“We all fall down in life…the secret to happiness is how fast you can get back up.” This Facebook post from author and spiritual speaker, Denise Linn, recently caught my attention. She shared that she had been feeling a bit sad and depressed, but she also realized that she could pick herself up more easily because of her spiritual tools.
I am very grateful for the tools that I have honed over the last nine years of my spiritual journey, a journey that began when my husband died and I had to redesign a whole new life for myself. Slowly over time with lots of reading and amazing teachers, I became aware of many of the spiritual tools that Denise Linn was referring to. Indeed, it was the sharing of these tools that inspired the creation of Joyful Life Tools two years ago.
My year has been filled with changes both joyous and scary, and I have had countless opportunities to practice using my spiritual tools. I am always grateful that I have these practices which allow me to navigate my life a little easier. Here are a few of my favorites.
Positive Self-Talk
Anxiety and fear could easily rule my life if I let it. I’ve found that it’s very important to closely monitor my self-talk, that little voice in my head that can fill me with worry. Do you have one of those? When we learn to listen, we can determine if the worries are imaginary or real. When we judge them to be imaginary “what-if’s” that have no validity, we can pull ourselves out of that dark place and back to the present moment. More recently I have found it very helpful to silently, but firmly, say to myself as many times as necessary, “I am right here, right now, and all is well.” I take a deep breath and get busy doing something else, walk, bake, garden, or run errands.
When, on the other hand, we find our worries are valid, we can determine what action can be taken at that moment to address the concern and take the first steps to alleviate our fears. Sometimes we may need to shelve the concern to deal with at a later time. For me it’s comforting to then add a reminder on my to-do list. And again, get busy doing something constructive.
No Failures
Another element of positive self-talk is to change our perspective about the word “failure.” We’ve all experienced a time or many times when we wanted to try something new, and we hear that little voice say, ”Uh-oh what if I fail.” Sometimes we then decide not to try this new adventure, and we miss out on a unique experience. By removing the word “failure” from our thinking, we feel the freedom to explore and discover the world around us. If we try something and don’t like the outcome, we are free to choose not to do it again or to do it differently the next time. Eliminating “failure” creates freedom.
Creating Quiet
Our world is so busy now. We are connected at all times in numerous ways. While on the one hand this can provide us with more freedom, it can also tether and strangle us. We must choose our technology carefully and thoughtfully. With all this busyness, it is crucial that we create times of quiet, time to just be.
This time of centering and solitude can take many forms. For some this means meditation or perhaps the practice of Qigong, Tai Chi, or yoga. For me it is often a session of Reiki, but I also find that time spent creating my jewelry or gardening is healing and calming as well. It’s also beneficial to find regular times to connect with nature by taking long walks or just sitting quietly in your favorite place outside.
Know Yourself
As we become better at listening to our own self-talk and creating quiet times for solitude and just being alone with our own thinking, we begin to know ourselves better. It’s important that we know ourselves intimately and accept what we find in the depths. We become better able to identify the emotions that rise up in us and what triggers them. We can then make better decisions about our next steps.
Connect With Others
We are not on this journey alone despite what we may feel sometimes. It’s important to connect with others. When you need help, reach out! This is a tough one for me and for many others. I’m not sure why. I’ve always found that when I do reach out, others are more than happy to help. I also know that when someone asks for my help, it brightens my day to be able to do something for them. And you don’t have to wait for someone to ask for your help. You can connect with others in a variety of ways by volunteering in your community.
Gratitude
Gratitude can lighten up our mood. It isn’t just about finding the words that identify what we are grateful for, though that is how it begins. We must then allow the words to connect with that feeling of gratitude and allow this feeling to fill our heart with its positive vibration. We will feel uplifted and can move forward with a lighter load.
Mindfulness
Underlying all of these practices is the tool of mindfulness, being present in our own life. Without this, our toolbox will sit unused on the shelf.
These are only a handful of the practices that can help us to navigate life more joyfully and smoothly. They take practice, practice and more practice and even with these tools there is no instant gratification. Walking this journey is still about one foot in front of the other. We often get side tracked and adjustments are needed to get us back on our path. I ran into this quote right after Denise Linn’s.
“It’s rather easy to shine in the light but to glow in the dark…that’s mastery.” Rick Beneteau
I found this strangely encouraging. I’m going to keep practicing. May we all light the way for each other.