If you’re anything like me at this point your hands are raw from washing them umpteen times a day. You’re also beginning to crave topics of conversation that are about anything other than the damn virus. COVID-19 just happened to strike during the beginning seasonal allergy season in my part of the world so every time I cough or sneeze I think, in the back of my mind...
Jesus, do I have it?
Do you know what’s even more contagious than COVID-19? Fear and worry. All of us are being bombarded 24/7 by horrific stories and equally horrific theories of how this entire catastrophe may have originated in the mainstream media and on social.
It’s absolutely imperative to your physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual health to find a way to cleanse yourself from all this toxicity. You can take appropriate measures to limit the amount of news you consume but at the same time you want to stay informed of any new developments. How am I dealing with it?
Structure
There’s much about our current reality that is totally out of our control but how we design our daily schedules during quarantine are something you have absolutely 100% control over. I’m waking up at a specific time every morning. Between meals I have a set time for -- hatha yoga, reading, Russian kettlebell workout, taking MasterClasses (www.masterclass.com), walking the dog, and (of course) writing. This kind of daily routine keeps your body healthy and your mind occupied. It makes you feel like you have a measure of control and provides less time for anxiety or panic to creep in. This too shall pass.
Keeping In Touch
Make it a point to keep in closer contact with family and friends, especially those who are elderly and/or more vulnerable. It could make a massive difference in their mindset. Up until now, for me, it’s been mostly messaging or voice calls but starting today I’m going to start doing more video calls to help take the place of normal face-to-face socializing. Humans, even us introverts, are social beings and we need to communicate with others to feel complete and fulfilled.
Thinking About Your Future
How you deal with this crisis, like anything else, is a matter of perspective. Try to view this time in isolation as a gift in disguise. Write down, in detail, what you want your life to be like in ten years. Write down three things that you would like to accomplish in the next twelve months and set out to make them a reality. These should be things that will make the quality of your life better than it was before, in some way. Many of us may never get this amount of time away from work again until we retire. Use this time to reinvent a better version of yourself. On a personal note, I’m planning on launching my travel channel and it’s coming more and more into focus every single day.
Helping Others
Nothing helps to take your mind off of the negativity surrounding you more than helping others. I've noticed on the Next Door app, people in our neighborhood are offering to run errands for those who can't make it out of their homes. This could make a huge difference in the lives of the elderly or those with mobility issues. Technology now makes helping those in need easier than ever.
Meditation For De-Stressing and Spiritually Detoxing
The following simple meditation will help you to expel negative emotional states like fear, worry, and anxiety. Remember, we tend to attract into our lives whatever we dwell upon -- dwell on negativity and we attract more of it into our lives...focus on the positive and that's exactly when you will manifest into your life. You are what you think and you are also more powerful than you know.
Find a quiet, private, place. Sit upright in a comfortable chair with your eyes closed and concentrate on your breath for a count of thirty.
- Inhale for a count of 5 through your nose. Imagine breathing in bright white light. Breath deeply enough that your belly expands with the inhalation. This will insure that the lower lobes of your lungs are bathed with oxygen;
- Hold the breath for a count of 5. Concentrate of the feeling of pure health, vitality, and perfect peace;
- Exhale for a count of 5 through your mouth. Envision negative emotions exiting with your breath, like soot from a chimney; and
- Repeat for as long as you like (at least 3 repetitions).
After you practice this very simple meditation technique for even a few minutes it’s very helpful to linger in that place of peace and calm, focusing your mind on your happiness, health, and overall well-being.
Did you miss previous installments of the Mindful Moments Series? If so, you can find them here: 1 - Two Week Media Fast, 2 - Worry and Fear, 3 - Setting Boundaries, , 4 - Self Care., 5 - Listening To Understand, and 6 - How You Do Anything Is How You Do Everything
I wish you all a peaceful and healthy week!
This song is going to the anthem of the world these next few weeks (Warning: VERY explicit language):
In Gratitude,
~ Eric Vance Walton ~
*I am an American novelist, poet, traveler, and crypto-enthusiast. If you’ve enjoyed my work please sign up for my author newsletter at my website. Newsletter subscribers will receive exclusive updates and special offers and your information will never be sold or shared.
Alarm Clock Dawn, one of the first full length novels published on the blockchain, and the book that started it all for me can be found HERE. Or Click Here to read it for free on the Steemit blockchain
My meditation book, The Perfect Pause, is priced at $12.99 (paperback) and $4.99 (eBook). Buy the paperback and receive the eBook for free!
You find the best quotes! It's nice to be reminded again that are perspective matters far more than our circumstances. I've decided, today in fact, that I am only focusing on what I can control about this, and since I already know what that is for now I'll read the headlines but no more than that unless I have to.
Love to you my friend!
Thank you my friend and peace and love to you! It's fun searching for quotes. Invariably a few speak to me and I know instantly that those are the ones I should use. That MLK Jr. quote is SO spot on for these times. When I read it I was thinking about how this crisis is forcing companies and people to show their true colors. Billion dollar companies (Amazon) are forcing workers to use vacation and sick time during this crisis yet many small businesses are continuing to pay their employees, I've heard of some CEO's even giving up their salaries so they can pay their works. That's real leadership. I hope you're staying sane during all this and keeping a good perspective! Take care of you and yours @dreemit!
People asking how I'm doing based on the fact that I live in NY... I'm 250 miles north of the city, in Amish country, in Seneca county that three days ago had it's first confirmed case- not in my town- and none sense then. I feel sorry for those in the city, truly, but I don't understand why they just don't quarantine there... it's an island. (There's been a lot of talk about a federally mandated 2 week quarantine for the whole state) Would seem logical to contain it that way and leave us out of it.
Haha, sorry, that's my morning rant. And that's the me wallowing in this little temporal plane for a moment. Shaking it off...off to make it a great day 😉😁
I'm glad you're away from the worst of it. I think they should quarantine the hotspots too, it makes logical sense. It would buy time at least. I hope you had a good day!
Hi Eric, how are u doing?
Just like in your country, in my country there is also a fear of corona virus. I think the virus will cause many victims here because the level of health services in my country is lower than in your country. I don't think you need to worry because the US is a big country that is very advanced and will definitely be able to overcome the corona virus. You are right , Sir ... calm down is the way to increase our immunity.
The easiest way is always close to our Lord who makes our hearts calm. Have a nice day, sir ...
I'm doing pretty well @elianaelisma, hopefully you and your family are too. It's great to see you on Hive! There are certain "hotspots" in America that are really struggling right now. New York is one of them. It's not as bad in Minnesota, where I live. The virus should be peaking here in about a month or so. I hope you and your family stay healthy during all of this. Take care my friend.
Good stuff! I am with you, I feel like all I do is eat, sleep, and wash my hands. I have started to get into a new routine, but it isn't the same as my old routine and that kind of throws me. I have been doing a lot of walking with my wife and dog and that is nice, but sometimes it just reminds me of what my day should be like and then I get a little down. It would be nice if things could just return to a little bit of normal, or we had some bit of hope that our normal is going to return soon. I think it will probably be this week that we find out if my wife is going to get laid off or not.
Thank you @bozz. I sympathize with you. I hope your wife doesn't get laid off. This is going to get increasingly difficult in the weeks to come. Just yesterday I was beginning to feel a little stir-crazy so I decided to write this post. This quarantine hasn't effected my work routine too much since I work from home but the weather hasn't been ideal here so getting outside has been difficult. Stay strong and well, my friend and thanks for dropping by!
Yeah, I hear you. I would love nothing more than to sit on my deck and look at the woods, but it has just been too cold. Plus we had that rain come through, so now our back yard is basically a swamp! My wife would love your breathing exercise. She always tells me and her students,"sniff the flower, blow out the candle"
The great thing is that better weather is on the way and I can't wait for it. I LOVE that..."sniff the flower, blow out the candle." it's perfect. I wish you both a great Sunday!
Thanks, you too. We have some rain coming through this afternoon, then pretty clear the first part of the week!
Nothing surpasses the peace that meditation brings!
Could kick myself for not sharing a call for global meditation that took place early this morning with you, but here is the site you'd like to subscribe for future events Eric.
We've been affected as our bnb had to close for 3 weeks and of course many are canceling trips, but fortunately my steem is filling a few gaps! Our son is in Russia on a working holiday in a quiet city on the border with Khazakstan, they have few cases but still a concern as he has to fly back home early May!
No more hugging for quite a while when we see friends not so!
This vitus hit us all from nowhere and is changing the world, perhaps for the better as we're all becoming more concious of what the important things are!
Take care my friend!
I agree! I'll definitely take part in that mass meditation the next time. Thanks for the link. I really feel for small businesses right now. Our friend who runs the Airbnb in St. Thomas isn't getting much business either right now. They've limited the flights coming in and going out. Her tourist season will end soon and won't pick up again until after the Holidays. I hope you and your family continue to stay well during these next few months. Please keep in touch and take care!
Phew, it's a roller coaster innit? Believing in the future is so important to me. Sometimes it's easy to get caught up in worst case scenarios. Love that pranayam - I try exhaling for longer than my inhale which always calms me down. oh, and seeing this as a GIFT is an awesome tip. Trying! xxx @riverflows
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OMG, such a roller coaster! That's good advice to do a slightly longer exhale. I'll try that. Thank you so much for the comment!
Hi Eric,
This is all solid advice, lots of helpful tips to be found in here. Awesome that you even shared a meditation technique with us! Thanks so much and a hug and good vibes,all the way from The Netherlands, where I'm making use of this isolation to finally focus on writing my first ( children's ) book,
Vincent
I'm glad you found it useful! Best of luck on your children's book. What's it about? We met a boat captain when we were there last September who was in the process of putting a children's book together. I echo those good vibes back to you! Amsterdam is one of my favorite places on Earth.
Nice to hear that story about a writing boat captain.
I actually started out a serious attempt to get my first novel written ( nanowrimo last november ) and this turned into a children's book for now.
It's about a velociraptor called Hypersensitivosaurus who ( through his interactions with other creatures / animals ) levels up to SuperZENsitivosaurus. A story about mindfulness, meant for both kids and adults.
Cool to hear that you like Amsterdam. I lived there for about a year in 2009/2010 but my favorite Dutch city is probably Utrecht, then Rotterdam. Now I'm temporary stuck in Eindhoven ( where the brand Philips originates and soccer team PSV ) and it appears to be a pretty nice city too ( lots of green! )
Have a good one,
Vincent
Nice to see you are here Eric. Cheers mate!
It's good to see you hear too @skapaneas! How are you feeling about Hive so far?
It gain my attention. I aggre with the fork, Steemit had put me off for almost a year now. I have faith in the community and I do agree with the actions taken.
I don't see any need for another centralized controled and censored blog site, we already have to many of those. I think with time it will become what steemit couldn't.
I am glad I didn't sold my steem's even if my faith on it was lost since I got my equal share here on hive. I feel it was the right decision. I hope for the best and I feel more confident seeing people that were inactive on steemit coming back to Hive.
Time will tell.
I agreed with the fork as well. I actually had made the decision to step away from Steemit just days before the fork was announced, it was divine timing in a way. I'm so happy that many of the vital Steemians made the migration to Hive. It already feels like home. You're right though, time will tell how successful it is. Take care of yourself and I'm glad you're back!
All very good ideas Eric and very good of you to share your techniques in coping with the current situation.
Your title --- You are what you think I remember years ago listening to cassette tapes by a man named Earl Nightengale , he also conveyed a similar message but I just can't think of the exact wording at the moment.
Anyway --- Great advise my friend.
Take care and stay safe and healthy!
Sult
Thanks Sult. I went through a phase in the early nineties where I read a bunch of self help books and I think I listed to that Earl Nightengale tape, "You Become What You Think About" was the title, if I remember correctly. Talk radio was just starting to take off back then and I listened to a lot of those shows too. I remember a host by the name of Barry Farber that was one of my favorites. Take care of yourselves too and have a great evening my friend!
That sounds correct on that title....my favorite was the Acres of Diamonds story he told.
Do the same, now I'm off to check out your contest.
Thanks
Sult