Last year, my husband asked me what I wanted for my birthday, and I answered, as I have for the past few years; “I don’t know.” But this year, he responded back in frustration “but I don’t know what you like, you’re always changing.” He’s response made me think, dang he’s my husband, shouldn't he know me well enough by now, I mean, we’ve only been married for 15 years, doesn't he know what I like? How is it I had no problem buying the perfect gift for him? That I could know exactly what he wanted, but he did not know what to buy for me. This had me pondering deeper, come to think of it, I don’t know what I want either, how should I expect him to know. I thought hard for days and came up with nothing. I felt lost, because it was hard for me to understand how a person like me, with all my creativity, skills, talents and all my interest, could not think of one thing that I wanted... And as I continue to exam my feelings I realize that not much excited me in life at all these days, I had no desire to participate in any of the many hobbies I use to love, I just felt indifferent about most things, and it seemed to be getting worse. It made me feel envious of my husband at this point, because he knew what he wanted and I knew what would make him happy, and I just felt numb.
This led me on a spiritual journey of self-re-discovery last summer. On this journey I discovered that I have been suffering from emotional numbness, and did not realize it because I was too busy being “busy”, and functioning on autopilot. Can you relate? I kept myself ridiculously busy and was going no where, picture a hamster in a wheel with dread locks, that was me. But then I realized that my busyness was a distraction, a coping mechanism that kept the pain I collected and stored for years buried deep inside. I thought to myself, man things gotta change, "I’m not going to go anywhere in life stuck in this space right now," that's when I knew it was time for an awakening.
Today, I'm on the path of healing. I am beginning to feel excited about the life I am creating, caring more about my wants and needs and being more present in the moment. I started feeling worthy and deserving, I'm finding out what my divine gifts and purposes are, and learning how I can live in that space of living for what brings me joy. I am now a Joy Junky, and my life now feel like hope. My truth? In order for me to feel whole, I must learn to become my own healer. Here is whats in my apothecary cabinet
1) PRAY: (if you're not religious than skip this one, but I still highly recommend trying it)Apply at least 3 times a day, and as needed
“Prayer, being the primary method of communication between God and man, plays an important part in practically every religion, whether Christian or otherwise.” Franklin D. Richards. I am a praying woman, I know it has definitely brought me closer to God and closer to knowing my place on this earth. It gives me hope and clarity in my life, it's healing, it's strengthening, and every morning that starts with a prayer I can feel how it sets the right tone for the rest of the day, and I'm divinely directed on the right path. If you already pray daily continue, if you don’t, make it a priority to do so every day, several times a day.
2) MEDITATION:Apply at least 1 once a day, and as needed
If Prayer is your communication with God, then meditation is you being still enough to hear His answer. There is so many benefits in this practice, especially when it comes to calming the mind. According to Psychology Today researchers has identify areas in the brain linked to mindfulness and anxiety reduction and have found that mindfulness meditation strengthens a person's cognitive ability to regulate emotions. I have been practicing meditation daily for the past couple of years and it has helped me tremendously with anxiety and depression, and I am more aware of myself today. It has definitely put me on the path of healing, and I can’t imagine not having this in my life.
3) HEALING PARTNER: Apply at least 1 once a day, and as needed
It is always suggested when starting out on a new diet or new fitness journey, that it’s a good idea to have an accountability partner, so what about a healing partner? Someone with similar healing goals as you do to be accountable to! Do you hate attending group therapy sessions alone, take your healing partner with you! Sometimes it’s hard to let things go in the past or to have empathy for your past self. My life coach taught me a valuable lesson, that when you have a healing partner you can borrow that empathy you have for your partner and use it for yourself, it important to let out angry and sadness and pain so that you can address it head on and heal, rather than to push it down, only for it to fester and manifest later as a self-limiting belief, or autoimmune disease, or mental illness later on in life. A partner keeps you on the path and gives you courage to move forward during the healing process. My healing partner and I do many of this practices on the list together like yoga and meditation.
4) ESSENTIAL OILS: Apply 1-2 drops frequently throughout the day
Physical discomfort is not the only application for essential oils, they are also amazing for emotional support. There are oils for sadness, anxious feelings, anger, grief and emotional trauma. As I started using oils I mainly used them for physical discomfort, and quickly found myself leaning on them for emotional support, they worked fast and gave me much needed relief! My favorite oils to support emotional trauma or anxious feelings are Balance, Serenity, Frankincense, Peace, Rose and Console to name a few. When using essential oils for emotions it’s typically used aromatically or topically. However, be careful, as all oils are not equal in quality. I can’t speak on the purity of other oils, but I do know that most oils that are found in stores and online are adulterated to keep the prices cheap, and that is exactly what you ar getting cheap oils, so you get what you pay for. However, I can speak with confidence when it comes to dōTERRA’s CPTG essential oils, with these oils you are using the highest quality that goes beyond organic. It is the most tested and the most trusted on the market. If you would like to try some, comment below for a free essential oils sample. Or learn more by attending or requesting a class, it's also free.
5) TAPPING: Apply at least 1 once a day, and as needed
Have you ever heard of Tapping? Nick Orton of the Tapping Solution explains that “Tapping, also known as EFT (Emotional Freedom Techniques), is a powerful holistic healing technique that has been proven to effectively resolve a range of issues, including stress, anxiety, phobias, emotional disorders, chronic pain, addiction, weight control, and limiting beliefs, just to name a few. Tapping therapy is based on the combined principles of ancient Chinese acupressure and modern psychology. Tapping with the fingertips on specific meridian endpoints of the body, while focusing on negative emotions or physical sensations, helps to calm the nervous system, rewire the brain to respond in healthier ways, and restore the body’s balance of energy”. I started this practice just this year, because it has been haunting me for a long time! For the past 3 or so years I keep hearing about this tapping thing, first I stumbled on some YouTube video about it and I thought that people were totally losing there minds! Then I started notice well respected people were doing it, it started popping up in the news, in business training sessions, I just could not escape it! So I finally I broke down and did a little reach and found out that there is solid scientific evidence, click here to see some of the research collected by the Taping Solution website https://www.thetappingsolution.com/science-research/ it’s incredible and guess what? Now I’m hooked! I try to Tap every day with the aid of essential oils, and I love it!
6) DIET: Apply at least 3 times a day, occasional healthy snacking is permitted
From my personally experience in raising children with mental health challenges, I have found a connection between food and mental health. One of the most ignored trends in mental health is the role of nutrition. I have seen this truth in my family. Whenever my daughter that suffered from Bi-polar disorder ate anything containing sugar or gluten or that was processed, she would have bad emotional episodes. EVERY. SINGLE. TIME. But when she was eating cleaner she had more control in managing her moods. Unfortunately, even whole foods contain far less nutritional value than it did 30 years ago, organic or not. We are literally starving for nutrients, and I believe there’s no coincidence why mental illnesses, anxiety and autoimmune diseases run rampant in our society, it has become just as commonplace as a simple cold, or headache, we have all excepted it as just a part of life. I have found a remedy for this in dōTERRA’s Lifelong Vitality Supplement Pack. Whenever I share information about these supplements I have to restrain myself from repeating this line from Dozer from the Matrix: “It's a single-celled protein combined with synthetic aminos, vitamins, and minerals. Everything the body needs.” LOL! Except in this case there are no synthetics and it contains 9 essential oils along with the perfect balance of omega oils and it’s 100% bioavailable, so your body is absorbing all the nutrients it has to offer! And the folks at dōTERRA are so confident, they offer a 30-day money back guarantee even if you finish them off!Primary Benefits
General wellness and vitality
Antioxidant and DNA protection
Energy metabolism
Bone health
Immune function
Stress management
Cardiovascular health
Healthy hair, skin, and nails
Eye, brain, nervous system
Liver function and digestive health
Lung and respiratory health
Gentle on stomach
Non-GMO, gluten-free, dairy-free
You can stand this up to any Multivitamin at your nearest health food store and I promise you will not finds it’s equal. I also would like to add that it is important to find the diet that is right for your body's chemistry, there is no "one diet fits all" plan. I recommend looking into the blood type diet, or the elimination diet to figure out what your can or cannot tolerate, and what it thrives on. Would you like to learn more about the Lifelong Vitality Supplement Pack? Comment below!
7) EARTHING: Apply daily for 30 minutes, or as needed
Did you know your body is being held together by electricity? If you had Subatomic vision you would be able to see that each cell in your body are made up of molecules, and molecules are made up of two or more atoms, and atoms are a combination of protons, neutrons and electrons. Protons are positively charged, neutrons has no charge and electrons has a negative charge. The body when broken down to it’s core is basically energy! Just like your electrical household appliances, you must be grounded. Unlike Tapping this was one of those weird sounding modalities that actually made a lot of sense to me and was super easy for me to adopt in my daily routine. Research has shown that “earthing” reduces inflammation by scavenging free radicals. And it’s very easy to practice, you simple take off your shoes and go out side and make direct contact with the earth, grass, dirt, sand, rocks completely barefoot for at least 30 minutes, twice a day, that’s it! There are other tools you can invest in to help keep you grounded like mats that can be connected to the grounding port of your outlet that you can use on your bed or as a placemat under your desk, there are even earthing shoes you can wear if your not into being barefoot.
Here are a few reasons why you should investigate earthing:Defuse the cause of inflammation, and improve or eliminate the symptoms of many inflammation related disorders
Reduce or eliminate chronic pain
Improve sleep and promote a deeper sleep
Increase energy and vitality
Lower stress and promote calmness in the body by cooling down the nervous system and stress hormones
Normalize the body's biological rhythms
Thin the blood and improve blood pressure and flow
Relieve muscle tension and headaches
Lessen hormonal and menstrual symptoms
Dramatically speeds healing time and can help prevent bedsores
Reduce or eliminate jet lag
Protect the body against potentially health disturbing environmental electromagnetic fields (EMFs)
Accelerate recovery from intense athletic activity
8) YOGA:
Apply at least 15 minutes, once a dayIt’s more than just stretching into pretzel like positions and balancing on your head, this practice, like mediation is great for improving cognitive health, posture and overall wellness. It helps you to be more present and aware of your body, gives you more brain power to improve things like memory and focus, reduces the affects of anxiety and depression, bipolar disorder, PTSD, aging brain, and brain fog. There is always a free or affordable class in your local area, grab a friend, a pair of yoga pants (you know you have some), your mat and try it out!
9) COUNSELOR/THERAPIST: Apply weekly
This one should not be ignored, this is an important step in your journey of healing, many of the aforementioned practices can be done on your own yes, but it’s always important to seek professional help if you are suffering from deep depression, PTSD or any other chronic mental health disease. Look for someone that fits your needs, you don’t have to just pick the first one that pops up in your Google search. Personally, I would look for someone that has a deep understanding of Western and Eastern healing practices so that everything that I am incorporating into my healing routine already, will flow together and compliment each other, rather than contradict. Many healthcare providers are now embracing combining western and eastern modalities into their practice, so it should not be difficult to find one in your area.
10) Gratitude: Apply Daily and as often as possible!
Gratitude is key to a happier, healthier, more successful, and abundant life. It improves relationships, emotional health, sleep, overall health and wellness, even your career, to list a few. There are many studies you can find on PubMed.gov like this one from a 2009 study in the Journal of Psychosomatic Research that found those who expressed gratitude more often slept better and longer than those who didn't. Start today! Get yourself a journal and dedicate it to the things you are grateful for, write in it every day, make it part of your family routine, and if you're someone needing a daily reminder, try gratefulness.io, it's an online journal, that sends reminders to you. When you signup, it sends a daily prompt on your favorite messenger app or email asking what you're grateful for. Reply to the prompt and they'll store it in a private, online journal for you. I have been using it for the past year and I love it! Keeps me focus on all things positive and whats right in my life.11) LIVING ON PURPOSE: Apply Daily and as often as possible!
Lastly but probably one of the most important ingredient is to live life on purpose. What do you enjoy doing, what activity do you participate in that can go on for hours but seems like it’s just minutes? Do you plan fun activities on a weekly basis? Do you travel? Do you serve others? Do you create art of any form? What makes you happy, and how often do you do it? Too many of us live on auto-pilot, just to living check to check to pay bills and just get by, living your life as a cog in one big machine. Life was meant to have joy, to find your purpose and not just work to build someone else’s dream. You know when you have found your purpose when you are excited to wake up every morning, you have a zeal for living, work doesn't feel like work, and you attract like minded people, YOUR TRIBE! You can have this, but it’s not something that is easy to find for someone that has ignored or forgotten their dreams. It takes an effort to discover yourself and know what brings you joy, because mos of us focus on whats not right in our lives right now, it's easier to complain than to make changes, but aren't you worth the effort? Take time to discover what brings you happiness and do them!
These are a few of the things I am doing to improve my quality of life. There is more that could be add to this list, but that is for book rather than a blog post, but it's a great start! Try one new practice once a week and see how your life begins to shift. I hope this help get you out of your funk and on the path to happiness. When your cup is full, it becomes effortless to give of your over flow, fill your cup so you can be a light and a lift to others!
Please leave your thought in the comments below, and as always...Until next timeBe Well and Keep Oiling!