SPRING REFLECTIONS
by Marianne Vernacchia on 03/29/21
SPRING REFLECTION
Spring is in the air! With the excitement of new growth and longer days, our minds and bodies wake back up. We move into a seasonal phase of more mental and physical energy and creativity. It is a time of renewed natural energy, which means it can be hard to take the time to be still and quiet the mind. Without this “me time” many of us lose our daily meditation practice. If we don’t take the time to self-reflect, we run the risk of losing our self-awareness. This means, we lose important knowledge about our selves, like what it is that we need or want.
Quiet time is essential to our continued knowledge and growth. In order to not lose ourselves, we have to get disciplined and force ourselves to sit and be quiet.
This is where the “5 -5-5” comes in:
Decide on a regular, daily time to set 15 minutes aside to sit quietly. If this is new for you, set 5 minutes for quieting the mind, 5 minutes to reflect deeply, and 5 minutes to write. Find or create a quiet place, safe, or inspirational place, and make sure no one can interrupt you. Turn off your apps, meditation music/apps, background noise, and of course, your phone and buzzers. When it’s just your mind, body, and the quiet, sit with your eyes closed and breathe deeply. Go inward and begin to notice your thoughts and feelings. If you start to think about your “to-do’s” or make lists in your head, let it go…get quiet all over again and try again to go inward. It may take 3-5 minutes to settle in and get quiet. Wait for it. Some days are easier than others, but don’t give up. Next spend 5 minutes just observing and listening to your inner thoughts and feelings. Remind yourself to stay quiet, still, and not to judge yourself! Ask: “How do I feel right now? What kind of feelings am I experiencing in my life lately?” It may be that you can only do 2 or 3 minutes to start. That’s okay - keep going. Next comes 5 minutes of writing time. It is very helpful to journal afterward, trusting that you have learned something important about yourself.
Enjoy getting to know your self on a deeper level, and know that even painful thoughts and feelings are helpful to our growth. Always end with remembering gratitude for the things that we DO have in our lives.
Happy Spring!
