Most of us have been feeling cooped up in our homes following social distancing guidelines for the past 6-7 weeks, something I call shackwacky (shack-wacky). At first, it was all new to us, we had many questions like "how do I manage groceries, how do I keep in touch with loved ones, how do I keep my income flowing......." This kept our minds busy staying organized with too much time on our hands.
As time progresses, many of us are chomping at the bit to get outside, visit with friends and family but, we are still, essentially, stuck in the house. This feeling of stuckness is what I might characterize as shack-wacky.
It is important to realize that not much has changed, from an emotional perspective, since we started this journey. What may have changed is the way we are beginning to look at our situations; roommates (husband, wife, kids, in-laws, grandparents) start becoming more annoying. That TV show that seemed like a God-send 4 weeks ago is now bugging you. Walking the dog, one more time, without being able to go to the park is feeling down-right stifling. Ordering groceries and getting whatever is chosen for you just feels limiting. We are independent creatures and our ability to choose is being compromised regularly. Let's not talk about binging on food and alcohol to numb the boredom.
So, what to do about it?
Self-discipline, self-organization, self-motivation, practicing self-love are answers to this problem. As we have more time on our hands, with limited entertainment resources, it becomes important to create routines of self-care. One person I know is writing her book at this time. Another is taking advantage of the time to purge unwanted clutter. I am studying ways to reach out to disenfranchised people in our health-care system to see if "Tapping" can be embraced by our health authority.
Try some of these ideas out and let me know what happened.
- Plan your day the night before you go to bed.
- This will allow you to write down your thoughts and signals your mind that there is a plan and things will be accomplished. In turn, this allows you to sleep better because you have "uncluttered" your mind.
- Set an alarm with the intention of meditating for an hour before your day starts. In my opinion, meditating first thing is a key to feeling calm and happy for the rest of your day. Why get up early? According to Dr. Joe Dispenza, when we first wake up the mind is transitioning from sleep state (theta or delta brain-wave states) to beta from where we operate our daily lives. Meditating moves us from beta to theta and it can be more effective to get back into theta if we are already feeling sleepy in the early morning.
- NOTICE! When we are frustrated with your situation or a family member remember that person or event is there FOR YOU, not happening TO YOU. If you simply notice how you feel and take 100% responsibility for your emotions it is empowering. If I know I am in charge of how I feel I instantly have the power to change that feeling. Remember, no-one can ruin your day. It is all about how you react to others and situations that causes either a problem or a solution. When annoyed, say "oh well", "this too shall pass". Put a big gaudy Christmas bow or a halo over the top of that feeling and wonder what the gift may be from this event or person. These minor frustrations are a perfect opportunity to heal yourself as the problem is always yours not the other persons.
- CLEAN! Cleaning changes everything. "I love you, I am sorry, Please forgive me, Thank you" from the minute you awake to the moment you drift off to sleep. Ask your subconscious mind to clean on your behalf when you are distracted or sleeping, creating 24/7 cleaning to erase unwanted memories from today back to the beginning of time. Cleaning is only done for you, by you, through your heart, to your Creator. This is never about someone else. The problems are only individual. According to the teachings of Ho'oponopono the only problems we truly have are from old memories replaying creating a vision of life that causes us to suffer. Cleaning erases those memories and allows for the inspiration from Creator to run our lives bringing more love and light into our lives. When I am stuck between a rock and hard place, not knowing how to say something to someone or having to make a difficult decision the only tool I use is cleaning. Try it. The changes may feel subtle at first but be prepared to be amazed at how powerful cleaning is if you truly embrace it.
- Forgive others. Many of us have people in our lives that we blame for how we feel. I don't think there has been a client in my 12 year practice who didn't hold judgement over others. Forgiveness is the key to freedom. It is important to remember that you came to Earth to have a physical experience and whatever event caused you to judge someone or something was brought to you on behalf of your own Soul. The person or event are simply the messengers of a pre-ordained contract with your Creator before you were allowed to come to Earth. Forgive and set yourself free.
- Forgive yourself. Most of us feel that, at least, a part of us is not ok. Many feel broken or guilty or ashamed. Care-givers from our past, who felt the same way, taught us to beat ourselves up. We were trained to feel like we are not enough or should have made more progress in life. My question is; "how do you know you are not enough?" "What are the standards that you have to meet to be enough?" Who set those standards or do you even know what they actually are? Many people feel not enough without ever asking the questions; "what is enough? What do I have to accomplish before I allow myself to feel that I am enough?"
Try This: Imagine three thought bubbles attached to your head with a string each. Inside one bubble is the word guilt. Inside the other bubble is the word shame and inside the third bubble is the word inadequate. Feel any feelings that relate to those words for you. Close your eyes and imagine a beautiful, shining, super-sharp pair of silver scissors reaching out across those three strings and, with your eyes closed, imagine cutting those words free, watching them drift away into the ether. Take a deep breath in through the nose, hold it for a couple seconds and let it out through the mouth with the thought "I forgive myself". Do this exercise at least three times and see how you feel. Remember, you are perfect having an imperfect physical experience as was pre-ordained, your Creator loves you without strings attached and wants nothing more from you than to love yourself with no strings attached. - Laugh. Humor is a great way to make things feel better. We were given laughter and a quick wit in order to make light of those curve balls that life throws at us. Find a really good comedian who isn't using anger as a tool for laughter and spend some time enjoying their musings. Two of my personal favorites are Trevor Noah and Jerry Seinfeld.
I could go on but, perhaps, this is enough for one article. I trust you will embrace some or all of these ideas and I look forward to your feedback.
I love you, I am sorry, Please forgive me, Thank you.
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