Try reframing “social distancing” to exquisite self-care, and see this time at home as your personal retreat, to get to know yourself at deeper levels beyond all the doing of daily tasks.
Meditating is one of the most important new skills to develop, if you are not already using it—particularly in these times when calming our minds is key to keeping us healthy. According to Dr. Joe Dispenza, a leading neuroscientist, gene expression can change in just four days of meditation.
I know, I know. It’s hard to do at first. Many of us would rather “stay busy” to distract from all the scary news in the world now.
If you told me eight years ago that I would sit still and meditate for 20 minutes per day as required by a healing program I was in, I would have laughed.
I could not comprehend then that solitude and quiet would be so fulfilling.
Plus, as a super busy mom running a coaching and marketing business, stopping was not an option, that is, until I got breast cancer. I learned through the nationally renowned Mind Body Program for Cancer at Massachusetts General Hospital that getting the body into a restful state is necessary to heal faster.
I struggled at first, thinking 20 minutes felt like 20 hours. Then, when I finally was able to be still, all sorts of racing thoughts and emotions I didn’t want to feel came forth. Sometimes I cried, which was a huge release after pushing forth so as not to have to feel how scared I was. Feelings are meant to be felt and released. Repressing them causes anxiety.
Fast forward to today, when I sometimes spend up to two hours daily meditating for myself and for each client before I meet with him or her. As a result, amazing guidance gets downloaded to me. Inner wisdom is one of our most valuable treasures—and it takes quiet to hear it.
Here are some inspiring thoughts that may lift you during one of those trying cabin fever moments:
“Seclusion is the price of greatness.” ~ Paramahansa Yogananda, ‘The Divine Romance’
“The best thinking has been done in solitude.” ~ Thomas A. Edison
“Solitude is the great teacher, and to learn its lessons you must pay attention to It.” ~ Deepak Chopra
“We live, in fact, in a world starved for solitude, silence, and private: and therefore starved for meditation and true friendship.” ~ C.S. Lewis, ‘Weight of Glory’
“The more powerful and original a mind, the more it will incline towards the religion of solitude.” ~ Aldous Huxley
“Talent is nurtured in solitude … A creation of importance can only be produced when its author isolates himself, it is a child of solitude.” ~ Johann Wolfgang Von Göethe
“If you’re lonely when you’re alone, you’re in bad company.” ~ Jean-Paul Sartre
“You think that I am impoverishing myself withdrawing from men, but in my solitude I have woven for myself a silken web or chrysalis, and, nymph-like, shall ere long burst forth a more perfect creature, fitted for a higher society.” ~ Henry David Thoreau, journal, February 8, 1857
“I had told people of my intention to be alone for a time. At once I realized they looked upon this declaration as a rejection of them and their company. I felt apologetic, even ashamed, that I would have wanted such a curious thing as solitude, and then sorry that I had made a point of announcing my desire for it. … To the spouse, or the long-time companion, or the family, and to the social circle, as it is called, the decision to be alone for any length of time is dangerous, threatening, a sign of rejection. … Having never felt the need to be alone themselves, having always lived happily in relationships, they looked upon my need as eccentric, even somewhat mad. But more than that, they saw it as fraudulent, an excuse to be rid of them rather than a desperate need to explore myself.” ~ Doris Grumbach, ‘Fifty Days of Solitude’
“Without great solitude no serious work is possible.” ~ Pablo Picasso
May this inward time of life bring you to a deeper connection with yourself and with those whom you love.
And, maybe to your surprise, you will even create some unique masterpiece of creativity—or new way of ‘being’—simply by taking this time to become the author of your own new, inner-driven life.
With love and blessings,
Gail
P.S.–I took the photo of the egret while hiking in Cary, NC. Little did I know then what importance its spiritual significance would have today. The egret’s presence, some believe, helps us look deeper, and see the bigger picture as well. It also teaches us to heal emotions, to bridge the mind and heart. Praying we all can find rich insights in these days ahead to heal not only ourselves, but this planet.
#solitude #social distancing #pandemic #coronavirus #meditating #self-care
Originally published at www.SupportMatters.com