Dear Reader,
Have you been feeling an inordinate amount of stress lately?
If you've been feeling stressed out or anxious, know that you're not alone.
I've been talking with a lot of people who've felt ungrounded and shaken up, especially by events in the world around them.
In times like these, taking care of yourself becomes vitally important.
That's why I'd like to go back into my writing vault and share with you an article that I wrote back in March 2020, right when the COVID pandemic was spreading across the world and we had no idea how our lives were going to change.
I even made a video if you'd like to watch that, too.
Ready to take a breath and give yourself a hug?
Then keep on reading, and let’s get ALIGNED…
Inspirational Quote
"Almost everything will work again if you unplug it for a few minutes, including you."
- Anne Lamott
The Story and The Spiritual Lesson
The other day I was talking with a couple friends and asked them how they were.
"Not well," one responded. "These are scary times."
"You're so right," the other person agreed. "I get so upset every time I turn on the news."
For the next few minutes, I watched as the two of them continued to feed each other's worries and fears, spiraling into a deeper sense of despair.
Now stress is a normal part of everyday life. It usually arises when you feel like you don't have any control in a situation.
However, when you actively feed your stress, it becomes a ravenous and hungry monster.
As the spiritual saying goes, "What you focus on, expands."
Whenever you experience a great amount of stress, your body usually goes into a stress response of fight, flight or freeze.
Fight, flight and freeze are totally appropriate responses for those moments that you need to act if you’re finding yourself in a dangerous situation.
It's your body's defense mechanisms meant to protect you.
Over longer time periods, however, your body is not meant to sustain these stress responses.
It’s important that you do something to address chronic or longer-term stress. Otherwise, you’re compromising your physical health, as well as negatively affecting your emotional, mental and spiritual health.
So what can you do to take care of yourself in times of high stress and anxiety?
Whether you're feeling stressed by the news or work or personal events in your life, you need to momentarily take your attention away and focus on something else that can provide you some relief.
Here are seven tips that you can do to take care of yourself, especially in times of uncertainty.
1) Sleep. Make sure that you are getting enough sleep. That means going to bed at certain times and establishing a routine and rhythm to your sleep.
2) Rest. Rest isn’t only limited to the nighttime, but also throughout the day. See if you could build in time for naps, or just ways to reboot your mind and body, including taking time for stretching. Rest also includes mental rest away from the phone, as well as social rest where you spend quality alone time.
3) Movement. Get some movement and exercise for your body! Your body wants to move and not just sit around. You can go to the gym is closed, take a walk outside, or even do things like jumping jacks, or push-ups, or yoga movements right from the comfort of your home.
4) Mindful eating. Be mindful of what you’re eating. There’s a strong linkage between eating sugary and fatty foods that increase your stress response. Be mindful of the things that you’re eating to make sure that you’re not adding to the stress.
5) Connect. Whenever people feel stressed, there's a tendency to isolate. Reach out and connect with your loved ones. Go ahead and pick up the phone. FaceTime or connect with video with your loved ones, your family members and friends. See how they’re doing and check in to see that they’re okay.
6) Do one thing you've been wanting to do. One of the reasons many people automatically turn to Netflix or other streaming media is because you're not sure what to do with your time, so you operate out of default. Create a list of the things that you’ve been wanting to do. This includes cleaning out the clothes closet, or getting out that book you've been wanting to read. Then, pick one thing and get going. Especially when you’re feeling stressed out, when you feel like you have purpose and you’re doing something, you get out of that stressful response.
7) Engage in your spiritual practices. This includes things like mindfulness and setting aside time for meditation. Journaling and spiritual reflection are helpful to get your thoughts and feelings on to paper. Reading spiritual books or watching inspirational videos can help you to connect you with your own interior self.
All of these tips are a reminder of this spiritual truth:
No matter what may be going on around you, you are not powerless.
That's exactly what I said to my friends who were talking each other into a downward spiral.
I said to both of them, "We have to remember that we're not powerless in this or any situation. Ask yourself: What is mine to do?"
Ultimately, the best thing to do is this: Do what you can to connect yourself with the center of your being.
When you are centered and grounded, you develop and build your own capacity to rise to any occasion.
Your Call to Action
In the spirit of self-care, here is your coaching assignment for the week:
- Create a list of activities that promote your self-care. (You can look at the list above to generate some ideas.)
- Choose one small thing that you can do for today and commit to doing it.
I'd love to hear what ways you are creating moments for your own self-care. Please reply to this email and let me know.
As I mentioned earlier, whatever you focus on, expands.
The more that you focus on self-care, the more momentum you gain.
Ultimately, self-care invites you to remember that you matter.
You are important, and you are deserving of all the love that the Universe wants to shower upon you.
Abundant Blessings and Namaste.
Abundant Good News and Notes
You're Invited to Join The Abundant Good Journey: If you're looking to be in spiritual community with other like-hearted people, I'd love for you to consider joining the Abundant Good Journey. Every month we gather on zoom to delve into topics that deepen your practices and allow you to bring greater focus and intentionality to your life, aligned with your heart's highest desire. Our next gathering of the Abundant Good Journey happens on Saturday, March 1, 2025, at 9:30am Pacific Time. The topic is "Your Word Is Your Wand." To learn more about the Abundant Good Journey, click here.
Visioning Your Best 2025: It's not too late to vision your highest and best life for this year. If you’d like to purchase the replay of our recent gathering of “Visioning Your Best 2025,” you can learn about and practice the intuitive art of Visioning, and leave with greater clarity about how life is calling you forward. Click here to learn more.
Thanks for reading ALIGNED!
If you have any questions or want to share what you thought about this newsletter, hit reply and let me know.
Abundant Blessings,
Joselito Laudencia
Spiritual Life Coach, Teacher, Speaker
Author, The Creative Impulse: Answering the Highest Calling of Your Heart
www.abundantgood.com
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