With the stresses of everyday life, we can often forget how to slow down and take care of our wellbeing. Taking care of your wellbeing is the best way to connect to your highest self, as you’re able to see in which areas of your life you are lacking personal care, and this may even aid in identifying unhealthy habits that are damaging to your mental wellbeing. I hope that this article provides a few simple but effective practices that can help you connect to your highest self without taking too much time out of your schedule.
Questioning where to start on your process to connect to your highest self is natural, and it’s almost the most difficult to answer – which is why I want to help and introduce you to journaling. Now, I know how busy life can get, but if you have a spare 15 minutes to scroll through TikTok each day, then I am sure you have a spare 15 minutes to write. Invest in a nice notebook and pen that will be kept only for your journaling (P., it doesn’t need to be expensive and flashy, as only you will be reading it.) So, what to start writing? During lockdown, I came across a book called The Magic by Rhonda Bryne (available to buy on Amazon for £8.99 here) which emphasised the importance of getting into the habit of writing out a gratitude list. This is where you write a list of things you are grateful for and why. These do not need to be life changing gratitude’s; you can literally be thankful for the water you drink. For example, in your list you may write ‘I am so thankful for the food I have because it gives me energy’. Writing a gratitude list every day or week is beneficial to your mindset, because over time your brain will notice more positive things happening in your life, rather than focusing on aspects that may be going slightly wrong. This then overall raises your vibration, making you feel happier and content. In hand with building a positive vibration, writing out affirmations is a great practice in training your brain to recognise the great qualities about yourself. It is so common for us to focus on what we dislike about ourselves, especially with the growth of social media. We are continuously comparing ourselves to others and wishing we looked like someone else. Affirmations help us focus on what we love about ourselves and allow us to accept that none of us are perfect -but we also aren’t flawed. For all my Pinterest lovers, there are great affirmations posted on there that can guide you to loving yourself as you are.
Lastly, and what I feel is most important when connecting to your highest self during journaling, is shadow work. Shadow work prompts allow you to reflect over any relationships with others and even with yourself that you may need to work on, whilst identifying why you may react to certain situations because of previous experiences. It is important to know that shadow work can bring up emotions or experiences that you thought you had moved on from but can still make you feel strongly, and that is completely ok! Shadow work is there to help you address your inner self so that you can let go and continue to grow as a person; this is done by highlighting any patterns or triggers to your negative behaviours and coping mechanisms. This article is great for providing more information of what shadow work is and it offers journaling prompts to get you started. Again, remember, only you read this journal, so write what you like – no matter how much or little, it is a place free from judgement.
Another great step to take when connecting to your highest self is through getting into the habit of meditation. Even just doing five to ten minutes a day can provide great health benefits such as reducing stress, enhancing self-awareness and improving sleep, you can read here in detail a list of health benefits. To begin practicing your meditation, make sure you’re in a comfortable and quiet environment, and you can meditate lying down or sitting. I prefer to use headphones, as it helps block out any other sounds, but you are free to do whatever you prefer. A great way to begin is by following guided meditations, which will help walk you through the steps. Great Meditation on YouTube provides useful, short, and guided meditation clips which focus on any different aspects of wellbeing you may be wanting to prioritise on. Whilst meditating, you may notice yourself experiencing certain emotions during or after the meditation, which you should embrace and process – then let them go. Eventually, you may become interested in crystals, which are a great tool to use during meditation and even everyday life as they help to maintain balance and attract abundance. Balance is where your mind, body and soul are all Intune with each other. Check out Neave Glennon’s article for more tips and tricks surrounding crystals.
I hope you find these steps useful and fundamentally beneficial to your wellbeing. Remember- it is OK if some of these habits don’t work for you, as it is your own individual journey to finding your highest self. Some of these practices may guide you to other practices which you may find suit you better or feel more worthwhile and that’s amazing; you are already showing yourself that you are learning to take care of your personal well-being.