- Re-Imagining the Holidays: 6 Ways to Resist Overabundance and Create GratitudeContinue reading →
Re-Imagining the Holidays: 6 Ways to Resist Overabundance and Create Gratitude, by Sara Wiseman
(Article originally published in The Llewellyn Journal.)
Are you dreading it, already?
You know…the whole shopping-gifting-cooking-cleaning-eating-drinking socializing-relatives-traveling season just ahead?
From Thanksgiving to New Year's, many of us get trapped in a cycle of overabundance—the state of having too much. As in: more than we can use. More than we can process. The cup not just full, but overflowing.
It's gotten worse in recent years, starting with Christmas decorations that go on display at Halloween to the frenzy of Black Friday. We've become a culture of excess and a society of waste, moving from the next new thing to the next…without ever taking the time to enjoy any of it. We have so much, and it's arriving so fast that we can't use or even experience it all.
This overabundance—having more than we really need—creates stress, lowers vibration, and zaps energy from mind, body and spirit.
Now, I'm all for abundance! I'm certainly not one to pass up on anything that brings pleasure or beauty or connection to my life. But when we become trapped in the cycle of overabundance—the endless circle of want, get, want, get—our lives fall out of balance.
Six Ways Overabundance Causes Holiday Stress
During the holidays, overabundance shows up in different forms. It's not just eating rich foods or excessive gifts, as you'd expect, but less obvious ways as well, including: too much socializing, complex family relationships, rigid tradition, and low vibration group thought.Here are six areas where overabundance can create stress in your life:
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- Overabundance of Food
Rich, sweet, fatty holiday food lowers your physical vibration, which affects mind and spirit, too. If you work in an office or with a group of people, it's hard to escape the sweets in the break room! Alcohol from frequent social events adds to this mix. Don't worry about weight gain—instead, be focused on the energetic signature of the food you eat. Is it processed? Will it make you feel good? Does your body really want it? Pay attention, and don't let the season of indulgence lower your vibration. - Overabundance of Gifts
The cycle of shopping, buying, wrapping, giving, and receiving can be very stressful, even if budget is not a concern. The sheer energetic reality of involving ourselves with objects, or "stuff," can be overwhelming, especially when we understand that every object has its own frequency, vibration, or energetic signature depending on where it came from, how it was made, who made it, and so forth…this is a lot of new energy to add to your reality!Consider your energy as you decide how or if you will give and receive gifts this year. Consider your energy if you decide to do without, do less, or give experiences or to charity instead. Once you break the gift cycle, you will be surprised how free you feel. - Overabundance of Socializing
Office parties, school events, the annual party you've gone to every year for ten years…All of this has a certain clamor of "must attend" attached to it, when in reality, you can change plans, opt out, or do something different. Don't rely on what you've always done—you're a new person now, and you may want to try something different. Reassess every year.Introverts especially may need a lot of private time during this season; give yourself the gift of quiet and solitude. - Overabundance of Family Relationships
There's that saying: you can't go home again. And yet every holiday season, most of us continue to swim up river to our birthing place. Many times, the wounds, past hurts, and misunderstandings are still there. And because we're so busy during the holidays, we don't have time to work on our relationships with our family members. Understand that family karma is complex, and the stress of the holidays makes it more so. Be gentle with yourself and others. Have an exit strategy if things go awry. If it's just too much, opt out and try again another time. - Overabundance of Tradition
Just because you've always done it a certain way doesn't mean you have to do it that way now. This might include: going to a certain event, party, gathering, or church service; wearing certain clothes; decorating a certain way; eating certain foods; being with certain people; and so on. Break free from the rigid traditions your family has "always done" and see what else the Universe might have up its sleeve for you and yours! - Overabundance of Group Thought
Understand the power of group thought or collective soul to affect your mood. We've all seen what fear-based beliefs can do to collective thought: hate, violence, financial ruin, and war are all products of low-vibration thinking. During the holidays, mindless consumption is the culprit: everyone is stressing out on want, get, want, get. This creates enormous stress, and when this is done in the collective, everyone feels it. During this time, connect to your own higher self, God/One/All/Divine/Source, frequently and deeply. Use Thanksgiving and Solstice as markers for the season—times when you can easily dip into gratitude and joy.
- Overabundance of Food
The Joy of Doing it Differently: Releasing Worn Out Traditions, Creating New Experiences
For years, I traveled north for Christmas—packed up my partner, kids, dog, and a car full of gift-wrapped presents and hustled the I-5 corridor from Portland to Seattle.The trip was no over-the-river-and-through-the-woods…everything about it was stressful! Traffic on Christmas Eve was difficult, at best. We were cooped up and restless in my mom's tiny one-bedroom condo. And we were stuck in the city, instead of out in the nature we loved. And yet, I gritted my teeth and did this trip for twenty-nine years because it was my family tradition.
Until last year, the Universe stepped in and simply said, "no."
Early that fall, I'd had two (successful) surgeries for cancer. But I was still in recovery, and by the time the holidays rolled around, the Universe started informing me, at first gently and then persistently, that I wasn't up for the trip.
What? Not go to Seattle? Not do the family trip? Really? Yet every time I asked for guidance, the answer came back loud and clear: No. Not this time. And so, after a very long family discussion, we opted out.
For the first time ever, we stayed home in Oregon for the holidays. We cooked a little food, and opened a few of gifts—inexpensive, silly things. We decorated our tree. We slept in late, and took long winter walks in the woods, and at night we bundled up in blankets on the porch and watched the winter stars move across the sky.
It was low-key, it was real, it was absolutely us…and it was one of the best Christmases ever.
Since then, I've let go of all the old ideas about how the holidays "should" be, and begun to recreate them as truly authentic celebrations—genuine expressions of gratitude for this amazing human journey. I've recognized the holidays for what they really are: holy days, outside of any religion, that ask us to go quiet and still as we give thanks for our lives. A beautiful time, filled with deep appreciation and joy.
I'll admit, it wasn't easy. It took a very active releasing of the cycle of overabundance in all its forms—food, gifts, socializing, family, tradition, and group thought—to allow this lovely clarity to shine forth.
In fact, stepping into this way of living authentically can be quite difficult at first—it may require letting go of tradition, from what the mainstream dictates. It might mean something as big as deciding not to visit home during the busy season. Or, it could be as simple as choosing to not indulge in holiday foods, so your body—and you—feel better. Or maybe giving only a few, inexpensive gifts. These decisions are yours to make.
When you allow yourself the freedom to create your holiday your way—not the one dictated by mainstream society, or handed down from your ancestors, but yours alone—everything about the season shifts.
Gratitude, which might have seemed the furthest thing from your mind in that cycle of "must dos" and mainstream stress, becomes alive in you again.
Most importantly, you begin to understand that overabundance isn't actually what you need—after all, you don't really require a cup that's overflowing. You just need a cup that's full.
Ten Ways to Jump-Start a Holiday Filled with Gratitude
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- Travel outside of peak season, if you travel at all. Booking a flight Christmas Day instead of Christmas Eve is an entirely different experience.
- Limit gifts to small, inexpensive tokens. Or gift "experiences" instead.
- Make a bucket list of what you really love about the holidays: walking in the snow, sleeping in, watching Frosty the Snowman. Do these, and let the rest go.
- Graciously decline invites that no longer fit. A simple, "I'm sorry, we can't make it" is all you need.
- Sleep, rest, be still. It is winter, after all.
- Play cards, catch, dolls…connect with younger ones and your younger self.
- Sing.
- Revisit the holidays as holy days. Go to church, if that feels right, or a spiritual service in your community. Celebrate the Winter Solstice as an end of darkness and arrival of light.
- Give hugs, the best gift of all!
- Get emotional, feel it all, and celebrate, in your heart. Life is a miracle.
Article originally published in The Llewellyn Journal. Copyright Llewellyn Worldwide, 2013. All rights reserved.
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- Double Vision: Tibetan Singing BowlsContinue reading →
I have a question about Tibetan Singing Bowls and what they are used for. When a healer works on a client, how does the sound/use of the bowls impact that person's energy? What type of healing is this practice used for? Thank you!
- K.
Dreamchaser:
Many centuries ago, the Tibetans developed a way to prolong sound via the use of a bowl-shaped gong. These are now known as Tibetan Singing Bowls. They are made from seven different metals, and are used for healing and meditation.
The Tibetans were aware that certain sounds resonate in different parts of the body, and that these sounds can restore physical harmony and relax and heal us in metaphysical ways. When a healing practitioner is using Tibetan Singing Bowls, the bowls are placed on different parts of the body so that healing vibrations can enter the body at those points.
Sound is all around us all the time. Sound affects us, and even the lack of sound affects us. Thoughts and emotions arise from sound. Sound is attached to memories. When we hear a song or hear a bird chirp or hear a kid laugh, we naturally have associations with that sound.
While most of us give little thought to sound vibration and its effects on us and our environment, both modern research and age old wisdom hold that sound has incredible power. It does not always calm or heal us, however; it can cause negative emotions and even damage our environment.
Sound is vibration. It travels through water five times faster than it does through air, and since humans are almost 80 percent water, we feel the vibrations of sound very readily. Every cell in our bodies has a vibrational frequency. Every chakra has its own frequency. When our bodies resonate with human-made frequencies, it is more difficult to remain balanced and in a natural state of harmony.
We are only now re-awakening to the power of sound to restore inner balance and connect us more deeply with who we really are inside. By uniting ancient wisdom with modern scientific research into the power of sound, we can now purposefully create sound vibrations designed to heal specific ailments.
Energy can be moved and/or balanced by sound vibrations using calibrated tuning forks, drumming, and vibrational therapy - to name a few. Using sound vibration therapies can produce profound relaxation, increased awareness, and a deeper connection to your core essence. It can also lower blood pressure, increase vitality, and boost your immune system.
Using sound as a healing tool is a wonderful way to maintain your health or support spiritual awakening. By using sound healing or vibrational therapy of any kind, you can maintain a balanced, healthy life that is rich with whatever qualities you desire.
I wish you deep knowledge of many effective healing techniques.
*****
Astrea:
Tibetan singing bowls can be used for meditation, deep relaxation, stress reduction, and holistic healing. Many Reiki practitioners use them in their healing work. They are also used for balancing the chakras because they have an immediate centering effect on the person hearing their tones. They can help us tune in to the "universal sounds" both inside of ourselves and in the outer world.
Use of Tibetan Singing Bowls can be traced back as far as the Buddha Shakyamuni (560-480 B.C.). It is believed that they were first used in India and then came to Tibet. The first instruments were made of twelve different metals, but no one knows how those metals were mixed to form the first bowls, and as a result, no one has figured out how to reproduce the full, low sounds of the originals.
The bowl is struck with a padded mallet or rubbed around the rim to produce sounds. In addition to all types of healers, these bowls are also sometimes used by musicians who like their deep, rich tones, and they can be heard in a lot of "world" music.
Sting, Hakim, and Bono all have recordings that use Tibetan bowls as musical instruments, and the monks who create them don't mind that a bit. The more we hear them, the more we flow in harmony with one another - which is the whole point!
Tibetan bowls are often used by yoga instructors to align their students' chakras or bring a sense of peace to the group before the end of class. Some people use only one bowl, while some healers use as many as fifteen different bowls at a time. They have as many different uses in healing as the different healers who use them.
Of course, the original antique bowls cost hundreds of thousands of dollars, and can only be found in very holy places or expensive private collections, but new bowls are available for sale. They're very expensive, and it takes a while to get the knack of making the right sounds, but they are also very beautiful.
I've been told that it takes most people about five years to learn how to get the "correct" sounds from a bowl every time. As even one bowl is quite an investment, if you are hoping to learn how to use this tool, you should try to find a teacher before you buy one.
As each bowl is said to have a "soul" of its own, it's important to make sure that you're in harmony both with the bowl and the person who will teach you to use it. Someone who already uses a bowl will be able to help you find the right one for you. Remember to explain that you want one designed for healing, as opposed to decoration.
Astrea:
Many times in life we hear, "You will always have what you NEED, but not necessarily what you WANT." Your spirit must have needed to experience the feeling of leaving your human body, and the suggestion in the next chapter of Sylvia Brown's book was all it took to get you there.
Even though you hadn't read it yet, your SOUL recognized the title of that chapter as something it had been seeking, and your soul, knowing that you had that reference to read after your experience, got with it and out you went!
While I don't usually recommend her books, Sylvia Brown has a wide reaching and powerful effect on lots of people. A Gemini like you would be able to relate easily to her writing and put it to good use. Synchronicity - you gotta love it!
I like your description of "getting caught." That's exactly what it feels like, isn't it? One minute you're free and hovering above the room, and the next minute, ZAP! back down into your corporeal form you go!
As a little kid, I loved that "feeling of return." With practice, most of the time we can control that event, but sometimes, when our physical ears hear a distracting noise or something else occurs to knock us back into reality, back we go. With practice you will be able to control your return better.
I find it interesting that you were visiting your mother-in-law and not someone in your own genetic family. Evidently, you and your husband got married for reasons that are even deeper than love. His family's interest in "psychic stuff" will nurture your children in such matters and help them to grow into their own abilities.
You'll never have to be concerned that when your daughter visits them, she'll be discouraged from exploring her own psychic life and power. My parents encouraged me to develop my psychic senses in a time when it wasn't nice to even discuss such things in public. Heck, it's STILL not considered a great topic at the dinner table in some families!
Your kids will get to talk about it ALL and ask questions and read and study. This is going to give them such an edge in life! Talk with your husband about how you want to present this to your kiddos, so that you are united in your approach and ready to tell them their experiences are all natural and okay.
A word or two of warning: Geminis often have difficulty staying grounded in REAL LIFE. Don't get so strung out on your ASTRAL life that you neglect what you're doing here on Earth.
You are at the beginning of a long journey to learn where your power really lies. Try to be patient with this process and take your time.