How to Support Your Spiritual Well-Being During Times of Extreme Stress
- Cultivate compassion for all. We have oodles of scientific research to support this quote. A favorite compassion cultivation is the following 15 minute meditation: Bring into your mind the image of someone you care about, or someone that makes you smile, or someone you know is suffering, or someone with whom you are at odds, or someone you feel negative feelings towards, or yourself. Then send them loving compassion by repeating this phrase throughout the meditation: “May you be happy, may you be healthy, may you be safe, may you live with ease.”
- Process your grief. There is likely some loss you have experienced as a direct result of this pandemic. There are specific losses: job, health, income, physical contact with loved ones or acquaintances, etc. And then there are those losses that seem to permeate all aspects of life right now: loss of certainty, loss of security, loss of trust. It’s important to allow yourself to find ways to experience and move through these losses. Sharing your pain, your fear, your stories is an important aspect of moving through grief. Find outlets where you can feel safe in doing so. Reach out to ask others (family, friends, clergy, therapists, etc.) to hold space for you to be able to just name your grief.
- Spend intentional time feeling gratitude. Go ahead, create your list! Maybe even create a gratitude challenge with your family and friends!