Wellbeing During a Time of World Upheaval 

Our world is going through a big change with extreme polarization in people’s views. There is a big gap in belief systems and political ideologies at this time. Families and friends have parted ways because of the divide in the way we receive and perceive information. While some of this can be shocking or disturbing, it is bringing to the forefront of our awareness everything that we have taken for granted, so that we can see exactly what’s been happening and can make our own decision in the different ways we are going to sift complex issues and emotions. However, times like this can still be overwhelming. Below are some practical tips to help manage the negative emotions while navigating this period;

Mindfulness

Mindfulness is an important part of managing a feeling of being overwhelmed. Its simplicity and effectiveness for coping with many conditions has enabled it to cross into mainstream Western medicine and it is now used within healthcare systems. It can be incredibly effective in many situations. 

Mindfulness is focusing on the present using our five physical senses to experience everything in the moment we are in, however mundane and inconsequential. This avoids thinking about the future or past. For example, if carrying out a routine chore such as washing the car, you focus purely on the task at hand. On the temperature of the soapy water, the sensations as you move the wet sponge over the car, your feet touching the ground beneath you, the actions of your body as you move and stretch, the sounds around you, the smell of the cleaning agent, even the brightness of the paintwork as you shine the car. When your awareness is solely in the present moment and all thoughts are focused on the details your senses are taking in you naturally become embodied, putting unhelpful thoughts out of the mind. 

Exercise 

Next time you feel overwhelmed or just have a worrying thought, do a mindfulness exercise. Start with ten minutes and becoming longer over time. Consider a physical activity like walking in nature, working in the garden or cleaning the house. While the concept is simple, to keep yourself in the Now and out of other types of thoughts does take practice and determination; just like building a muscle, it becomes easier over time. 

Mindfulness also focuses on what you can control. It is easy to feel like we are spinning through a whirlpool when we are watching the news about what’s happening around us. When we can turn inward, and focus on mindful activities that can be controlled, this is the first step towards reducing being overwhelmed. 

Neutrality

During this time of upheaval, we have to be very careful of the information and the energy we allow into our consciousness. We need to create a boundary against the information and energy particularly anything that can creates fear or shames us and others. It can come from many sources, including main stream or social media, emails or attending events and people we know. 

Once we identify the sources, we can consider greatly reducing it or completely stopping it for a period – an information detox. And during this time use mindfulness activities to keep in the present moment. Then look for sources of news and information that focuses on positiveness and cohesiveness because this will have an absence of fear and shame.

When finding the truth in information we need to take a step back beyond political sides, polarity and ideologies and keep a sense of neutrality. Embracing uncertainty gives us the state of mind of being able to ask better questions. We can then act as a sacred scientist truly seeking to understand why something happens without bias stopping our inquiry.

Exercise 

List all the sources of information you use at the moment about world events that create fear, including mainstream media and social media. Identify what sources you will stop and for how long, and alternative activities to fill the time. List possible sources of alternative news information. Identify which to keep, using neutrality, uncertainty and what feels right in the heart.

Gratitude 

Gratitude is a powerful way to bring warmth into our heart. In the overwhelming times, Gratitude enables us to focus on what is going right in our lives, what is steady and solid. The positive energy gratitude creates filters to the subconscious and is held through the night. This raises us and helps ground ourselves in the positive side of the situation we find ourselves in, and to not take for granted the simple miracles in our lives in pursuit of a larger uncontrollable picture.

Research has shown that gratitude, like optimism, is associated with lower heart rate and blood pressure, better sleep quality, more exercise, less stress, more positive expectations and reflections, and greater feelings of appreciation towards others. Gratitude can be thought of as a muscle that we can develop over time as we learn to recognize the abundance and gifts not previously noticed as being important. It is a skill that can be practiced and grown over time.

Exercise 

Create a gratitude journal and write up to five new things that you are grateful for in your journal at night before you go to bed. These can be simple or small things that have previously been taken for granted, such as the food you eat, or the sounds of nature, or living in a warm home. This can be extended to include things achieved during the day that you are grateful for. It could be any accomplishment such as making something work, an act of love to another person or something created. 

After a period of time read through the pages of your journal and see the reasons why you are appreciative of yourself and what the universe has given you. Because you wrote it and it happened makes it real and easier to acknowledge. 

Hope

Hope is the life force that keeps us going and is a crucial part of dealing with life’s problems and maintaining resilience. Hope is directly related to our sense of possibility. The greater our perception of possibilities, the greater our hope. So, the more expanded our consciousness past the long held ideologies and belief systems, the greater our hope. 

Hope is not the same as happiness or optimism. It is what we feel when we think that life is worth living, that our work is worth doing. Hope is what we have when we have a positive relationship with our existence. When we begin to lose hope things can seem bleak. When we run into constant resistance and are prevented from reaching our goals, we can start to feel like there is nothing to live for. So, maintaining hope through embodying our soul consciousness will lead us to feel much happier about life. It will let us see the abundance and beauty in life and will allow us to enjoy the experience of living on earth.

Exercise 

Create a vision board which is a physical way to represent our dreams, goals, and intentions using a visual collage of images and words. They are a practical approach for using the Law of Attraction to attract people, resources, and opportunities that help achieve our objectives and realize dreams.

You’ll need a poster board, corkboard, or any other surface to create your board. You’ll also need magazines, newspapers, printed images, inspirational quotes, and any other materials that resonate with your goals. These can be pictures of places you want to visit, people you admire, objects that represent your desires, or words that inspire you. Arrange the images and words on your board in a way that is visually appealing and meaningful to you.

Whether we like it or not change will always be part of our lives, whether it occurs at a global level or at a personal level. It is the point of discomfort of change that we feel the squeeze and grow as individuals. How we manage and move through these changes will determine our mental and physical health. For example, if we are on the beach and the tide is coming in, we need to take action. We can choose to learn to swim or relocate to higher ground. Growth and change. And the exercises in this article are practical steps that can be taken now.

Reena Kumarasingham and Andy Tomlinson are psychologists, regression therapists and lead new consciousness retreats and more about exercise to improve wellbeing are in their new book BETWEEN LIVES – Past Life Regression, Near-Death Experiences, and the Evolution of Consciousness.

Article written by Reena Kumarasingham and Andy Tomlinson