Take a deep breath. You are here now. Let’s dive in to some self-care for the holidays.
Your wellbeing has many dimensions that include your physical health, your mental health, your emotional health and your relationships. When you are facing very full days with little time for self-care, these aspects of your wellbeing often get ignored.
But one of the MOST ignored aspects of wellbeing is spiritual health. The human spirit is a powerhouse of strength, grace, calm, harmony and peace that can carry you through any challenge, big or small. When you feel disconnected from joy in your life, consider that you may have forgotten your connection to your spiritual self.
There is good news! You can NEVER lose your connection with your spiritual essence. It’s as much a part of you as your nose or your toes. You are strength. You are grace. You are harmony. You are peace. This is your essence!
You can forget about it though. And the insidious symptoms of stress feed this forgetfulness. Stress always gets amplified during the holiday season. When you create moments during your day to create connection with your spiritual self, you reduce or dissolve symptoms of stress.
How do you know when you are connected to your soul or spiritual essence? Whenever you feel deep peace, joy, wonder, gratitude, bliss, calm, love or happiness – for no particular reason. Shifting into connection with your soul can be compared with turning the dial on the radio or changing channels on the TV. You are changing frequencies.
Quantum physicists tell us that when you get down to the smallest particles in our bodies (and everything else), they are vibrating and moving. Different parts of us vibrate at different frequencies.
Your liver has a specific frequency. So does your heart, your stomach, your brain, etc. Your body has an overall frequency, a combination of all these parts. Your soul has a frequency – a very high frequency.
Even your thoughts have specific frequencies. Negative thoughts have lower frequencies than positive thoughts. In moments of connection with your soul, you shift your frequency to a higher level of vibration. It feels light or fun or good. It’s like coming home.
You can and do change your frequency, constantly and easily, with your thoughts, voice and feelings. You might not be able to see it, but the energy your thoughts create is very real. You can certainly feel it.
Have you noticed how hard it is to be around a person who complains a great deal? The negative statements and thoughts feel like heavy dark clouds. If you are near, some of this can rub off on you. Your overall frequency has taken a nosedive and you are suddenly in a foul mood.
Sometimes a series of negative thoughts can feel like you have the weight of the world on your shoulders. We have all had those days. Negative thoughts and feelings feel heavy.
Even something as simple as a sigh can lift heavy feelings. We do it naturally when we are sad or frustrated. If you feel a sigh coming on, explore a little. Say ahhhh with the sigh as the air leaves your lungs. Ahhhh is a heart sound. Do you hear it sometimes when you are giving or receiving a hug? It feels good, doesn’t it? You just experienced connection with your spirit.
A backlog of frustrations on a bad day feels like knots building up in your body. Imagine that you are dissolving the knots as you sigh. Your own voice can be an amazing stress-buster, especially if it is supported with conscious intention. That means that you become the co-creator or director of your life, rather than letting life happen to you.
Here are a few simple ideas for a quick connect with your spiritual self and deep self-care, just to get you started.
1. BREATHE
- Take one really deep breath and hitchhike a ride on it like a slow wave all the way down to your navel and back up. Take a few more like that and you will notice that you have slowed down your heartbeat. You might even have calmed down your mind for a few seconds. If you are wondering what to do with a quiet mind – enjoy it or listen. You have just connected with your beautiful spiritual self.
- If you are having one of those days where you just don’t have enough time, take a few nice slow deep breaths down to your navel and back. You can do that anywhere. We all have to breathe. Then feel grateful for all the time you need to do what is most important. You might notice that some of the things on your ‘To Do’ list just aren’t that important right now. Or, out of the blue, someone offers you help. Accept it! It is a gift from your soul.
2. WONDER
- Admire a beautiful sunset. Don’t think. Just admire.
- Smell a flower
- Gaze at the stars
- Look into someone’s eyes deeply and see their beautiful spiritual self shining through those eyes.
3. PLAY
- Catch a snowflake on your tongue. This could take a while if it’s not snowing.
- Have a funny face competition with your kids. My son, Matt, has the best funny faces in our family. I always lose because I’m laughing so hard.
- Smile at the person in line in front of you.
- Give someone you care about a hug. Just because.
4. GRATITUDE
- One of the quickest ways to shift frequency is to think of something you are grateful for. You could even make a list. But don’t stop there. To really shift your frequency, feel grateful. Really feel it. The feeling of gratitude, especially gratitude combined with love, has the highest frequency of all our feelings. That will lift the heaviness.
- You can feel grateful for the driver on the busy road who leaves a space for you to merge in. You can feel thankful for your car, for getting you safely to and from work. Did you notice that the ride seems easier and quicker?
And as you explore the many wonderful ways to connect with that brilliant spiritual self of yours, you begin to notice that you are bringing happiness, health, harmony, hope, humor and passion into your life. And you don’t limit your singing to the shower.