I suppose the elephant in the room is the widespread anxiety and panic caused by the current President of the United States. I'm not being an ostrich but I refuse to engage with his bullshit. However, if you are a relatively sensitive person and even if you don't read the news, you will feel this stuff. You will feel the anxiety. This is posted as an antidote to that anxiety. It's about frontloading your mornings with good stuff that will help you deal head on with the stuff that hits you during the day.
Dear Friends and Readers,
I realize that we're bombarded with good advice, from all over, all of the time, and that it becomes overwhelming. The downside of working on oneself or being on a healing journey is the underlying idea that something needs to be fixed, that we're somehow flawed. I don't believe this. I love the idea that we have everything that we need and it's just about accessing it deep inside of each one of use. In these doolally, upside down, unsettling times one of the most helpful things I've found is to frontload my day with useful stuff so that I feel full and strong ready to meet the day. It hasn't been always very easy. For months during the winter I struggled with a morning routine; I wanted to find something that allowed me to do all the things I wanted to do before the work day started. These included walking outside (with dogs), yoga, meditation, writing and some kind of prayer (or gratitude practise). I'm sharing with you some things that I have found useful, and I hope they might be useful for you too. If this isn't your bag, please feel free to move on.
1. Greet every day as if it's going to be the best day ever. Simple advice, yes, but actually grounded in science. If you are looking for good things you will find them. (And the opposite applies).
2. Drink a full glass of water before your morning tea or coffee. You will be more dehydrated than you think after 7-8 hours of sleep. (Water of any kind: splash your face or have a shower. It shifts the energy.)
3. Time expands and contracts depending on your perspective. When you are anxious, for example, there never seems to be enough of it. If you are in a flow state (this happens to me on a horse, or walking the dogs in the woods) time stretches out luxuriously.
4.For a long time during a difficult period of my life, I did kundalini yoga almost every day with Tej in Los Angeles. I hadn't found a practise in the UK that spoke to me until I found this: Yogigems has bite-sized kundalini yoga videos, from 10-30 minutes long and delivered in a clear, warm and organized way. She has the loveliest voice, is a proper kundalini yoga teacher, and doesn't chit-chat annoyingly. I find it soothing and useful and its effect is very powerful. I've now done this practise for 10 days without a break and it has taken away the annoying racing thoughts that I've become so used to.
5. Be in nature. The marvelous Mel Robbins says that you shouldn't make any kind of decision until you've walked on it and find this to be true. Out of the door goes a tight, irritated, grumpy person, back comes a calm, happy, connected person. We've been gifted in the UK for the past couple of weeks clear, beautiful, sunny Los Angeles style weather, which has made it very easy to be out in it. There is so much going on! Yesterday we saw Tortoishell butterflies and cowslips on the Berkshire downs. Check out this lovely advice from Michael Mosley about the power of phytoncides.
6. Write down first thing ten things you're grateful for, send love to 2 people you find a little irksome, and sit quietly for five minutes and ask for advice. That's it.
7. Allow yourself to be outdoors. I read a wonderful account of a man who took his work outside for just an hour a day every day of the year, come rain or shine.
8. Be here now. This super simple piece of advice from Ram Dass is so clear. Everything happens in this moment. This very moment. Not the past (spoiler: you can't change it) or the future.
9. Greet everyone you meet as you would someone you love. (It helps, miraculously. You can be the change and all that.)
10. Eat some protein. Eggs, avocado, spinach, rye bread make a very good breakfast.
I hope some of this helps you. Take what you need as they say. Go well and peacefully.
With love from,
Miss Whistle
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