People use the word deep a lot these days. Things like deep dive or going deeper have become common catchphrases. Going back almost forty years ago we began a program called Deepening Your Practice. It was meant as a time of greater self-study and as a time to focus on more nuanced aspects of one's practice. It was a time to sit and a time to breathe. And a time to be in community.

Words get swept up in trends and move in waves, but aside from words becoming catchy, what does it really mean to go deeper? What is implied when using the word, and what action is activated? What does it mean to be deeply concerned?

Concern implies caring, and caring can be a vulnerable state. Do we stick with anything long enough, especially when there is discomfort, to understand what is truly occurring, and to be in a place to respond appropriately when we are deeply concerned?

Today in a time of rapid change and stimuli overload, polarization, frayed nerves, and heightened states, when inquiring how people are doing, a common natural response is that people are feeling deeply concerned. Collectively we may feel this for many different reasons. Feeling deeply concerned is a valid response, and moreover, an important state to pay attention to and go into a little deeper.

Sitting still, even in a state of confusion or discomfort will help you catch up with yourself. Taking time in nature, even bare feet on cool grass, can help you calm yourself. Taking a deep breath that you notice and can really appreciate, even while standing in line for something, will reboot your nervous system. Legs up the wall as a regular practice can reset your clock, or at least take you out of time driven stimulation. Laughter, spending time connecting with or creating community, and being with those who have cultivated the art of listening are healthy nourishment.

These suggestions may be simple moments of reset, not sophisticated solutions to the world's woes, but engaging from a calmer, deeper place will provide a greater sense of clarity, and can better address that which deeply concerns you.