In All Honesty | Embodying Integrity

In All Honesty | Embodying Integrity

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In All Honesty | Embodying Integrity
In All Honesty | Embodying Integrity
Hold that thought

Hold that thought

For when you need a mental touchstone to return to in times of mass distraction

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Maris Young
Nov 24, 2023
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In All Honesty | Embodying Integrity
In All Honesty | Embodying Integrity
Hold that thought
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IN ALL HONESTY | AT A GLANCE

This week’s column is for paid subscribers, and it holds:

  • a featured story exploring how to Hold That Thought

  • a prompt encouraging you to make your own story

  • a few favorites I’ve been Loving Lately

  • a space to deepen the conversation in community comments


An oustretched hand holding a round stone in front of a mountainous landscape. We can learn to Hold That Thought, returning to a key word or phrase like a touchstone in the midst of mass distraction. Featured the Substack column In All Honesty by Maris Young
learning to Hold That Thought

I wear many hats these days, slipping in and out of roles like an actor playing all the parts in a one woman play.

It’s a practice that is continually expanding my sense of possibility. It’s also a practice that is continually challenging my sense of focus.

With so many demands on my attention, I am often left feeling scatterbrained. Inundated. Forgetful.

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My husband and I have been exploring a ~Word Play~ practice that we’re calling Hold That Thought. (Ahh, Word Play! I’ve been looking for a way to express the sort of embodied linguistic exploration I find myself drawn to since this column! I think this is the name I’ve been looking for.)

hold that thought

idiom

phrase used for telling someone to remember an idea or thought that has just been mentioned, especially because it will be useful later

Usually, this conversational phrase is tied to a temporary sense of time; it’s often tossed into conversation when we want someone to remember what they were just saying while we take a short break to momentarily tend to other matters.

But what would it look like to truly hold a thought? You know, to carry it around for a while so that it may take root within my consciousness? To hold a thought with such intention that it becomes a mental touchstone to return to in times of mass distraction?

Well, I’m already finding that this Word Play allows me to organize my daily rhythms in ways that are intuitive, fluid and consistent without being constrictive. And it’s right on time, because all of my creative projects are ready to burst forth (more on those below).

— So, how do you Hold That Thought? What Thought have I been Holding? What’s the deeper meaning behind this Word Play?

Become a paid subscriber to get access.

I’d love to welcome you into the In All Honesty Community! Paid subscribers will unlock the rest of this column PLUS my full archive of writings. So, become a paid subscriber, and get to know yourself better via honest conversations exploring nervous system work, somatics, integrity, emotional embodiment and personal narrative. May this column inspire you to become fluent in the language of your own Inner Space ✨

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