Gain Some ‘Synctuition’ This Year Through Meditation: Same You, Version 2.0

Meditation techniques have undoubtedly changed over the past year with the presence of the COVID-19 pandemic.

So…’new year, new me?’ Okay, let’s be honest, new year, same old me. And, given that I actually LIKE me, I’m perfectly okay with admitting that! As a friend once told me, though, I’ve got myself under a microscope no one else sees. I always want to BE better, DO better, so naturally, I seek out anything that allows me to expand my understanding of self and the universe. That was the motivation behind obtaining a Bachelors of Science in chemistry, as well as learning tarot, palmistry, and astrology on my own volition.

Well, “own volition” hints to a self-directed desire that led me down the path of spirituality and the metaphysical, but in reality it was a matter of accepting the overwhelming evidence that my intuition was REAL, or conversely, that my brain was melting. As an undergrad studying scientific facts, I was all in on believing that my brain was melting. 

I’m so grateful that external voices of reason convinced me otherwise. It’s not necessary to go down a psychic “rabbit hole” to understand intuition. Colloquially, it’s understood that intuition is simply a “gut instinct.” And the foremost example of instinct? 

• Fight or flight: The human body’s reaction to a perceived threat to its survival, whether real or imagined.

Anyone with an anxiety disorder (PTSD, in my case) can tell you that the physiological response to an imaginary threat, or the memory of an instance of trauma, is just as intense as if it were happening in real time. 

So what do we do about that? How can we, as humans with unconscious triggers, train our brain not to REACT to those triggers? 

We have a few, really solid options, thankfully! If you’re completely unaware that you have any triggers (trust me, you do, and everyone around you knows it), therapy is the best place to start. Therapy will recommend from there exercise, meditation, eye movement desensitization and reprocessing, cognitive behavioral therapy…the list goes on. 

But we live in the U.S., and let’s be frank, mental health resources are not easily accessible. It’s unjust and uncompassionate. It’s our job to work on fixing this together, but it’s also our responsibility to work on ourselves, in spite of it. Do you know what better looks and feels like for you?

If you do, great! It’s a journey only you can find your way through, after all! But if you need help finding a place to start, I’d like to try and be that help.

We’ve established that if you’re still reading, you likely don’t have access to the best mental health resources, but you desire to make a change for the better. New year, new you! Or how about, new year, Same You, version 2.0?

What does “Same You” already like when stressed? Are you the jazz, wine, and bubble bath type? The “go for a quick 5 mile run” type? How about the journaling type? Or hell, eat a pint of ice cream and sob over Casablanca type?

Lucky for you, I’m all of the above, depending on the day! So, judgment-free zone here, I promise!

If I were to be self-critical, (“if” …HA!) I’d be constantly frustrated with myself for knowing the benefits of adding a meditation practice to my above self-care regimen, but being incapable of consistency with it because of my very active brain. Growing up, the closest I could get to a meditative state was swim practice. “One-two-three, breathe” for laps and laps makes for some pretty good meditation “training wheels,” but it doesn’t quite capture that bodily stasis that really allows the mind to thrive. 

I’ve tried so many different meditation techniques over the years, and never actually really liked sticking with them so much as guided meditation. Again, judgment-free zone…my brain doesn’t work in the way of being able to guide myself. We can blame it on my innate extraverted intuition (ENTP, hello!) that thrives on making connections and analyzing them IMMEDIATELY, or we can go the astrology route and blame the combination of Gemini Rising with Mercury in Aries. I LOVE to think. So the concept of asking me NOT to think to meditate properly doesn’t work.

AND THAT’S OKAY. That is SO okay!! 

Becoming a better ME isn’t about teaching myself not to be ME, but working with what I already got and honing it. New year, Same Me, version 2.0 – that’s the goal! 

Guided meditation, thankfully, is readily available these days across many platforms. YouTube being a good one, truly. But I don’t want to pay for the version of YouTube that allows me to listen with my screen off, so cross that off the list. Next we’ve got old school CDs, or Spotify and other streaming services with plenty of binaural beats and “yoga” relaxation albums out there.

Still, I needed something more, something to allow me to STAY FOCUSED on not focusing, but just being. I tried Headspace and Calm, and quickly fell off the wagon because, well, it was too easy to do so. There was no pay-off that I couldn’t achieve through magnesium supplements and melatonin, and definitely didn’t help me with that primary goal of rolling with what I already got: well-developed extraverted intuition. It was all about “better sleep, less stress” which is all great, don’t get me wrong, but I wasn’t struggling with sleep and stress, I want to use meditation as a supplement for my spiritual practices firstly, and the other benefits were a bonus. 

Enter Synctuition. 

Synctuition bills itself as the “1st meditation app with 3D sounds” through personalized binaural beats. Ugh, yes, awesome, this is what I’ve been looking for! Now it was just a test of does this app make me feel bad about my inability to let thoughts slip away, or will it roll with the way my brain works and help me expand it?

I wouldn’t be writing this if the answer wasn’t the latter.

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy teaches that “knowing what to do, and how to get yourself to do it are separate skills.”

I’m really glad I finally learned that how to get myself to do something is to play to my strengths, rather than what someone else believes strength to be, because I’ve had a lovely first few journeys (what the company calls its guided audio tracks) with Synctuition. The insights I’ve written down are nonsensical to the outsider, but so valuable and empowering to me, and that’s how it should be! In a world where many people limit themselves to experiential evidence, we need a tool that empowers the connection makers.  

One of my favorite quotes from Synctuition’s blog is from a post titled “Honing Your Intuition: Stop Saying ‘I’m Not Intuitive.’”

“Gerd Gigerenzer, a director at the Max Planck Institute for Human Development, goes so far as to claim that intuition, or ‘gut feeling,’ is the highest form of intelligence. In fact, those who actively work on developing their intuition are capable of making better, faster, and more beneficial decisions.”

We all have those gut instincts (Fight or flight, anyone?). If you’re ready to make them work for you, to harness them to achieve your full potential, and you don’t mind throwing a meditation practice into your self-care routine, give Synctuition a try. The benefit might not come easily to all of us, but it’s certainly there, I assure Same You, version 2.0.

To learn more visit synctuition.com.