If you are feeling off-center, what can you do right now to change this?
Could you stop what you're doing and take five gentle breaths? Can you push away from the computer, set down your phone, and step out in nature to focus on its beauty? Simple acts of self-care like these are easily forgotten when your day picks up pace. Keep your intention for self-awareness strong so you can give yourself what you need to remain calm and clear throughout your day. ©2023, Janice L. Lundy
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Silence and solitude are vital to our well-being. Time to be alone, without the clamor of a noisy world and the needs of others, is essential for creating physical, mental, and emotional harmony. In fact, silence and solitude may be the foundational practice for living as our true selves; as beings who are innately confident, peaceful, openhearted, kind and generous. Without periods of and places for silence and solitude, it's difficult to connect with the essence of who we really are. In truth, we must desire inner calm more than chaos and create an environment and a routine that allows us to access it on a regular basis.
Today, how might you create space and opportunity for yourself to be restored by silence and solitude? ©2025, Janice L. Lundy How fast do you walk and talk? Are you rushing through your day to get things done? Are you living by the clock?
Rushing creates stress and stress creates tension, which creates more problems than we can name. Rushing also makes us miss the magic of the moment, including the joy of intimate conversation between friends and family. Consciously slow the pace of your day. Walk more slowly. Speak more slowly, more intentionally. Remind yourself to "Breathe, go slowly, and smile," as Zen monk, Thich Nhat Hanh advocates. Take time to smell the roses. Kindness toward yourself is an act of befriending. Kindness toward others is an act of altruism. Combine both and you'll cultivate a heart of compassion. Benevolence will be yours. By doing "the good work of self," you will create a life for yourself that is happier, healthier, more love-filled. It is this "inner progress" that can motivate you because it naturally follows that if you tend well to your inner landscape, constructive changes will take place in your outer world too. "As within, so without," the sages of the past have told us. And it's true. Whatever progress we make in our minds and hearts cannot help but be reflected throughout society. © 2024, Jan Lundy A helpful resource for learning to befriend yourself is my book, Living Gently with Myself. It's available for immediate download here.
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Gentle and timely reminders for the spiritual journey, because sometimes we forget or need a kind nudge back to Center.
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Dr. Janice Lynne Lundy (PsyD, DMin, MPC)
is The Gerald May Professor of Spiritual Direction & Counseling at the Graduate Theological Foundation. She is an interspiritual director/mentor, educator and counselor who has been pointing people back toward the Sacred for nearly thirty years. Connect |