘what’s already all right’ vs ‘over thinking, intrusive repetitive or negative thoughts.’

Training the brain to selectively filter and focus creates a quieter mind, better focus and a more rested regenerated state. In short, it’s a key to Breaking Out The Busy Brain Cycle.

So, as the cooler weather settles in, take a little time to train your brain and plan a trip up our way. To help prepare yourself, Perri has gifted us a podcast session, talking through how to train your brain (listen to the podcast below).

Quieten yourself and then immerse yourself in our wonderful region, we hope you leave feeling focused, calm and relaxed.