13 | Deep Processing In a Shallow World

Deep processing is a core aspect of high sensitivity. But processing is an important thing for all of us to do. And it's not easy to find the time and space for it in a fast-changing world that never takes a breath.

This is what we're exploring in this episode of The Gentle Rebel Podcast. How can we create better conditions for deep processing in everyday life?

Table of contents* Responding to a Fast-Changing World | 2:23* Shallow Rivers and Deep Lakes | 8:29* Cold Bucket Experiences | 14:03* When You Feel Unseen and Unknown | 18:14* Over-Empathy and Deep Patterns | 21:25* Deep Processing and Loss | 25:20* Levels of Processing | 35:33* Deep Overground Processing and Response Flexibility | 37:14* Deep Underground Processing | 42:23* Depth of Processing and Downtime | 44:30* What Happens Without Deep Processing? | 49:23* Slow Coaching and The Deep Processing Approach | 52:51* Conclusion - Prepare to Be Unprepared | 57:04* The Haven | 59:30

Responding to a Fast-Changing World | 2:23

Everything moves so rapidly in our modern world. There is pressure to process and adapt to changes much faster than we have had to in the past. We are exposed to huge amounts of information and expected to somehow make sense of it and apply it to our own lives.

So how do we process and respond to such a fast-paced world?

Shallow Rivers and Deep Lakes | 8:29

There is an old proverb that says “shallow rivers are noisy. Deep lakes are silent.”

What does this mean for our sense of self-belonging and our ability to absorb change?

When things are thrown into our life from outside, like a big rock, a great splash and disturbance occur as it comes flying through the surface. But after a while, the rock is absorbed into the landscape in the depths of this body of water. There is an unshakeable power to the deep lake. That can be both safe and terrifying.

In the story of the Steadfast Tin Soldier, we meet a character who appears to be a deep lake. But his silence, stillness, and stoicism speaks of unbelonging. He seems unable to express his true needs and feelings; hamstrung by the story he's been taught to believe about himself.