How Do You Nurture Yourself?
Living Our Deeper Song
Ashe
(“Ah-Shay”)
The Creative in me honors the Creative in you!
What does the concept of nurturing mean to you? How do you nurture yourself? How do you nurture others?
Nurturing is more than just providing the essentials, it is about caring for yourself at the deepest levels. Not just your physical care, it includes your mental, emotional and spiritual care. Are you aware of how or if you are nurturing yourself in all those areas? What would you like to change? What would you like to do better?
I like to think of nurturing as cultivation, making sure the right conditions for physical growth are there but also tending to self-awareness, inner growth and spiritual growth. Those are all things we need to do for ourselves.
My most active nurturer is my mind. It takes me exploring and adventuring and it helps me bring new patterns of awareness into my life. To remain nurturing I must take self-responsibility. I must choose the right foods to eat. I must give my body enough movement to help it keep strong and get stronger. I must establish and maintain a spiritual practice in ways that support me in expanding my awareness as well as my place of service.
List five things you do to nurture yourself. Mine includes using my curiosity and my mind to figure out ideas that call to me and share that with others. I am also being enriched by the people around me who are professional caregivers with a great heart. I nurture myself through my spiritual practice and my body strengthening practices. I am enriched by the love I feel for my mind. I love who I am right now and I love the direction I’m going.
I see that I am nurturing others when I express an interest in who they are, how they reached where they are, and what they are going through. As I write this, I realize that the reason I’m not drawn to older people is because in most cases there is no drive or ambition. I have a 10-year plan and I am 90. Who knows, maybe it’s a 13-year plan but I do have a flexible, inquisitive plan. The point is that I have a plan and I have a direction I want to go in. I know some of the steps to get me there and I’m always open to change.
To nurture means to encourage growth or develop. How do you nurture yourself?
DEEPER SONG AFFIRMATION
I am open to change, I eagerly explore the new paths I am shown.
DEEPER SONG PROCESS
- Identify several ways you actively nurture yourself and write them down in the order of their effectiveness for you at this point in time.
- Identify one area that is under nurtured and then list two things you can do to nurture it. Do that.
- Repeat as desired.
===INNER WORK===
Deepen Your Inner Awareness
An Altar Is How You View It
I have several spaces in my small space that can be viewed as altars. An altar can be a simple, personal expression of what you want to focus on.
On my desk is a small wooden tray that is an altar. I have an arrangement of bear figurines and pinecones and feathers and a bell. It just takes a small portion of my desk. I have several eagles which to me is about having overview. I call the three small bear figurines Insight, Intuition and Imagination.
On the dresser that also holds the TV I have a Himalayan salt lamp that my on-line friends and I turned into a charging station for anyone who comes in here to give them centering and peace and serenity. Across the top of the dresser is a piece of fabric I chose a long time ago as an altar cloth.
I have another table that has my Quan Yin statue in royal pose along with some plants. She is my reminder of my strong abilities and the power of the Divine Feminine.
All you have to do is set an intention for a space to hold the energy of support, insight, forward motion and gratitude.
Altars can be made of anything. I could look at the wicker basket that holds my gardening equipment as an altar. It has a specific purpose to nurture plants.
The idea of an altar is ancient. It is used to help manifest transformation. It is a place of gratitude and a place to focus our intentions.
You may want to periodically rearrange the altars that you create around you. As you continue to explore, your understanding expands and your intentions may change. Then you may want to re-choose what you put on your altar as well as your intention. Choose pieces that mean forward movement to you.
Used an altar to focus your attention, remind you of an intention, or offer gratitude.
It can be a tray I use for my meals that I can treat as an altar of gratitude and thanksgiving for the nourisher it provides. I could have an altar beside my bed to watch over me in the night and help me release what no longer serves me.
There can be many reasons to have an altar in several places. Look at the surfaces around you and arrange the objects on it with intention and purpose. You have created an altar.
Let Go Of What You Have Outgrown
This time of year is filled with the promise of possibility and new growth. You are invited to reconnect with your own power to create the life you desire. Now is the time to let go of what you’ve outgrown, take thoughtful action toward your dreams, cultivate confidence, strengthen your physical body, and step into greater leadership within your own life.
===SELF-HEALING===
Take Responsibility for Healing Yourself
Pull Out The Weeds
When we garden, we keep making space for the plants to grow. That means we have to not only pull out invasive plants but we sometimes have to trim or remove some of the flourishing plants in order to make room for another plant to grow.
The same is true in life. Is it possible that you have too many things growing in your garden? What do you need to pull out? What do you need to prune? How are you going to do that?
Sea Vegetables
I am adding sea vegetables to my diet to deepen my nutrition and help heal my body. I sprinkle a little in the miso soup I eat most days. I have begun to experiment with other ways to eat them. I can sprinkle them on salads or potatoes or – I continue to experiment. I have Dulse (alchaline), Nori (eyes), Spirulina (Immune system), Wakame (blood purifier), and Nutritional Yeast (which tastes like cheese and is great on popcorn and lots more). I have also added in capsule form Irish Moss (edema) and Aloe Vera (boosts immune system). If you are interested in these, do the online research for what you seek to heal.
I’m working diligently to heal myself from the inside even as the medical staff works to heal me on the outside.
What change in your eating habits will bring you greater health?
===OUTER WORK===
Explore New Potential and Possibilities
Pick And Choose
Are you clear about your priorities? When it comes time to choose between two things, what are the criteria you use to make that choice?
Sometimes we just have to sit down and examine our lives and figure out our priorities. What criteria do you base it on?
Self-care has to come first. It can be easy to put that behind making a living or relationships. But you are the only one who can do that so you better do a good job of it.
Providing for yourself is near the top of the list which includes how you earn your money. If you are not fully satisfied in your work perhaps you need to look for another role to play in the work world.
Relationships are certainly a key element in our lives, whether it is an intimate family relationship or a few valued friendships. Those interactions deeply influence how we feel about ourselves and those we love. You want your relationships to be supportive and encouraging – both ways. Don’t hang out with anyone who pulls you down.
Take time to thoughtfully investigate these areas of your life and make any corrections that will move you forward. Then pick and choose what excites and motivates you.
Periodically Restructure Your Life
It’s very easy to fall into a pattern that we do not take time to examine or question. Our choices are built on habit, convenience or simply a reaction. When we take time to examine our unconscious choices, we may very well make new ones. I’m going to begin with what I want to add and let other things go to make room for it.
Things I will add:
- Time to play my bigger skin drum – I like the richness of its tone.
- Stand and move throughout my day.
- Do the Qigong forms of self-healing I have learned at least twice a day.
- Set aside reading time each day for the books that are calling me.
- Design a ceremony of well-being for the environment and add it to my spiritual practice.
- Listen to more music.
Things I will do less of:
- watch news
- sit
Periodically restructure your life. Examine how you spend your time and make certain it reaps the greatest rewards.
10 Ideas A Day
I got this idea from Chris Brogan who has been my online friend for years. In his weekly newsletter he mentioned that in his daily morning ritual, he writes down 10 ideas a day. I haven’t tried this but I think it’s a great idea. I’m writing this in the morning and my ideas are:
- Write more about our unfolding role in the world.
- Write to help young generations face and deal with the dramatic changes that are unfolding.
- Begin to talk to the young people here about their thinking.
- Read the Qigong Self-Healing book I have.
- Stand up more often during the day and move my body.
Those last two are more like a “To Do” list that an “Idea List”
When I get an idea it’s usually about something to write about and I immediately turn and write about it so I have a first draft. But then I have the luxury of being able to pause to do that at any point in my day. I just read Chris’s newsletter, and turned and wrote this to figure it out for myself and to share it with you.
You get the idea – it’s your list. What ideas will you put on it each day?
I don’t act on each of the ideas but writing an idea down can lead to another idea. The act of writing opens doors to new ideas to consider and explore. It is a great opportunity for a free flow of ideas.
Chris did not say good ideas, he just said ideas. When you let your imagination go, it may take you down some strange paths but you never know when you will hit the jackpot. I’m going to give it a try.
===DEEPEN YOUR SPIRITUAL PRACTICE===
Self-Healing Spiritual Practice and Deepening Awareness of Our Cosmic Oneness
The Power of Journaling
I have begun to journal again and I’m very much enjoying it. I take time at the end of each day to reflect back over the experiences I’ve had, the insights that have been revealed and any new awareness that has presented itself. It is a time for reflection and anchoring of awareness. I don’t necessarily expect to ever re-read it, it is the process of taking time to reflect by recording it that is important. Sometimes it helps me change directions and other times it helps to anchor me in place. Will you make journaling part of your spiritual enrichment?
===HOW TO BE A STRONG CONTRIBUTING MEMBER OF THE CIRCLE OF LIGHT BEARERS===
Expand Your Role in the Rapidly Evolving Universe
Life Is Not About Luck
Whatever shows up in our life is because we attracted it to us by our thoughts, our choices,
our actions and where we focus our attention. What are you looking for? What do you expect to happen? What do you think is possible? You can shift the outcome by shifting your attention.
I have to be careful about this because my body is coming up with more physical things for me to fix and I have to make certain that I’m focused on the concepts of wellness and wholeness rather than the opposite. We get what we believe we deserve and what we believe is possible. And I get to look at both aspects of that. What is manifesting in your life and how do you need to shift your gaze?
===BROADEN YOUR HORIZON – EXPAND YOUR VIEW===
Raise Your Sights and Your Expectations
Healing The Collective
I have never been an activist in a group but if you have and do, this may be a very good time to get active again. One way is to protest and another way is to educate and advocate.
I had only been in touch with one person whose thinking was totally opposite from mine and there was no point in our exchanging ideas because he was listening to and reading only the ideas he agreed with and supported this belief system – just as I am I suppose. Neither of us were interested in changing our minds. Unless you have a curious mind and you’re willing to explore other viewpoints I’m not sure how to encourage a change in thinking.
Make certain you are exploring several versions of the core cause of a situation and identify new solutions and deepen a new reservoir of possibilities
===OUR EVOLVING FUTURE===
Support and Encouragement for our Unfolding Role in the Future
Enjoy Life’s Journey, But Leave No Tracks
Are you walking softly on the planet? Are you conscious of your impact in every aspect of your life? I doubt we are, but it would be good if we were.
We know about walking softly on the planet but what about the effect we have on the lives of others? Some we know, some we don’t. We should become more conscious of our impact on others by our thoughts, our words and our actions. Enjoy life’s journey, but leave no tracks.
=== DEEPER SONG PHILOSOPHIES ===
New View – New Path
20 years ago in Michael Port’s first Book Yourself Solid Coaching Certification, I learned to write a who-and-do-what statement. My latest one will send me soaring into unexplored territory and take us on great adventures:
I help Transformational Leaders
deepen our relationship with the Unseen World
and expand our role in the New Consciousness.
Now all I have to do is to figure out how to do that…!
Where your talents and the needs of the world cross, there lies your calling. – Aristotle
===REFLECTIONS OF A DEEPER SONG PODCAST===
Listen to my
Reflections of a Deeper Song Podcast on
Apple / Spotify / Googleand the
Deeper Song Website
===CARA’S CORNER===
How Am I To Lead?
It is time for me to deepen and expand my role. It is time for me to turn my gaze and address our role as light worker leaders on the planet. What does that mean? What does that look like?
It’s time to examine where you are and where you want to go. How do you plan to make a difference next?
===SING A DEEPER SONG ===
How Do I Make A Difference?
I want to deepen my impact. I want to broaden my reach. I want to make a difference.
I want to deepen my impact. I want to broaden my reach. I want to make a difference. Where do I turn? What do I do?
I want to deepen my impact. I want to broaden my reach. I want to make a difference. Where do I turn? What do I do? The answer lies within. I begin there.
– Cara Lumen, March 203
We create our future with every thought we think, every action we take. Move forward mindfully as you sing your Deeper Song.
Namaste,
Cara
Come Sing a Deeper Song
I help Transformational Leaders
deepen our relationship with the Unseen World
and expand our role in the New Consciousness
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