10 Calming Ways To Restore Joy And Well-Being In Troubling Times

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If this election has done anything positive, it’s woken many people up to the reality and trauma of oppression, and to the fundamental purpose of our nation’s systems.

Woken many people up to the fear of being hated for simply being yourself. A fear that many of us have felt every day since being born. We will get through this. But I believe we all need to take what we feel and use it as fuel to keep the fire burning. No one man (nor multiple) can EVER have all that power. Enough power to fill us with fear that creates paralysis in the journey of our purpose, no matter what conditions we are (temporarily) in or worried will come. This too shall pass and we can come out even stronger on the other side. I’ve seen it done many times as history repeats itself.

The government, created by people who are no less flawed than myself, will never have my full faith in this world. I am not surprised by this outcome because the rhetoric told through the election isn’t anything new to me personally. But I am undoubtedly further inspired and motivated to dig deeper within myself to create and be the change I want to see. Love. I am inspired to continue living in my purpose knowing I am protected while carrying forth. We’re all protected. You are in control of you. And this is not the end, at all.

We are where we are. Let’s collect. Let’s listen. Let’s create. I want to share with you a few points that have, over the years, helped me find peace in our present. I’ve experienced the oppression that has been vividly exposed during this election throughout my entire life. Yet, I still choose joy. I find peace within myself, because on either side you stand or what it may look like to you individually, peace within is what we all want. I think there has never been a better time for each of us to tap into ourselves and grow. If we want to change the state of our country, of our world, we have to start by taking a look at ourselves.

The hate has always been here. We are hyper-focused on it now because it’s become part of our national conversation. Now that we can all share a bit of empathy from oppression, we all have a choice to make on what our country will look like moving forward. We can’t help the world until we help ourselves. I’ve transcribed these 10 points from Deepak Chopra to help us all exercise and practice self-care.

1. Listen to your body.

2. Live in the present moment, for it is the only moment you have.
Keep your attention on what is here and now. Look for the fullness in every moment. Accept what comes to you totally and completely so that you can appreciate it, learn from it, and let it go. The present moment reflects infinite laws of nature that have brought you to this exact thought, place, and response. This moment is as it should be because the universe is as it is. Don’t struggle against the infinite scheme of things, instead be at one with it.

3. Take time to be silent.
Take time to meditate. Take time to quieten the internal dialogue. In moments of silence, realizing that you are reconnecting with your source of pure consciousness or pure awareness. Pay attention to your inner life so that you can be guided by intuition rather than externally imposed interpretations of what is or isn’t good for you or what is or isn’t good for the rest of the world. Take time to go within.

4. Relinquish your need for external approval.
Ultimately, you alone are the judge of your worth when your goal is to discover infinite worth in your own self — no matter what other people think about you. There is great freedom in this realization. Go beyond your need for approval and try to stay unaffected by personal criticism, in fact, try to learn from it. Learn from all the people who criticize you most harshly.

5. When you find yourself reacting with anger or opposition to any person or circumstance, realize that you’re only struggling with yourself. Difficult to realize, but it’s true. Putting up resistance is a responsive defense created by old hurt. When you relinquish this anger, you will be healing yourself and cooperating with the flow of the universe. Before you react, just observe your reaction to react. Press pause before you react.

6. Know that the world out there reflects your reality inside.
The people you meet and react to strongly are also a reflection of our inner state of consciousness. So the people you react to the most strongly, whether with love or hate, are projections are your inner world. What you most hate is what you most deny in yourself. What you most love is what you most wish for in yourself. Use the mirror of relationships to guide your evolution. These times are guiding our evolution. The goal? Total self-knowledge. When you achieve that, what you will most want will automatically be there, and what you most dislike will automatically disappear. The world is a mirror; not only of our personal psyche, but our collective psyche. So this is an opportunity for evolution.

7. Shed the burden of judgment and you will be lighter. Judgment imposes “right” and “wrong” on situations that just are. Everything can be understood and forgiven when you truly understand that what happens in the outer world is a reflection of the inner world and each of us is doing the best we can for the state of awareness we’re at. Same with our collective world; our collective consciousness is being reflected. But when we stridently judge others, we reflect our lack of self-acceptance. And it’s important to remember that every person you forgive adds to your own self-love. We don’t forgive because the other person deserves forgiveness; we forgive because WE deserve peace.

8. Don’t contaminate your body with toxins, either through food, drink or toxic emotions.
Your body is more than a life-support system. It’s the vehicle that will carry you on the journey of your evolution. The health of every cell directly contributes to your state of well-being because every cell is a point of awareness within the feel of awareness that is you. So, be kind to your body. Don’t contaminate it with toxins.

9. Replace fear motivated behavior with love motivated behavior.
Fear is the product of memory of which dwells in the past. Remembering what hurt us before, we direct our energies toward making certain that an old hurt will not repeat itself. But trying to impose the past on the present will never wipe out the threat of being hurt. That happens only when you find the security of your own being, which is love. If you’re motivated by the truth inside you, you can face any threat because your inner strength is invulnerable to fear.

10. Understand that the physical world is just a mirror of a deeper intelligence.
Intelligence of the invisible organizer of all matter and energy. Since a portion of this intelligence resides in you, you share in the organizing power of the cosmos. Because we are inseparably linked to everything, we cannot afford to foul the planet’s air and water, we cannot afford to foul the psyche of others. But at a deeper level, we cannot afford to live with a toxic mind because every thought makes an impression on the whole field of intelligence. Living in balance and purity is the highest good for you, for the world, for the earth and for the cosmos.