Note: This is NOT a thread to discuss Coronavirus. Any debate or derision on this thread will be immediately reported to staff.
Namaste.
Over the past month, I would have loved to have taken a shot of "courage" for every time I heard the word "unprecedented" but there is no other word which does or current situation any justice, really.
The influence it has manifested on a personal and societal level ranges from being a mild inconvenience (albeit an annoying one) to outright life-changing and detrimental on many levels thus affecting us holistically.
Terms like "social distancing", "flattening the curve", "self-isolation" and "stay at home" have become the popular lexicon within the past month, while the world and the very nature of our comfortable lifestyle drastically changes for an indeterminable period of time...but that shouldn't mean much to those who live in and for the present moment, right? Those who live in the "NOW"?
For a whole month, I allowed myself to also get caught up in the fear and panic which surrounds the whole "uncertainty principle" and that is easy enough to do as human beings once we are forced to adapt to a new set of circumstances which has an unpredictable trajectory....but that is what life is all about regardless. It just takes an issue like a global pandemic or plague to bring that uncertainty to the fore and to force us all to confront ourselves and our own fears and shortcomings within the privacy of our personal meditation space or that 3 metre distance around the toroidal magnetic energy of our Heart Chakra that we can no longer share in that "up close and personal" way.
Isolating oneself at home gives us all a "time out" to give ourselves a bit of self-love and to take a step back and just breathe...to readjust, reassess and then say "where to from here?" If you haven't already reached the perspective of "here" being "everywhere" yet...as such, I have developed a "spiritual survival kit" which may not be everybody's cup of green tea, so I hope to anticipate all of the "does not apply to me" comments which may eventuate:
1. DOWNSIZE. Learning how to do more with less is going to become the new "norm" so get in early. If you haven't used it in the past six months, chances are you aren't going to. Make the most of whatever space you are confined to..be that in your environment or in your own mind. You are more than likely to be grateful for small items and small mercies when you don't have to wade through a mountain of possessions to find them.
2. WORK ON YOURSELF - Whether you have been procrastinating about doing meditation, yoga, walking around the block, reading spiritual books, doing an online course in naturopathy, healing, learning Tai Chi, martial arts, belly dancing etc,whatever you do spiritually that "floats your boat", you have just been given the reason and incentive to step it up a notch and go into "intensive mode"...Seeing as how I am going to be having a lot of money with nothing to spend it on, I will be doing that online "Kundalini course" with Raja Choudhury through the Shift network.
3. EAT HEALTHY - I have noticed how the hoarders and raiders in my area don't even touch anything that is organic or gluten free or low Fodmap or ketogenic..so this current climate is a dieter's paradise! Seeing as how you are at home for the next "whenever", what better time to do a full body detox? Do a liver/gallbladder flush...a colon cleanse (Shankh Prakshalana) there is still plenty of lemons, olive oil, apple juice and Epsom salts available and they haven't turned the water off her so go for it! Follow up the colon flush with kichari:
https://recipes.howstuffworks.com/wh...ying-foods.htm
4. GET A HOBBY - you may or may not have something you enjoy doing on a regular basis but now is a great time to either devote more time to an existing hobby or to learn something new. I love designing and colouring in mandalas, painting flat stones, growing herbs and playing my djembe. You may like to do other things...work on your automobile, do maintenance and repairs around the home you have been putting off for a while, clean the yard, learn a new language or how to play an instrument, knit/crochet, fiddle with your phone apps..The sky is the limit.
5. STAY CONNECTED - Not only to each other through networking and social media, but also to God/Source/Divinity..whatever we associate with as being the wellspring of our strength, Spirituality and creativity. Spend more time getting to know your partner, your children, your family as the unique individuals they are and dedicate more bonding time through play like board games or just kicking the ball around in the back yard...pets are also included...Pet them more.. massage them more...take them on more walks around the local area...they will love the attention you are lavishing on them and stay in daily contact with close friends and family members through WhatsApp or Facebook..even make some funny Tik Tok videos if you are that way incined.
Mental Health is very important during these trying times and for some, no matter how much we try and keep ourselves occupied or distracted, anxiety and depression can still creep in and slowly or insidiously work it's way into our attempts to stay calm and centred within our own "being" during this opportunity the universe has provided to do just that.
If you are facing issues with your mental health, please contact your local and regular general practitioner (either in person or via TeleHealth) or phone the mental health crisis hotlines in your respective countries such as Lifeline, Beyond Blue or the MHA Hotline:
MHA Hotline
https://www.mhanational.org/get-involved/contact-us
Beyond Blue
https://www.beyondblue.org.au/get-su...s-and-websites
NHS Hotlines
https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/stress...lth-helplines/
The staff here at Spiritual Forums are also available for private consultation during these challenging and difficult times for support or just a chat. Please contact Lynn the Administrator via Personal Message for further details. We are thankful and appreciative of all the hard work the staff does and continues to do to support the site and its members during times of uncertainty and adversity...much love goes out to them.
6. DRAWING INSPIRATION.
Each of us comes from a wide variety of spiritual "backgrounds" with certain leaders and teachers helping us to steer our boats through these unchartered, turbulent waters and I have spent the past few days drawing upon their collective wisdom..so I would like to take the opportunity of sharing them here and at this time to bring some Spiritual perspective in light of a global calamity:
Igor Kufayev
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=hhGVbqrZYds&t=2s
Adyashanti
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=_OPOwikIUC8&t=1710s
Sadhguru
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=_FtlDiOFzuA
Ekhart Tolle
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wKpmXhGVMxI
Gregg Braden
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lC7YiHrnSjg
Matt Kahn
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=n0_xIh8Rvoo&t=380s
Craig Holliday
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7aWtPGWZZ04
Swami Sarvapriyananda
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=vzFtOOVQPmA
Deepak Chopra
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=OWEl85G3uJk
Robert Adams
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lC7YiHrnSjg
Teal Swan
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=tawArbh_5nM
Some really great Satsangas there...much online Darshan to be had...that last one by Teal is a bit controversial...but why is it that there seems to be NO female "Spiritual Masters?" Ever notice that? Plenty of guys doing the talk circuit, but no girls? What's up with that? I just had to find one of them. Lol
Anyway, my phone is about to die (don't blame it) and I must take this opportunity to offer my love and prayers to all of you who are doing it tough out there..my heart goes out to all you people and know that there is a light at the end of the tunnel...the universe has a greater plan for us all...even though we may not realise it right now.
Take care of yourselves and I wish each and every one of you the best batch of lemonade you can make right now.
Dianne.
Linear Mode
