spiritual practice
How To Beat The Holiday Blues This Year!
The holidays can be a very difficult and depressing time for some people. It can trigger unresolved emotions from childhood, unhealed trauma from past relationships, or unfinished grief from lost loved ones.
It can also make you feel more lonely, disconnected, and isolated than usual.
Especially for people struggling with existing mental health conditions such as anxiety or depression, their symptoms may worsen during the holidays due to increased stress, social demands, and cultural triggers.
But there are ways to beat the holiday blues and overcome sadness, depression, or low spirits during “the season to be jolly.” There are ways you can take back your power and improve your mood and overall well-being.
First, it is necessary to determine what is causing you to not feel the holiday cheer that everyone else seems to be experiencing.
Several factors can contribute to negative, gloomy thoughts and feelings during this time of year. A common trigger for many of us is that mainstream holiday traditions tend to emphasize spending time with loved ones and family, which can exacerbate feelings of loneliness for those who are socially isolated or have lost loved ones. This isolation can be particularly acute for those of us who live far from family or have strained relationships with them.
Navigating Loneliness During the Holidays
The holiday season is traditionally portrayed as a time of togetherness, love, joy, and belonging. We are inundated with media images of families gathered around a festive table, friends celebrating, and communities coming together.
Paradoxically, for many people, this time of year is instead filled with feelings of loneliness, isolation and disconnection.
The root cause is the societal stereotype and cultural assumption that everyone should be joyful, happy, and surrounded by loved ones during the holidays. If you’re not, for whatever reason, it can lead to feelings of inadequacy, isolation, and social failure.
Holiday loneliness is exacerbated by the stark contrast between our actual circumstances and the commercially driven, idealized versions of holiday gatherings and celebrations we see in advertisements, television shows, movies, and social media. This increases feelings of disconnection, low self-esteem, and even depression.
Loneliness during the holidays can have a significant impact on mental health. Feelings of isolation and disconnection during this time of year can exacerbate existing mental health issues and lead to the development of new ones. The constant reminders of togetherness and joy, combined with a lack of social connections and meaningful interactions, can increase feelings of loneliness, leading to emotional distress, feelings of emptiness and hopelessness, and a decline in overall well-being.
How To Start Your Journaling Practice
Journaling is a powerful tool for personal and spiritual growth. As a spiritual practice, it can help bring to light insights that we might otherwise overlook.
However, many people never pursue it because it can seem too difficult and time-consuming to incorporate into their lifestyle, but this is not true. Getting started with journaling is much simpler and easier than people think.
First, remember that you don’t have to write entire essays in your journal. You may want to write a few pages one day, but then just a sentence or two for the next few days.
There’s really no right or wrong way to journal, so don’t create rules or expectations about how much you should write or even what you should write about. At first, you may feel like you don’t really know what you want to write about. That is okay. Don’t judge what you write and don’t pressure or censor yourself in any way. Allow yourself to write whatever you feel moved to write.
You may just want to reflect on some mundane events that happened on an ordinary day, while another day may bring up some strong emotions that you want to write about. Journaling is a great way to vent, and there is something healing about putting your thoughts and feelings on paper.
Harnessing Intuition To Be A Better Manager
In the demanding landscape of modern business, effective leadership is more important than ever. As a leader, navigating the complexities of the workplace requires a unique set of skills, and while data-driven decision-making and strategic planning are undoubtedly important, there are powerful tools that are often overlooked: intuition and spirituality.
Inner wisdom and spiritual awareness are invaluable assets for managers seeking to improve their leadership skills. By cultivating a deeper connection with our inner being and the universe, we gain access to a source of wisdom and guidance. It enables one to tap into a deeper understanding and a higher level of consciousness that gives you a winning edge of increased empathy and nuanced awareness in the workplace.
True intuition is more than guesswork or simply a culmination of our past experiences, knowledge, and insights. It is a mystical force, a spiritual superpower, a key component of our inner guidance system.
As a leader, you’ve probably faced countless challenges and solved numerous problems throughout your career. Intuition allows you to tap into the inner guidance of your higher self to make better decisions and more accurate judgments.
Finding Your Superpower Within
Within you is a secret reservoir of untapped strength, a magical source of resilience, a mental and emotional fortitude waiting to be activated.
This inner strength is not a fixed trait, but a dynamic force that can be cultivated and nurtured through conscious effort and self-awareness. We all have the superpower of a cosmic hero within.
Vulnerability
The path to uncovering our inner strength often begins with embracing vulnerability and acknowledging our imperfections and shortcomings.
It’s about recognizing that we are not infallible, but rather perfect spiritual beings in an imperfect human form, each with our unique blend of strengths, weaknesses, and karmic lessons to learn.
This willingness to be vulnerable allows us to shed the masks we wear and connect with our authentic selves, our soul identity, the core of our being where our true strength resides. It’s in this space of authenticity that we can begin to identify and cultivate the qualities that empower us to meet life’s challenges, face our karmic debts, and pursue our soul plan aspirations.
Finding Your Joy In A Fast-Paced World
Finding happiness, joy and inner peace can be challenging in today’s fast-paced, ever-changing world. The constant influx of new information and misinformation, societal pressures, and the rapid evolution of technology can leave us feeling overwhelmed and disconnected.
But amidst the chaos, there is actually a proven way to cultivate a more joyful state of being that transcends these external circumstances. It is no secret that cultivating some form of spiritual practice can greatly transform your life.
One powerful way to invite more joy into your life is through a gratitude practice. Take a little time each day to reflect on the positive aspects of your life and acknowledge the many blessings you enjoy. This essential spiritual practice will shift your focus from what may be lacking in your life to the true abundance available to you, fostering a much more positive mindset and attracting more prosperity and well-being into your life.
The great country-western singer Willie Nelson once said, “When I started counting my blessings, my whole life turned around. He is not the only public figure to attribute at least part of his success and fulfillment to an attitude of gratitude. For example, Cathy Hutchison writes that many wealthy people have a gratitude practice, including Oprah Winfrey, Tony Robbins, Cindy Crawford, and Chris Pratt.
The Constant Battle Of Head Versus Heart
Have you ever second-guessed yourself, done or said something that went against your gut, only to realize in retrospect that your initial feeling or hunch was right? Had you acted differently, it could have saved you a lot of heartache and loss, emotionally, physically or financially?
If you have ever been in this position, know that you are not alone. The “head versus heart” dilemma can be very confusing and frustrating. Many of my clients struggle with it and some experience a great deal of confusion, stress and emotional discomfort as a result.
When faced with difficult decisions or challenging situations, we usually have a good sense of what the best course of action might be. But then we tend to look for concrete evidence to support our feelings and intuitive hunches, and when we cannot find any, which is often the case, our heads take precedence over our hearts. So we end up discounting our feelings and intuitions, usually to our own detriment.
The struggle between head and heart is a common theme in philosophy, literature, art, and popular culture, as we all regularly experience inner conflicts between reason and emotion, logic and intuition, responsibility and passion.