When life becomes overwhelming and stress or depression set in, it might be a good time for a Staycation and full immersion Introversion. Unplug and retreat, until you miss the beat.
Are you looking for an antidote to heart-break, political overload, career burnout, or a good old fashioned psychological melt-down? Sounds like you could use a wellness vacation. Don’t worry this vacation won’t break the bank and doesn’t even require you actually go anywhere or even take time off work. It’s a 9 Step Sacred Space Wellness Plan to get your mojo back.
I’m a Feng Shui consultant so it’s my job to create sacred space that is aligned with my clients highest good. Recently I had to put my skills to the test in my own life when I was forced to deal with some personal issues and a bit of a dark night of the soul. It took everything I knew to create an environment and setting for myself where I could recover and recharge my batteries.
My plan not only works, but it has the added benefit of saving you money! It’s great for anyone on a budget and awesome for self identified Introverts, while surprisingly great for Extroverts and Ambiverts too…
Being Extroverted can become an identity or even a mask we wear. In some cases we need to be Extroverted for our livelihood. Sales people for instance don’t have the luxury of being insular or reserved. Same with performers and well anyone who deals with the general public. You simply have to put yourself out there to survive in this world. Whether you are an Extrovert, Ambivert or Introvert there is a side of you that needs to retreat from the outside world for deeper sustenance.
Carl Jung the father of analytical psychology came up with the terms Extrovert and Introvert defining them as a single continuum. Extraversion tends to be manifested in outgoing, talkative, energetic behavior, whereas Introversion is manifested in more reserved and solitary behavior. The term Ambivert came later and basically means somewhere in the middle.
Staycation…
No matter where you fall on the continuum, full immersion Introverion is the perfect antidote to chaos, stress, depression and heartbreak. Consider a relaxing Staycation. According to the Urban Dictionary this is a legitimate option. STAYCATION— A vacation that is spent at one’s home enjoying all that home and one’s home environs have to offer. Your home serves as the cocoon where you recharge your batteries before reemerging anew.
Necessity is the mother of invention so before I break down my 9 Step Sacred Space Wellness Plan, I want to explain how I got here. I have always liked people and socializing and have largely been perceived as very outgoing and Extroverted, but in the last year or so things changed and so did I. Just prior to the shift, I worked in high-end retail selling furniture as a way to build my Feng Shui practice. Selling high-end furniture had me catering to people and required a constant game face or happy face. I live in LA and you find yourself working with a lot of personalities and well privileged people who can be very demanding. Over time, this wore on me and I really started to “hate” people which was kind of alarming. I’d never felt that way before but the work I was doing took a toll on me. Around this same point in time, the company I worked for went under and my whole trajectory changed. A blessing in disguise! I took the opportunity to focus on my Feng Shui practice Narrative Space.
In addition to the end of my day job, there where a few additional personal catalysts, that heightened my need for self preservation. The political climate certainly played a role, but more personal issues made me ripe for a shift. I experienced 2 demoralizing and opposing extremes in my dating life, one of humbling rejection immediately followed by one of extreme aggression, obsession and menace from a man. My take away was that I was not clear on or attracting an emotionally healthy partner because something inside me was not right or centered. I was the common denominator in all of my relationships so I decided to work on myself. I shut down, stepped back and looked inward for healing and clarity and what I learned helped inform my ability to create Sacred Space for healing and recharging for not just myself but for my clients. There are 9 Steps to my Sacred Space Wellness plan and Staycation.
Your Staycation will be a glorious and psychologically luxurious experience! Set aside your Extrovert mask and fully explore your inner Introvert for a set period of time. It can can be a week, a month, several months or whatever amount of time feels right. You’ll know your Staycation is coming to a close when you start to feel yearnings to go out and share your unmasked and refreshed new self to the world.
STAYCATION Is A Full Immersion Introversion At Home… Treat your home as a metaphorical villa in some exotic location!
- Food For Thought
Plan ahead by having a fully stocked fridge full of fresh and nutritious ingredients and foods. Have intimate dinner parties where you get to connect over food and wine. Delivery is fine, however in Feng Shui, your kitchen represents your health and prosperity. A fully stocked fridge filled with fresh, nutritious food and ingredients is equivalent to being wealthy and healthy. Use all of your burners, use the oven, the toaster, the rice cooker and coffee machine! The more you utilize your kitchen and all it glorious instruments, the more chi/energy you raise. If you’re not much of a cook you can try one of those at home cooking delivery services but I highly recommend making your kitchen and cooking your friend if possible. Experiment with new recipes and try a healthy new cooking plan.
2. Circle of Trust (Most Important Step)
Pair down your inner circle to your nearest and dearest and be discerning about who you choose to spend time with. You’ll have to clear your calendar and only take on social events on an as needed basis. Spend quality time alone. See your friends and loved ones in the privacy of home or more intimate scenarios such as a dinner at your home or theirs or for a day in the park. This is the time to connect one on one or in small groups having deeper conversations and connections.
If you are not married or in a healthy relationship, I suggest you take a breather from dating. An emotional “time-out” can do you a world of good especially if you have a tendency to date assholes. It can help you reflect on why that might be and how you can shift that energetic pull to a healthier direction. If you are in a good relationship, it can be made even stronger if you take some time for yourself, but if it’s all peachy keen you can take these steps with your honey by your side.
Take this time to decide who your friends are because you are as strong as your weakest link. Cutting lose anyone who is dragging you down will do wonders for your overall quality of life and remove untold stress and conflict. I recognize that in life we all have to work with and even socialize with people that make us uncomfortable, in places we would rather not be doing things we would prefer not to. That said, we have full control over who our friends are and can learn to gravitate to better more rewarding relationships. As humans, we have such a deep impact on each other so who we spend time with makes a world of difference to our experience of life. This step alone will minimize overall conflict in your life and actually raise your vibration.
3. Cleanliness is Close To Godliness
Now that you are home for whatever duration you take your staycation, you might as well get organized! This is like the first rule of Feng Shui. Cleanliness is close to Godliness… Edit and get rid of all your physical baggage. It is like removing a huge energetic weight. This act alone can bring about major transformation, making both the energetic and physical space for blessings to enter your life. Deep clean your home and edit your closets, your papers, books, kitchen etc!
4. Write & Journal
Writing is a kind of meditation. You go into your own little world. It’s a great way to check in with yourself. Get a Journal and write down your dreams… Write about your goals, your feelings, your plans. Write letters to people you love and express yourself! You can even write letters you’ll never send to people who may have hurt you as a form of release. These letters you can burn as a symbolic gesture of completion. This is a healing exercise.
5. Read!!!
I bet you have a list of books you’ve been meaning to read for months or even years. Here’s your chance to commit to that reading list. Pull those books out and stack them in order of priority. Take a mental journey through your books. Learn something new. Read before bed and get out of your head. Reading is good for your mind and I am partial to books on paper rather than the electronic version but either way reading is good Feng Shui.
6. Nature — Connect with your Environment
Spending quality time outdoors is crucial to your Staycation since you’ll be spending so much more time at home. It is very important to incorporate time in nature. From a Feng Shui perspective, it is a vital ingredient to living a healthy harmonious life. Hike, bike, run, walk or swim outside. Combining exercise with being outdoors provides a multitude of benefits from enhanced fitness, to endorphins, to getting your necessary dose of vitamin D and fresh air etc.
Grounding — earthing or grounding refers to the discovery of benefits from walking barefoot outside and transferring the earth’s electrons from the ground into the body!!! When you’re hiking or at the beach or just outside, try grounding yourself by removing your shoes and walking barefoot.
7. Baths — with Epson Salt and or Pink Himalayan Sea Salt.
Salt baths are a powerful clearing, healing and releasing practice we can all employ. Two cups of pure Pink Himalayan Sea Salt, or Epson Salt in a steamy hot bath are a sacred technique for achieving a mystical version of “Calgon take me away!” These baths are especially great post work out to release the toxins. Try taking a clearing bath with salts at least once a week while you are on Staycation.
8. Meditate
Meditation is one of the best ways to check in with yourself. Try meditating at least once a day, but preferably twice; once in the morning and once in the evening. Make it a part of your routine and use it as your go to when trying to sort out a problem or your emotions. Simply sit quietly with your legs crossed, back straight, eyes closed, and hands resting on you lap or in prayer pose or cupped with thumbs touching. There are a number of hand poses and you can decide which you prefer. The most important thing in meditation is breath. Focus on your breath. In through your nose, out through your nose. 10 to 20 minutes will help you find clarity, relax, and release that which no longer serves you.
9. Design Your Happy Place
From a Feng Shui perspective, your home is a reflection of you. Take this opportunity to arrange it in a way that reflects your hopes and dreams. You can design a vision board, curate your art to create a positive narrative, and even make your own arts and crafts to enhance the beauty and aesthetic of your home.
You might want to Feng Shui your home such that it is truly aligned with your ideal personal narrative. Make home not only a soft place to land, but a fertile setting for your hopes and dreams to thrive. This will make your Staycation a perfect vacation and help you design a life you no longer need a vacation from.
We all have stresses in life, but if we are able to retreat and renew in our sacred space ie home, those problems are much easier to cope with. Introversion is a form of self preservation. You decompress and get to know yourself anew. Consider a Staycation for a period of healing, rumination and renewal!
By all accounts, I have always been pretty friendly and outgoing but when I started to lose that, I was also losing myself. Taking my own Staycation allowed me to not only like people again but to be more discerning about who I spent quality time with. I discovered another side of myself and learned how to check in with myself before checking out of my luxurious Staycation!
I developed a heightened sense about who to allow into my personal sphere and an enhanced ability to see the red flags I once ignored. I feel blessed and lucky to have rebooted and be able to share my blessings and what I’ve learned with you. The very things that caused me to feel so sensitive to people and places are the same things that make me a good Feng Shui consultant. My name is Laura Carrillo and I help people create Sacred Space. If you would like to learn more visit www.narrativespacefengshui.com or contact me at [email protected].
Originally published at medium.com