”Your job is to find peace amidst of it all.”

End of fall, beginning of winter, is a tremendous season to unwind, to restore your soul. Just as nature’s slowing down, taking a step back, and allowing the cold to embrace her, you have the opportunity to pause, to reflect. To sit within the stillness, counting your breaths, surrendering, to the flow of life. The heart speaks in silent ways. Listen. 

For me November has always been a month when I feel the need to pause. It’s like my entire soul needs a break. A break from anything draining her. Nevertheless, dark months like these I love the more peaceful hours; it’s usually when I come alive. The more stillness surrounding me, the more harmonious I become. And the more harmonious I become, the easier it is for new thoughts and ideas to enter.

Below you’ll find some of my favorite ways to unwind, and to refill my body, mind & soul with new energy.

How to replenish & unwind

 

Meditate

It’s not the minutes that count; it’s what you take with you after you’ve been sitting in silence – patience, alertness and a greater awareness. Meditation is not sitting with no thought – it’s letting the thoughts pass by, no dwelling, simply being aware. It’s the perfect way to practise slow breathing. Going within, and trusting oneself.

”Mindfulness is simply being aware of what is happening right now without wishing it were different; enjoying the pleasant without holding on when it changes (which it will); being with the unpleasant without fearing it will always be this way (which it won’t).”

– James Baraz

Let your creativity flow

Whatever floats your boat – dive right in. When you’re enjoying what you’re doing you easily reach that so called flow state. A state of being when time passes by without you even noticing. A state of being when you’re your most creative self. A state of being when you’re guided by your inner voice. A state of being that can only be described by the words pure bliss. Find your happy, and do it often.

Clean & organize your mind

Cleaning your home, aka your mind & body, is an excellent way of getting rid of limiting beliefs and self-doubt, as well as negative thoughts that might hold you back from reaching your true potential.

Before starting your cleaning you’ll have to become aware of what’s holding you back. Are you always comparing yourself to others? Not thinking you’re worthy of all the abundance that life has to offer? Do you have problems forgiving yourself for past behaviours? Do you have problems forgiving someone else? Or do you simply feed your mind with negative self-talk morning to evening?

Take your time to figure out what it is that you struggle with the most; the things you need to get rid of in order to blossom like an early spring day. This can be done through seeking solitude and writing down the habits/thoughts you want to release from your ”home”. These habits/thoughts are things that do not serve you in any way.

When accepting the present moment for what it is, and detaching from the future, you not only make room for new and fresh possibilities, but for creativity and freedom. It’s very common to seek security and certainty, but when taking a closer look it’s actually an attachment to the known, aka the past. There’s no room for evolution in a mindset like that, only stagnation. So while you’re cleaning your old thought systems you’re expanding and growing your mind, making space for new creative thoughts to enter. And remember, within uncertainty lies freedom, a limitless number of possibilities and imagination.

Journal

One of the best ways to become more self-aware is to journal. The more aware you are of your thoughts, and how they affect you, the more you realize just how powerful they are. Thoughts can completely turn a day around. They can turn a life around. Redirecting your thoughts, choosing more positive ones, when facing a negative situation can help you see the situation in new daylight. The understanding that no one can change your thoughts but you, should be enough for you to jump over to the drivers seat. You control your thoughts – don’t let them control you. However, you should never neglect your feelings, your emotions.

Let your thoughts and emotions flow through you by writing them down. Don’t surpress the negativity, don’t let it build a nest within you – let the feels out. Know that you are simply experiencing emotions. They shall pass, as they too are temporarily.

Move your body

Being physically active is important for both the mind & the body. Feeling stuck and unmotivated? Chase those endorphins. A sweaty workout has many health benefits, not only does it affect your body, building up your cardiovascular health and slowing down your ageing, but your headspace will feel much clearer as well. When you’ve crushed out a great workout you’re ready to crush out even more things during the day – to accomplish the tasks you’ve at hand, getting more productive. Soon you’ll notice that your body and mind will start to work with you, rather than against you.

Connect with nature

There’s a special thing being one with nature, whether it’s watching the ocean, smelling the forest, hiking in the autumn mountains, taking a midnight swim or laughing up in the air. Nature has a tendency to teach us plenty; she teaches us how to be still, how to unwind and relax. Stay alert, and witness the beauty she so effortlessly provides us with. Let her guide you home. Escaping the real world for a couple of hours, or even days, might boost your creativity and feed it with new flourishing insights.

Know thy self

As soon as we let go of the need of controlling what happens in life things will unfold as they are meant to unfold. Challenge yourself to control the way you respond to what’s happening. That’s where your power lies. Use the now to truly get to know yourself. Life is not always sunshine and butterflies, and how boring that would be. Setbacks, road bumps and things not happening as fast as you’d imagined is life’s way of presenting us with challenges, not to hurt us, but to guide us in the right direction. Sometimes life has a funny way of teaching us lessons.

If you’re going through a rough time right now, just know that it will be alright. Even if the clouds are heavy the sun is still there, underneath, it just took a nap. Eventually the sun will shine again. It always does. Just like life’s always working with you, not against you.

There’re plenty of things to do in order to become more present, more alive and replenished. You just have to find what works for you. Take a deep breath, give yourself a hug and have trust, deep within, that everything will be alright.

❤

Linda