Self Care – Oprah & Deepak Meditation Challenge Day 4
Continuing the journey of self-acceptance, the fourth day of the Miraculous Relationships meditation challenge centered on Self-Care. Right from our childhood, we are taught that it is always better to give, than to receive. What we fail to understand that we also need to give back to our real self.
Miraculous Self
Day 4 was set aside to love and let yourself receive all the care that we usually spend on others. We do not hesitate giving our time, energy, and attention to our family and friends probably because it has been drilled in our minds that this is how it must be. However, many a times, we may find it difficult to receive them back. Why not try giving them to yourself for a change? Giving and receiving are two different sides of the same coin just like exhalation and inhalation. This applies to our relationship with our true self as much it does to our relationships with others. Our ability to receive and to care for ourselves helps us experience the loving awareness that is our natural self.
Reminding us again of the fact that our relationships with others are directly dependent on our ability to love ourselves, the centering thought for the day was:
As I love and honor myself, my relationships blossom.
As a Mom who, like every mom out there, complains about not having enough (or any) “me time”, I found that today’s lesson proved the first step in changing the way things are.
Self-Care
Oprah shares her ideas on caring for and loving yourself in an article on Oprah.com titled 11 Simple Ways to Show Yourself Some Love. But a simple way to begin would be to make a list of all things that make you feel loved and checking off at least one item off the list every day. Place the list where you keep your other important ‘to do’ lists so you are reminded of this very important task everyday.
Some other things that would make you feel good could be:
- writing down one quality you love about yourself
- remembering to pause and take a few deep breaths when you’re feeling stressed
- taking a walk or enjoying a good meal with a friend rather than grabbing a sandwich at your desk (starred this one!)
- take a drive (without having to ‘reach’ somewhere)
- spend time doing something you like – cooking, gardening, crafting…..
Meditation
As each day progresses, meditation gets easier and easier. The thoughts still wander, but I am not tempted to open my eyes. Beginning with observing the flow of your breath, you need to gently start chanting the mantra silently and concentrate on it. Concentrating on the mantra and forgetting everything else around me is he toughest part of it. but I am beginning to think that it can be achieved with practice…a lot of practice, actually.
