Connection with ourselves

‘And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our fear, our presence automatically liberates others.’

~ Marianne Williamson

The messages are subliminal in nature, but loud and intrusive. The message is ‘the measure of our self-worth is the the measure of our material wealth.’

It may be the clothes, car, watch, house, or how far up the career path we climb that define our value in our culture. In our effort to keep up with all that is expected of us we work hard, often sacrificing relationships and family time. Endless material consumerism swirls around us promoting patterns of continued striving and seeking more than what we have. This mindset has contributed to the decline of mental wellness.

Early humans didn’t have these constant pressures. They likely had a deeper understanding of what is truly important, as opposed to superficial stuff that invades our lives on a daily basis.

We need to learn to go inward and connect with ourselves.

I wrote about my meditation and quiet practices in A Well Mind. There are many other strategies we can use to reconnect with ourselves which I will cover briefly here.

Journaling is an important tool as it gives you space to write your thoughts and feelings in a safe place. It may only be a sentence or two exploring how you are feeling, your fears and limiting beliefs. Delving into your dreams, desires, and hopes are also helpful during a journaling practice. The big existential questions such as ‘what is my purpose in life’ may flow out on the page as well, and it’s nice to have a record for reflection.

I have always struggled with writing down my thoughts, or even making lists, but evidence is strong to indicate that journaling can ease psychological trauma and improve our mood. It can even make physical wounds heal faster. A study from 2013 found that 76 percent of adults who spent 20 minutes writing about their thoughts and feelings for three consecutive days two weeks before a medically necessary biopsy were fully healed 11 days later. Meanwhile, 58 percent of the control group (not journaling) had not recovered.

Another way to reconnect with ourselves is spend some time outdoors alone. Make time for just you where you can do whatever you please with that time. Stay off devices and just be alone with yourself and your thoughts. Sit under a big tree and just ‘be’. It can be utterly confronting to be alone with our feelings. Time alone allows us to contemplate what is really going on inside and takes some time to get accustomed to.

Time alone can feed creativity and help our minds evolve.

Do a daily body scan. Close your eyes and begin at your feet focusing your attention there. Then, move your attention up through your legs, hips, belly, chest, shoulders, arms, head and ears. At each point stop and ask ‘How does this part feel today?’ Reflect on whether it is tight, heavy, constricted, or light, and at ease. Practicing this daily helps us check in with ourselves, and in doing so reconnect.

Become really intimate with your thoughts. The things we focus on become our reality so we need to note when we are feeling negative or fearful. It’s important to not place any judgment on these thoughts but consciously choose to let them go or reframe them.

These practices help us recreate a connection with ourselves and from that place our health and wellbeing thrive.

Now it’s time to move onto module 4; detoxing our mind.