The Signal Newsletter - The Moment You Notice
The Signal Newsletter | Issue 002
The Signal
As summer winds down, I'm wrapping up my functional breathwork certification.
One of the more surprising things I've learned is that my own breathing wasn't always as functional as I assumed it was.
I've been breathing my entire life, of course.
But I wasn't necessarily aware of how I was breathing, or how patterns like overbreathing, mouth breathing, or changes in breathing mechanics can influence how we feel and function.
The breath was always there.
I just wasn't fully aware of it.
And that has me thinking about how much else in our lives might work the same way.
Patterns we've lived with for years.
The urge to move quickly.
The desire to perform.
The tendency to say yes when we want to say no.
The tension we carry without realizing we're carrying it.
None of these things necessarily appeared yesterday.
We simply begin to see them.
And for a moment:
There it is.
Nothing has changed yet.
We haven't solved anything.
We haven't necessarily responded differently.
But something important has happened.
What was automatic has become visible.
I've been thinking a lot about that moment lately.
So much of life happens automatically.
Thoughts appear.
Emotions rise.
The body reacts.
Old patterns begin running on autopilot.
And often we're already inside the response before we realize what's happening.
Awareness changes something.
Not because it immediately changes the pattern.
But because now we can see it.
And I've started to wonder if transformation sometimes begins right there.
Not when the old pattern disappears.
But in the moment we notice it happening.
The Reframe
For a long time, I think I expected awareness to lead almost immediately to change.
Once I understood a pattern, shouldn't I be able to stop doing it?
I know I do this.
I know this isn't helping me.
I know where this comes from.
So why am I still doing it?
I've started to see awareness differently.
Maybe we're asking too much of it when we expect noticing to immediately produce change.
Awareness doesn't necessarily stop the thought.
It doesn't make the emotion disappear.
It doesn't prevent an old pattern from showing up.
Maybe its job is much simpler.
It lets us see what's happening.
The tension in the body.
The familiar thought.
The urge to react.
The need to prove something.
The impulse to please.
The desire to withdraw.
Before awareness, these things can simply carry us along.
With awareness, we can begin to recognize:
This is happening within me.
I've found that distinction meaningful.
Awareness hasn't necessarily changed everything that arises within me.
It's changing my relationship with what arises.
And perhaps that's enough for something new to begin.
The Practice
With all the breathwork training I’ve been immersed in lately, this felt like a fitting practice.
Notice Your Breath
Before changing your breath, simply notice it.
Is it quiet?
Heavy?
Fast?
Shallow?
Do you feel it more in your upper chest or lower belly?
Are you breathing through your nose?
Do you ever find yourself unconsciously holding your breath while concentrating?
Then get curious about when your breathing changes.
When you open your email.
When you're working.
When you think about money.
When you're scrolling.
When you're trying to create.
Don't try to breathe differently.
Just notice.
What's actually happening?
For now, awareness is enough.
The Rhythm
Choose one ordinary moment in your day as a reminder to check in.
Maybe when you make your morning coffee.
Before opening your laptop.
When you get into your car.
Before dinner.
When that moment arrives, pause briefly and ask:
What's here right now?
No analysis.
No need to change anything.
Just return to what's happening within you and around you.
Over time, the practice isn't necessarily about becoming aware of everything.
It's about becoming a little more available to notice what matters.
Walking The Signal
Lately, I've become more aware of how much energy I can spend simply managing myself.
Managing what I'm feeling.
Managing what other people might think.
Managing the pressure to be productive.
Managing uncertainty.
Managing the part of me that thinks I should be doing more.
None of this necessarily looks like much from the outside.
I can be working, having a conversation, exercising, writing, or simply moving through my day.
But underneath it, there can be a surprising amount of energy going toward managing what's happening within me.
I don't think I fully saw that before.
And lately, I've been trying not to immediately turn that awareness into something I need to fix.
For now, I'm just noticing the cost.
How much attention does it require?
How much energy?
How much of me is occupied somewhere other than the life that's actually happening?
That's left me with a question I've been carrying:
What becomes possible when we're no longer spending so much of our internal capacity managing ourselves?
I don't have an answer yet.
But I'm becoming increasingly interested in the question.
The Current Question
What are you beginning to notice in yourself that you couldn't see before?
Thank you for reading.
If this resonated with you, consider sharing it with someone who may be asking similar questions.
Until next time, may you notice the signal, trust what you find, and take the next aligned step.
Michael
Additional Reading
Keep following the thread through these previous essays and newsletters.