Microdosing?
Photo by Courtney Lindberg.
Lately, microdosing has been a hot topic—especially in conversations around mental health, trauma, and the potential of psychedelics to unlock new levels of healing. The research is compelling.
But today, I'm not talking about microdosing psychedelics. I'm talking about something even more radical.
Microdosing space.
Not just physical space—but mental space. Emotional space. The kind of space that allows for an open mind and an open heart.
The kind of space we tend to macro-dose only after burnout hits.
We push, strive, and go until our bodies wave the white flag. Then, we take a vacation, crash on the couch for a weekend, or—if we ignore it long enough—our bodies take us out with illness.
But what if we didn't need to hit depletion before taking space?
What if microdosing space—tiny doses of rest built into daily life—was the antidote to these times?
The Disconnection Epidemic
We have become a society overrun with distraction.
Most of us aren't connected to nature—waking up with the sun, walking miles to gather food, or placing our hands in the dirt like our ancestors did.
Instead, we're waking up to notifications. DMs. Texts. News headlines. From the moment we open our eyes, we're fed a diet of urgency, keeping us locked in our intellect—confronted, without a break, by the constant chatter of the mind.
Judgment. Criticism. Blame.
When we source our reality from our conditioned thinking, fear compounds. Thoughts fuel feelings. Feelings fuel more thoughts. And before we know it, we're caught in an ever-growing ball of mental tension—bringing past into present, fear into future.
The way out? Space.
The Magic of Space
Think about what happens when you go on vacation.
At first, you might still be buzzing with stress. Your mind running through to-do lists. The tension in your shoulders lingering. But after a day or two, something shifts.
You start breathing deeper. Seeing things differently. Feeling more present. More yourself.
And here's the thing—it's not because of the change of scenery, the margarita delivered by the pool, or the feel of crisp, clean sheets.
It's because of what happens inside you.
You allow yourself to drop in. Let go. Settle.
And the good news?
You don't have to wait for a vacation to access this. You can microdose space every single day.
Pause to Notice
Right now, look up from your screen.
Look out the window. Notice the sky—its blueness, its cloud cover, the way the light moves.
Step outside for a five-minute walk around the block. Look around. Take in the trees, the hummingbird hovering nearby, even the delicate pattern of a single snowflake landing on your coat.
The key here isn't just to see—it's to pause.
To pause the mental noise. The constant loop of planning, analyzing, worrying, doing.
And instead, to let yourself BE in the present.
If you can actually let yourself have it, you'll see—this place of deep presence is what you've been longing for all along.
Not the next thing checked off the to-do list. Not the next achievement or validation.
But this moment. Right here. Right now.
The Barriers and Benefits
One of the biggest barriers to space? The belief that we have to earn it.
We've been conditioned to think that rest is a reward. That space comes after we've handled everything else.
But what if space is actually the thing that allows everything else to move with more ease?
When we build in space—when we pause before reacting, when we allow our minds to be still—we warp time in our favor. We regulate our nervous systems. We unlock creativity and insight.
We experience a deeper sense of connection—not just with ourselves, but with life itself.
Try This Today
Consider this your invitation to microdose space.
Right now, take a deep, conscious breath in… and out.
That's one microdose.
Now, see if you can weave tiny moments of space into your day:
A one-minute pause before responding to a message.
A quiet moment with your morning coffee—no scrolling.
Putting your bare feet on the earth while feeling the sun on your skin.
Listening to an uplifting song with your full attention and presence.
Setting a reminder to bring yourself back to now. This moment is all there is.
These microdoses add up.
They create the conditions for more clarity, more presence, and more ease.
And in a world that thrives on speed and stimulation, choosing space is one of the most radical things we can do.
With loving,
Amber
P.S. One of my favorite ways to microdose space throughout the day is my Pause bracelet. (Thank you Robert Holden for sharing it with me all those years ago.) When it gently vibrates, I use it as a check-in: Am I here, now? It's a simple yet powerful tool that interrupts the habit of staying stuck in my head—bringing me back to the present moment. You can check it out here: Meaning to Pause.
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