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Today's world runs at a fast, sometimes dizzying pace. While it is true to say that we have more technology and information than the generations before us, it is also true to say that, with the ever increasing demands of twenty first century life, we are called upon to adapt to change at a much more rapid rate than our ancestors were.
As women we excel at multi tasking, which means we cope with the stresses of our busy world. We juggle our way through life's pressures, balancing family, career and relationships, often putting ourselves at the bottom of the priority list.
It has been my experience, during the years that I have run my Dare to Dream Seminars, that women who insist on making time and space for themselves, engage in a regular review of their feelings and dreams, are in touch with their own needs and intuitions are those with a healthy soul and a more fulfilling inner life.
As a result of the insights I have shared over the years I have put together these Ten Points for a Healthy Soul. They represent the basic steps necessary for a self nurturing and life balancing plan.
- Relax from the pressures of every day living and breathe. Make it a regular part of your schedule to breathe deeply, meditate, exercise and experience laughter. Take breaks and holidays.
- Find a favorite 'safe place' where you can think and feel things through without interruptions. Retreat may be as simple as a sign hung on your bedroom door stating "Do Not Disturb - Soul Work In Progress". For some it will be a favorite beach, hillside, forest walk or comfy chair.
- Recognise and acknowledge yourself. Take note of the things you have achieved remembering some of the following areas:
Relationships, Personal Growth, Career
Write your self acknowledgements down in a diary, a journal or make them into a poster for your wall.
- Find gentle self honesty. Take some time to get to know yourself well. Review the areas in which you would like to grow and enhance yourself. Start a 'Self Growth Book' and write your thoughts down. Pick one or two areas to start on and note down your plans and strategies.
- Seek out friendships with people who are positive, honest and supportive of you and your Life Journey, these people are your 'Pillars of Support'. See this as a two way street; your friends will value your positive energy in return. Remember, we are all human; you don't have to be a guru to be a shining light!
- Live and speak your truth in ways that honour both yourself and the people in your life. Work on ways to negotiate and build healthy, harmonious relationships without 'selling out'.
- Remember the saying "Today is the first day of the rest of your life". Aim to stay mostly in the present, project a little into the future and embrace the past only for its wisdom and joys - leaving the rest of it where it belongs, firmly behind you. If you find this hard recognise the need for healing and put it at the top of your growth list in No. 4.
- Dare to Dream! Ask yourself what you would love to be doing and achieving. Don't hold back, life is not a dress rehearsal. Keep a section in your 'Self Growth Book' and seek out your unrequited dreams, even if it all seems like 'pie in the sky' to start with. Give yourself permission to be....
- Recreate yourself. Disappointments, criticisms and dips in self belief happen to us all. Work on ways of self renewal that best suit you. Recognise the people who are your 'pillars of support' it often helps to talk things through with them. Alternatively you can write down your frustrations and disappointments then take them to a safe fireplace or garden and burn them to let them go.
Balance your life. Recognise that life is best enjoyed like a good recipe, with all the ingredients in the right balance. A healthy, happy soul is one who can love and dream while having the skill to renew and recreate. Whether it best suits you to keep private and intimate notes or plaster your bedroom walls with brightly coloured spiritually affirming sayings will depend on your personality and personal choice, but it never hurts to have your head in the clouds as long as you still have one foot safely planted on the ground!
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