Our entire world has shifted in the last few months and life as we know it has taken a drastic turn. We have all been quarantined in our homes, mandated to keep physical distances from all people and our entire worlds have been turned up-side-down. There’s no doubt that we are living in very fragile times. We as a species are being called to awaken as one collective family and currently, many of us are overcome with fear, stress, high-level anxiety, illness, depression, and feelings of deep despair and hopelessness.

This is why I wanted to share some inspiring, uplifting, and practical things you can incorporate into your daily lives to navigate these challenging times. We should be diligent in our self-care practices, making sure we are tending to our mental, physical and spiritual health.

7 Tips On How To Cultivate Peace During Uncertain Times

Tip #1: ALLOWANCE

It can be easy to numb ourselves out with television, news, movies, substances, and constantly searching for distractions so that we don’t have to feel our discomfort. This is why tip number one is all about allowing yourself to feel what’s coming up and pushing through to the other side.

Feeling through our emotions can be scary, confusing, and overwhelming. It is an innate response to avoid uncomfortable feelings or situations. We will do anything to avoid being uncomfortable. We forget that our feelings are not who we are, but mere signposts to guide us and give direct messages.

We tend to judge how we’re feeling and then allow that to define our ability to transmute fear, pain, anger, depression, and frustration. We forget that our feelings and emotions are always in flux and that in every moment there’s always an opportunity to change course, to re-direct, to shift perspective, and to heal.

It’s vital that we allow our feelings and emotions the space to be seen, heard, and felt and this comes from us. By allowing our feelings, the severity and longevity of those feelings tend to be less. We must first be able to exercise allowance and compassion for ourselves, in order to be able to fully receive it from others.

When we practice allowing time and space for processing our emotions, we are able to recalibrate our energy and find our center with more ease and grace.

This is a skill that requires patience, practice, and diligence.

As you learn to allow and honor your feelings, you will see how they flow and you will recognize that your self-compassion muscle is getting stronger.

Do not allow your feelings to define you. Our true nature as humans is to feel and our emotions are determined by a multitude of physical, environmental and spiritual factors. We have to take this into consideration when we are assessing and processing our way through difficult times.

So the goal here is to allow your feelings to come to the surface and take time to sit with them, becoming the observer of them, without judgment. When you do this you will notice that your ability to move through them will greatly improve.

Tip #2: CREATE ROUTINES AND RITUALS

It’s important to create healthy routines and to have intentions, goals, and a direction in your daily life. Create at-home activities that you enjoy.

When you wake up, instead of scrolling through your social media feeds, try to sit in silence for a bit. Give reverence to the new day ahead of you and take the time to express your gratitude. Have a warm beverage in the morning, do some stretches, and set your intentions on how you would like to see your day flow.

If you are working from home, set up a clean organized space to work, filled with things that make your heart warm. If you are not working from home and you have the entire day to move through, make sure you aren’t just sitting around idle for long periods of time and try to moderate your technology usage, whether it be TV, tablets, laptops, video games, etc. Find time to go outside even if it’s for small walks. Fresh air and nature are essentials.

It’s easy to fall into laziness. Know the difference between resting and moderating your downtime. Strive for balance in all things.

Set aside time and presence for spending time with family and friends, whether it be with the people within your home, or if you are alone during this time, make sure you are reaching out via video to people you love.

If you find yourself without others to connect with, there are so many lovely online ways to connect with like-minded individuals across the globe.

Take up a new hobby, work on unfinished projects; home makeovers are a wonderful way to stay busy and simultaneously create more comfort and beauty in your existing environment.

Spring has sprung! It’s the perfect time to start a garden, or just add some potted plants to your space. Plants add so much aesthetics to the environment and give you something to nurture and care for.

Check-in with yourself each morning before you do anything. How is your body feeling? How is your mood? How does your spirit feel? Then proceed to send blessings and gratitude to your body, even if you aren’t feeling well. Your body is listening to every thought you have and responds accordingly, so remember to be kind and gentle.

Set some intentions and small achievable goals to reach for the day. By doing these things you are taking control of your own presence and awareness, co-creating in the experiences that you want to have, instead of being absent and unconsciously allowing things to just fall where they may. You have the power to cultivate the kind of life you desire to live.

Our experiences are dictated by our ability to shift our consciousness. By focusing on nurturing our hearts to be open, with the intention of uplifting not just ourselves, but everyone around us, we allow for the fullness of our existence to come forward. Even and especially in, trying times.

Tip #3: POWER OF PRAYER

It does NOT matter if you’re religious, or if you aren’t inclined toward developing your spirituality. You can use your own intention and heartfelt desires and send them out into the world. You don’t need to follow any certain religious sect to do this. Intention itself has very powerful effects. It’s the energy behind what you’re sending out that matters and has power.

When we take time to focus on our intentions, with gratitude for what we have and with love in our hearts, they can be directed to individuals, specific geographic locations, situations, or whatever is the focus of the intention. Remember, we are pure ENERGY that cannot be destroyed, only transferred. You have the power to place your intention and energy where you choose.

Do not let any disbelief in a higher power keep you from using YOUR OWN energy to send love and healing to those you love and care for.

Sometimes we get lost in the arguments and disagreements about what we feel or think GOD/Source/Universe/Cosmos is and we forget that all of that energy resides within our being and that we individually have the ability to bless and heal on a global scale.

A prayerful mind is a powerful mind. Prayer does not have to look a certain way. Create what feels comfortable for you and spend some time being present with yourself. I promise you will feel uplifted and nurtured.

We have to exercise getting out of our own egos and allowing our hearts to be open. Practice humbling your ego so that you can listen to your heart. Prayer by definition is “a solemn request or expression of thanks, an earnest hope or wish”. My prayer for you reading this is, that your heart will be filled with inspiration and hope for humanity and every living being on the planet.

Tip #4: FOSTER OR ADOPT AN ANIMAL TO LOVE

It is a great time to bring a furry friend into the family. Animals are filled with unconditional love and often are very powerful healers. Most animals make great companions.

If you live alone, I highly suggest going to your local humane society and/or animal shelter to find the perfect addition to your family.

If you aren’t able to keep them permanently, then you can foster until a permanent home becomes available. Be careful, though, as you will likely fall head over heels in love with your new friend and not want to let them go. True companionship and connection can be really difficult to come by.

When you care for, nurture and love an animal, they return that love with an innocence and purity that few humans can express. The dynamic between an animal and a human in my humble opinion is one of the most heartfelt connections you can experience.

I make this suggestion with a disclaimer, that if you are not fully prepared, financially stable, or if you are easily annoyed or impatient, then fostering or adoption should not be on your radar. Make the commitment with the full understanding that animals are precious in every way and deserve a present, loving, and capable caretaker.

Tip #5: GET CONNECTED TO AN ONLINE COMMUNITY

The online community is full of an amazing amount of very valuable, conscious, and loving individuals that can offer their healing abilities and are ready, willing, and waiting to work with you on your healing journey. There are extremely affordable options available, with a multitude of varying modalities offered, depending on the area of expertise you require. You don’t have to suffer in silence and/or be alone with fear, stress, and anxiety.

Tap into a community that you can rely on for an ongoing support system. I have found that receiving healing reiki energy remotely has been highly effective in assisting clearing and removing subconscious blocks, as well as tremendously aiding in healing familial relationships. Sometimes we struggle trying to identify our own blockages, our point of view can become subjective to our current personal circumstances. By consulting and working with an adept that you trust, you gain an objective point of view which can assist with processing things that may not have been seen or been addressed by ourselves, without the help of counsel. Strive to be open to all of the avenues of assistance that are available to you.

Online mental, emotional, and spiritual development support in the last 5 years looks vastly different than it once was. People are more accessible than ever before, the advancements in technology allow us to connect with others from all over the world, there are no borders or boundaries to prevent us from connecting in with others.

There are also many different areas of healing support that have evolved past the typical western model. Western medicine has its function, though if we allow ourselves to be open to exploring, researching, and learning for ourselves, there is also a vast knowledge of ways to heal that aren’t within the range of Western Medicine.

If you struggle with motivation, taking action, being accountable, or just getting inspired, there are many different types of motivational and empowerment coaches ready to help you train your way to make healthy life shifts that you possibly could not have done alone.

Make sure that your social media feeds are filled with positivity, compassionate messages, and creative content that keeps you inspired. Mindlessly scrolling through, getting into online negative conversations, and reading through other toxic waste is a huge energy leakage and a big waste of time. Make sure that you are feeding yourself powerful, impactful messages that impart positive heartfelt responses.

Pay attention to your energy when you scroll through pages of content. Check-in with yourself, ask yourself, do you feel drained? Sad? Angry? Upset? hopeless? If so don’t be afraid to unfollow or unsubscribe to content that’s harming or intruding on your peace, even if it’s a close friend or family member. Remember you are allowed to remove yourself from any entanglements that aren’t serving your highest good.

One of the awesome things about being online is that you get to create and choose what content you follow and consume, so why not fill it with things that inspire, uplift, empower, and motivate you?

Tip #6: MAKE A COMMITMENT TO NURTURE AND GROW

This is the perfect time to make a commitment to health! Whenever we take even the smallest step towards health and well-being for ourselves it creates more peace and love in our life.

There exists now an amazing opportunity to invest in ourselves, to re-evaluate, to reflect, to reconcile, and to reboot. When have we ever had this opportunity for self-reflection?

It’s never happened in my lifetime and although these times can be filled with extreme fear and stress, this can also be the biggest blessing in disguise. Once any fear or anxiety is transmuted, this could be the ultimate opportunity to step into a higher octave in our lives. This can be what your body, mind, and soul have hungered for. The total reset. We can use this time to learn how to be still, to take a step back and gain newer perspectives.

To take inventory of our lives and see where there could be some adjustments. This is the perfect time to really listen to our hearts and redirect our paths to better serve ourselves and all those around us. This is a wonderful time to strengthen our ability to sit with discomfort and allow it to pass, giving you more trust and confidence in your abilities. Growing in the knowledge that “this too shall pass”.

Tough times come to evolve us, to show us our resiliency, we have no idea what we are made of until we actually have to go through it. We as a collective are being called to pay attention and clean our physical, energetic, and spiritual bodies.

This is the time we have been given to tap in and start the process. Wherever you are on your journey this time can serve you and humanity to the fullest. We must choose our healing and our health.

We can learn to surrender and trust as opposed to ignore and resist.

Tip #7: CREATE WAYS TO GIVE BACK

This is a powerful tip! Some of you may be thinking, “I’m so tired and I barely have time, energy, or resources to help myself, let alone others”.

What if I told you the smallest acts of kindness are free and most often have the most impact?

Yes, it is true that we must first help ourselves in order to help others. By sharing your gifts of kindness and compassion you heal and create more peace for all parties involved, including yourself.

When we are helping others from our heart space we are raising our own vibration and thus have even more energy to serve with. There’s a time of servitude and a time for rest. A time for work and a time for play. It’s all about balance.

When we serve with an attitude of gratitude, (I know, so cliche!;) the magic that unfolds is truly remarkable. We all know that feeling of being able to help someone in need and no kind deed is ever wasted. Now more than ever we have opportunities as conscious communities to come together and create new ways of being and supporting one another.

We can create models that are inspiring examples for others to create their own. We are being called to see past our differences and unite, to serve one another as we move through this paradigm shift. We are the ones we’ve been waiting for. It’s up to us to cultivate peace and love for the planet and as uncertain as times are, I, more than ever, have faith that we can create peace and love for all sentient beings. We are all in this together. Yes, with very different narratives and experiences, though that should not keep us from being supportive, compassionate, and loving with one another.

We can give back in a multitude of ways. Something as simple as a smile to a passerby, or writing a big check to pay someone’s rent for a month, if you’re able, delivering a meal to the sick and shut-in, or surprising a friend with a Venmo treat to a cup of coffee.

My point is that we can serve in any given moment by sending energetic support, financial support, emotional support, physical support in large or small ways. Every deed matters and is valuable. The key is to discern when and where you can give freely from your heart.

The Bottom Line

If I can leave everyone with one thing out of these seven, it is the importance of your self-care. The more you learn to nurture your soul by feeding yourself positive energy, community support, connection with your god-self/higher self, clean whole foods, exercise, time on activities that bring you joy, exposure to whatever nature you have access to, meditation/prayer and compassion for your journey, the more peace you will cultivate.

I hope you find this article helpful and useful. But mostly I hope you are able to cultivate your own peace.

Your comfort zone is a situation in which you feel comfortable and you don’t have to do anything new or difficult. We all have a comfort zone, but it’s essential to step outside it, challenge yourself, and deal with life in order to grow, transition, and transform. Stepping outside of your comfort zone is key to discovering your passion, accomplishing your goals, and finding happiness.

In this article, I want to share with you 5 signs that you might be stuck in your comfort zone.

Safe but Dangerous Place

You may think that your comfort zone is not a bad place to be, right? I mean, you’re comfortable, so you must be happy?

If only it worked out that way. Unfortunately, the longer you stay within your comfort zone, the less happy you tend to be.

When we are stuck in our comfort zone, we’re willing to stay in a situation that doesn’t make us happy, for fear that the discomfort we’ll feel by stepping outside of our current circumstances will be greater than the discontent we feel now, however unfulfilled we are.

I see a comfort zone as some kind of energy swamp. You may feel like it’s a nice and warm place but in fact, you’re drowning deeper and deeper in that swamp. Very soon you won’t be able to see or hear anything new and exciting, you will stop feeling happiness and joy. The trick with an energy swamp is you’re drowning slowly but surely. And the more comfortable you feel in there the harder it will be to get out. In order to get out of that swamp, you have to start moving!

We all need to learn how to catch the moment when we start drowning in order to start acting. The signs below will help you to diagnose your current situation and so you can begin moving out of your comfort zone.

5 Signs That You Got Stuck In Your Comfort Zone

1. You Don’t Study

If you think that the time to study has passed when you graduated from school or college then you are definitely in the comfort zone. You have difficulty and reluctance to understand new information especially if it seems complicated or unfamiliar. You have no desire to spend your time and energy on educating yourself on something you don’t understand. You often feel skeptical of unusual and fresh ideas.

If you want to become the person who controls his/her life and creates his/her reality around him you need to make studying a part of your daily routine. Just pick the subject you are curious about but you always felt like it’s too complicated and start learning about it a little bit every day. You can choose a foreign language and start learning five words of phrases every day. Or you can sign for a course. It will boost your intellect, train your memory and will push you out of your comfort zone.

2. You Live the Same Day Over And Over Again

“Don’t live the same day over and over again and call that a life. Life is about evolving mentally, spiritually, and emotionally.” ― Germany Kent

Do you feel like your today does not differ from yesterday, and your tomorrow will not differ from today? You either don’t believe that something can be changed or, most likely, you are afraid of a change.

If you want to make your life exciting, happy, and joyful you have to start making changes. Despite your fears and discomfort, you need to get out of the energy swamp.

You don’t have to make big changes right away. Even making one change at a time will make a difference in your life. Move slowly but surely.

Start small. For example, start making your coffee differently every morning. Don’t drink the same kind of coffee every morning. Be creative! Or take an alternative route to work. Eat at a new lunch spot. Choose something new from the menu. If you normally go to the gym every morning and work out with the weights, one day a week try to go to yoga class. In other words, come up with something new every day. Change your day up and then big changes will follow!

3. You Don’t Meet New People

If your environment hasn’t changed in recent months or even years, and you haven’t made any new friends, this is another sign that you are stuck in a comfort zone.

To push yourself out of your comfort zone start doing small things like this daily:

• initiate a small conversation with a stranger at the gym/yoga class/coffee shop;
• sit next to someone new at a meeting;
• make internet-friends with people from other countries (it’s a great way to practice the foreign language you’re learning!);
• attent social events more often;
• start traveling alone (it’s easier to make new friends when you travel alone rather than when you’re always surrounded by your old friends);
• start conversations on social media.

You can easily come up with your own different ways of meeting new people. Each day gives us plenty of opportunities for this! All we need to do is just to catch them!

4. Low Energy/ Lack of Inspiration

Staying in the comfort zone leads to a lack of goals and inspiration. You see, when our energy level decreases, the desire to create and inspiration disappears. We can’t be creative, inspired and excited about life if we don’t have enough energy.

The energy swamp acts like an energy vampire sucking the energy out of you. That’s why staying in your comfort zone is so dangerous!

It may feel like you have no energy for making any changes in your life. This may lead to the fact that you can get used to destructive conditions such as co-dependent relationships, poor living conditions, and a disdainful attitude to your health and appearance. Even if you think you want to change something you feel like you have no energy and will power for doing this.

Again, try to start small. Make an honest list of what you want to change. Do you want to get healthier? Do you want a romantic relationship that lifts you up? Do you want to be loved and respected? Start with something small! Don’t try to make major changes all at once.

If you want to get healthier, replace your chicken sandwich with a green salad, your soda with herbal tea, your movie night with work out, etc. Pick one thing at a time and turn it into a habit.

If you want to be loved and appreciated by your partner start practicing self-love. Don’t try to convince yourself that you love yourself. It doesn’t work this way. Try to do small self-rituals every day and watch what will happen!

Here are some articles that you may find helpful on your self-love journey:

5 Simple Steps To Boost Your Self-Love

Self-Love Affirmations That Really Work!!

6 Daily Self-Love Practices You Can Start Today

5. The Belief That All Your Problems Will Be Solved By Someone Else

Of course, we should always believe that the universe will take care of us and lead us in the right direction. However, if you are stuck in your comfort zone you are not willing to take the steps in the direction the Universe is trying to guide you. It may already be sending you signs, opportunities, and the shortest ways to solve your problems and fulfill your desires. But in order to receive help and guidance from the Universe, you need to be open and ready for changes.

You may think that you always pay attention to the signs from the Universe however your problems are still unsolved and you don’t understand clearly the path you need to take. You see, usually, the Universe guides us to the path that lies outside our comfort zone. And in order to see it, we need to look for it beyond our fears and doubts.

Tis the season for Gift Giving! What are the true benefits of giving? In what place do you give from? Why do you give? How does giving serve you and the ones you give to? What comes from a generous heart? In this article, I’m going to share with you what may come as a surprise, the benefits of generosity and what exactly is in the gift of giving.

Around holidays, birthdays, and celebrations we tend to give more, or we are encouraged to give gifts around these specific times. Do we really take the time to examine why we are giving and what intentions we have in our giving?

It’s important to develop and create a generous heart with no obligations or expectations of return.

Giving Just Because

One of the main reasons to give should be because your heart desires to. Think of giving not as a duty but as a privilege.
Giving out of obligation, giving to serve the ego, giving to get something in return or giving just because it’s the holidays will not be rewarding and will not carry the same heart resonance as giving just because your heart wants to give from a place with zero expectations or obligations.

The holidays can become stressful and financially unmanageable when you are pressuring yourself to give during these specific times. We tend to look for gifts during these periods and then it becomes obligatory in nature and this can remove the pleasure that comes with giving freely from the heart.

Giving when you are prompted from your heart, versus because there’s simply a holiday present, will always be more rewarding.
It removes the pressures of only giving during the holidays and spreads cheer year around. Many of us give during these specific times because we feel like we should because it seems most everyone else is giving during these times and because socially it’s the “thing” to do and what is expected or appropriate in our society.

I encourage you to give all year around for no reason at all other than your heart’s desire. Maybe a friend or a relative is going through a tough period and you want to lift their spirits, this is a great time to activate your generosity and send a small token or handwritten note to express your sentiments. Giving as a surprise just because you appreciate others meaningful presence in your life. When people aren’t expecting gifts and they show up “just because” the joy is usually immense from the recipient.

Small gestures go a long way. The gift of giving is the gift.

Generosity Enhances Your Life On Many Levels

You will receive an upwelling of joy and warmth that is bestowed upon the recipient when you give. The magic is reciprocated by the spirit of generosity.

It feels enriching to give. When you give you are opening your own portals to receive. When you hold, begrudge and constrict you block your own blessings and gifts of reciprocity. The more generous and giving your heart is the more space you allow for universal gifts to flow into your own life.

Giving from your heart increases your well being, transmutes stress and in turn boosts your immune system. Feeling the excitement and love that others feel from receiving your beautiful intentions and heartfelt expressions cause a multitude of chain reactions throughout your entire being. On a cellular, physical and spiritual level we are being activated in a positive energetic way. The world needs more generosity, we thrive on it, whereas greed has the opposite effect, debilitating ourselves.

There Are Many Ways to Give And Be Generous

Many times when we think of gift giving we think of physical things that require financial means, this is not the only way to give. In fact, some of the most precious and heartfelt gifts take little to no money at all. The manner of giving is worth more than the gift.

We all know how valuable time and effort is. We live in a busy world with many demands. This is why freely gifting your time and presence is highly valued.

• Donating an extra set of hands on a project of giving back to others.
• Taking the time to listen and be present when others are feeling challenged.
• Creating handmade cards, crafts, artwork or just handwritten love notes to those you hold near and dear to your heart.
• Drawing a salt bath with essential oils for a partner, friend or loved one after a long day of work.
• Asking how you can assist others in their time of need.
• Offering free childcare to a single mother, father or couple that needs time for themselves.
• Watering plants, feeding stray hungry animals, giving them shelter and a kind presence.
• Giving someone a hug with encouragement.
• Taking time to pray for others well being and success.
• Holding someone’s hands when they’re afraid.
• Holding doors open, allowing others to go in front of you in line.
• Allowing others to be right.
• Listening with a non-judgmental presence.
• Listening to hear without having the need to respond.
• Smiling and acknowledging others presence. Everyone matters.

There are endless opportunities for gift giving. Being creative and recognizing that any action, deed or gesture from the heart small or large is truly a gift.

Don’t Forget to Give to Yourself

Ultimately by giving to others, you are giving to yourself. How you treat others is a big indicator of how you feel about yourself. Make sure you don’t forget yourself in this equation. Many of us are guilty of primarily gifting others and leaving ourselves out or feeling guilty for giving back to ourselves. You are an important part of the gift-giving circle. Treat yourself with kindness, compassion, and self-love. Make sure you refuel and restore yourself. Commit to showing up for yourself. Be good to your body. Check in with yourself regularly and make sure you are taking the time to give yourself the gift of cultivating healthy habits that enhance your mind, body, and soul.

The Bottom Line

I hope this article is a reminder that generosity comes in many different forms and that there is no certain right time to give. Most importantly that you should always give from your heart. I’ll leave you with this:

“I have found that among its other benefits, giving liberates the soul of the giver” ~Maya Angelou