Instill Self-Care In 7 Days

Today we start with really being present, being at home in the place where you are now and also being at ease with yourself, with your body and mind. A lot of the time we are not really paying attention to our bodies. We are not really in the moment, our thoughts go in all directions. To the past or to the future and to all the stories we are telling ourselves. Awareness, mindfulness, helps to be more in the here-and-now. To be more grounded and so able to break free from all the stories we tell ourselves. The more you are present in the moment, the more you can enjoy everything that is.

Today we continue with ways to relax the body. When our bodies are more at ease, our minds will follow. Most of the time we are so busy, we forget ourselves and get tired and stressed. Meditation is hard when your mind is full of thoughts. Today you will learn different ways to calm the mind.

Yesterday we paid attention to relaxing the body. When your body relaxes, your mind often relaxes naturally with it. Today I will tell you more about cherishing the moment. Rick Hanson, a well-known neuropsychologist, calls this ‘taking in the good’. In the meditation, we will do a visualization to connect with your own beautiful and safe place.

Yesterday we talked about cherishing the small moments, enjoying what comes your way, noticing what is beautiful and nice and there is often so much more than we think. Today we will go a step further and we will look at happiness. The meditation we do today is a special meditation I learned in Plum Village - the Buddhist center of the teacher Thich Nhat Hahn.

Yesterday we did a meditation on happiness. I am curious what you have experienced during the meditation and if you can find moments every day that make you happy and give you joy. And so let your heart open a little bit more everyday. Today we talk about more resilience in your life. Equanimity is an important quality for more resilience. Equanimity is also a quality of the heart. In Buddhism there are four qualities of heart: loving kindness, compassion, sympathetic joy, and equanimity. These four qualities help you open your heart for yourself and for others.

In yesterday's lesson we practiced with equanimity as a quality to experience more resilience. Today's topic is gratitude for yourself and for others. No doubt you have heard about gratitude many many times before in meditations, magazine articles, books, and courses - and that is for a reason! Gratitude is good for your health. Gratitude is the opposite of stress. Gratitude can be seen as a flashlight that shines on all the beautiful and good things in your life.

In this last session we will dip into some more inner wisdom, and maybe you can discover a beautiful intention for the coming time. I hope the course gave you some insights and that you found ways to take good care of yourself. And of course enjoying everything that is already there. I also hope that you have experienced in the past few days that you already have so much wisdom, resilience, and good qualities in yourself.