10 steps towards living a life of peace, happiness, abundance, and love
Acknowledge and embrace how you are feeling: welcome all the feelings. Witness your fears in order to understand them. While bringing a heightened sense of awareness to your feelings, make sure to be kind and gentle to yourself through the process. As you progress through your journey, familiar feelings will resurface and new, unfamiliar feelings will appear. I’ve found it helpful to write down how I’m feeling in my journal and confide in those I’m close to. Do what works best for you but know it’s okay to let people in and allow them to be a source of strength and support during your journey.
Accept help: My work with a therapist, psychiatrist, and dietitian has been integral to my becoming a strong, more evolved person and I am extremely fortunate to have the financial means and time to expand my knowledge. Each individual finds comfort and guidance in unique ways whether it be in a higher power, sibling, parent, friend, or health professional. Sharing your journey with that supportive someone can make all the difference.
See life through a new lens: Look within and find the source of strength that is innately within you. Ask yourself what you want for your life? How do you want to show up for yourself and those around you? Visualize it. How does it make you feel? How can you shift from a mindset of lack and limitation to one of possibilities and freedom?
Commit to healing: You can only change a pattern if you’re willing to change it. Your journey towards healing is full of detours and sometimes you will find yourself unhappy with the rate of progress and angry or frustrated that you have to deal with the anxiety, disordered eating, etc in the first place. Remember, you’re exactly where you need to be and you’re going in the right direction; be patient and celebrate what’s working for you. You are learning so much.
“You are a work in progress which means you get there a little at a time, not all at once. You may not be where you want to be yet, but look how far you’ve come, and be grateful that you’re not stuck where you once were.”
Be a magnet for what you desire, surround yourself with people that serve you, and let go of those that don’t: Your body is composed of millions of atoms, elements, compounds, and cells and is always vibrating energy. That energy is positive when our thoughts are positive and is negative when our thoughts are negative. We can think of our internal energy field as a magnet that attracts their likeness. Be a reflection of what you wish to receive; you attract individuals and experiences that align with the vibrations you put out into the world.
“I am attracting everything that is for my good. New opportunities, new energy, new mindset, and new connections.”
Engage spirituality, trust your intuition, and surrender to spiritual guidance: Have you heard of the mind-body-spirit connection? Simply put, it describes how our health encompasses not only physical health but also mental and spiritual health. These pillars of health are deeply connected with one another and they work synergistically to make us who we are. By engaging spirituality, we are simultaneously strengthening our mind and body. Focusing on my mental and spiritual health helped me trust my intuition, the inner wisdom that provides us guidance. Surrendering to a higher power of my own understanding enables me to see beyond the limits of fear, expand my perceptions, and find safety. It provides me relief and relaxation knowing that I am taken care of. I recommend purchasing Gabby Bernstein’s book May Cause Miracles which is a 40-day program that guides you on your spiritual path and supports transformation by adding subtle shifts to create miraculous change. I also suggest listening to her talk on the 5 steps of spiritual surrender.
Cultivate a daily routine that supports your overall wellbeing: Start making small changes each day and soon they will become sustainable habits. What are you non-negotiables when it comes to daily self-care? Is it cooking dinner, taking a bath, being physically active, meditating? When it comes to your health, it is key to have a holistic, whole body approach. Eat well (whole foods as much as you can like fruits, vegetables, whole grains, dark leafy greens, nuts, seeds, fish) and mindfully, move often (adding some cardio into my day really helps me calm my nervous system down when my heart is racing and pulse is elevated), and aim to get at least 7 hours of good-quality sleep.
Practice daily meditation and deep breathing: Meditation has been a huge help for me. Meditation allows me to calm the mind, intimately connect with myself, and connect with the universe. You’ll feel yourself slip into stillness and your awareness heightened. During the moments of silence, you’ll notice many thoughts and/or feelings emerge. Welcome rather than silence them.
Practice deep breath as much as possible: This. This is everything. Your breath is extremely powerful; no matter where you are, you always always have your breath to return you to a sense of calmness. If I’m feeling anxious, out of control, when my mind is racing, when I’m in an uncomfortable situation, I take 5-6 deep, cleansing breaths. Breathing throughout the day is a simple exercise you can practice to help you feel grounded and at ease. Practice with me. Sit in a comfortable position. Close your eyes. Take a slow, deep breath in through your nose. Notice your belly expanding. Now, hold the breath at the top for a moment before slowly exhaling through your mouth. I’ve also been practicing a breathing exercise that I personally find more challenging - breathe in for five counts through your mouth, hold at the top for five counts, exhale for five counts, and hold for five counts. Repeat this 2-3 times.
In addition to taking deep breaths throughout the day, I like to breathe in something I need for a day and release anything that is holding me back. I’ll breathe in intuition, abundance, calmness, acceptance, compassion, love. I also will recite mantras in my head or out loud. On the inhalation I’ll say “I am love” and on the exhalation I’ll say “I give love” and repeat this a few times. Each day, I will recite a different mantra. You can also breathe in and breathe out an affirmation: Breathe in “I choose to release my fear” Breathe out “I surrender.”
Be present and cultivate joy as much as you can: While doing the things that make you happiest might be difficult during quarantine, I challenge you to do something for yourself at least once a day and do things that bring you joy as much as possible.
Remember how special you are every single day: There is no one like you. You are amazing. Honor yourself. I’ll leave you with this affirmation “I am worthy and have so much to offer this world. I am making progress in growing myself mentally, physically, and spiritually.”
Be proud of yourself for beginning this journey of growth.
I am proud of you and here for you always.
All the love,
Syd
To read more about my journey, check out my posts about how the pandemic has personally affected me, trading anxiety for love and peace, healing my relationship with food, and cultivating happiness in my relationships.
Resources
Affirmations: @thirdeyethoughts @moonomens
Meditations:
Synctuition: this app uses the power of 3D sound to provide meditative relaxation. It stimulates brain connectivity that provides for increased creativity, enhanced intuition, and better decision making. I like doing this first thing after waking while laying in my bed.
Calm: Many of my friends use this app and really like it.
Melissa WoodHealth: in addition to her gentle yet highly effective low-impact flows, Melissa also offers 10-15 minute guided meditations on her site. Her soothing voice and peaceful presence instantly relaxes you.
Podcasts: Meditation minis; A New Earth; Oprah’s Super Soul Podcast, Broken Brain Podcast, Mindbodygreen
Books: The Untethered Soul; A New Earth; May Cause Miracles, The Universe Has Your Back, Return to Love