Self Care
Updated: Sep 21, 2019
Taking time out to pause.
The journey to healing starts with yourself. As we connect more with each other in this healing community, we often need to take time to reflect & pause. Pausing allows us to reset and anchor ourselves to our meaning. Self care is part of this pause and often times is overlooked. Not only do we need to heal ourselves but we need to heal the healer inside by self care.
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“We are not human beings having a spiritual experience, but are spiritual beings having a human experience.” ~Pierre teihard de charin
In a world where science has not caught up to the spiritual realms, both our spiritual & human being self need self care. Many forget this and walk around like burnt out zombies. It's very manic of our behaviour to go 110km/hr every day........take our front liners for example: nurses, firefighters, doctors and community counselors. They are constantly working to serve others and don't usually take time out for their own care. Do people even take their holidays anymore?? Most people really sink deep into their human mode and simply go round & round and round & round in the same pool of thoughts, feeling and emotions stuck inside their stories. I read somewhere that 75% of the thoughts you have today will start with you tomorrow and continue to recycle and the new ones...the other 25% will attach and they too are mostly of the same limiting beliefs. This includes the life of our practitioners.
So, is there a magnetic or something to wipe your hard drive? Or a connection cord to your spiritual being?
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Well, there are a few modalities that definitely help and my passion is to CNTRL-ALT-DELETE these as I continue to seek them out for us. It certainly is individually based. For example - a highly intelligent person who is 110% of his time is in his head maybe it's better to have a BARs session where an compassionate/empathetic would be better with high vibrational chimes, drumming and tuning folks session and a person with PTSD would resonate more with NADA acupuncture. Or these can be reversed depending on belief systems, cultures and family upbringing. The challenge for some practitioners or the magic for others is to have the insight to develop the individual formula for each person. Ah, a simple "spiritual prescription" ~ the remedy. The key as a practitioner is to find yours and make the appointment as you also need treatments from time to time.
I often giggle inside when new practitioner approach me and says, "I really tried Reiki - I did - but I just couldn't get to the final level, I got so bored. What is wrong with me that I couldn't finish, my husband is really mad at me?" I listen and then response by saying "Stop judging yourself so much, you did finish - you got what you needed and can move onto learn something else" - they don't seem to acknowledge that they were needing it for their own "self-care" and get roped into the belief that in this society we are TOLD to finish what we started - but in the healing realms at times we can start something and finish it faster then it is taught and out learn the modality. Then we are already for the next level or adventure ~ now that we are open for more things to come in. We are allowed to play and don't have to complete every step as things aren't linear and 2-Dimensional anymore and information is downloaded much faster then our traditional ways of learning. We need to remind ourselves that we are now working as a spiritual being and our knowing & competencies are heighted. Reiki is a perfect way to apply self care and I don't think that half the time practitioners are aware of this gift. It was their catalyst to apply more growth for themselves. And funny, many practice it daily on themselves.
Point is, embrace it.
Ok, back to self care. Our healing community of first liners also needs to reset and recharge as it can be exhausting. There are numerous ways to do this & I can share some ideas with you: The most powerful way, is by "gift & receiving" evenings: a time where the practitioners get together and shares a particular modality and do trades on each other. Usually the cost is 10$ and a donation to the food bank. Depending on the group and their skill set levels, it can be focused on that one modality or sometimes you can cross pollinate depending if the group is open. Some examples are: drumming nights down at Inglewood where there are 6 different types of drums and then a didgeridoo shows up, another maybe a traditional BARs session where 6-10 practitioners do exchanges on each other. Or when you have a number of practitioners with variety of skills and one person is worked on at a time in a rotation sequence. If you get in with the right group, it can be magical. If not, start one on your own.
Self care can also be going the solitude route, which many of us need. Taking alone time, getting out in nature, connecting with a pet, going for a drive, having a bath, mediations of some type, journaling, heading to the gym, listening to something uplifting, going for a bike ride or painting. It comes in many forms but is simply distilled down to "BE-ing" and not "DO-ing" and just connecting to something that makes you happy. I am so surprised that many clients don't do this more for themselves. Practitioners need to really learn how important this is ~~ as self care is #1. If you aren't healthy, you can't treat anyone else. The energy now is more feminine and moving from "DO-ing" to "BE-ing" can be a struggle.
Other means of self care can be applying tools like saying affirmations, wearing certain colors, using different aroma therapies, gravitating to different crystals, attending spiritual/body/mind expos, listening to powerful bilateral beats or sounds, attending retreats, going on a picnic with a loved one. It's amazing how many hours people work and put into their families and how many forget about "ME" time as they think that they are being selfish! Interesting point of view!!!
Ok, on another note-- this might hurt -- but don't waste your time anymore with negative people. "You are who your friends are", is a quote my mom would always say prior to me leaving the house. Your friends need to be your tribe and have your back, make your heart sing and build you up. You know what I am talking about. Yes, you do need to cut them out or slow down and not feel it necessary to hang out with them. Yes, this may mean you even have to UNFACEBOOK FRIEND them. This goes for family too. If your bucket isn't getting filled, your energy and attitude won't grow. It is ok if you are starting to climb a new mountain and they are still stuck on the old one, you can always look across and wave but at least you are moving forward. This is self care as it shows that you are important and honor yourself.
For myself, I been challenged to turn off my A-type brain and have found that it has costed me, my health over the years. As I move into my 50s, I've got it more balanced. I tend to turn off my phone, disconnect from social media and zen in my hammock. I've tried all of the things above and they worked. I did have to raise my hand & ask for help a few times as I've dove deep into me by seeing a number of counselors throughout my journey depending on what I was struggling with at the time. Nothing was more refreshing then taking all my problems into an office and just dumping them out on the couch and leaving them there. I think I must have brought a few truck loads and man did that ever feel great once I walked through the hot burning fire of my story......it was just that ~~ a story.
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