November – embracing your uniqueness

As we approach the finish line of 2018, take this month to really channel in with yourself. Before the busy festive season arrives, make November a month of self-appreciation, self-love and a period of grounding and inner balance. Engage in a few practices that bring your attention to you. 

AFFIRMATION OF THE MONTH

Mantras are powerful statements like affirmations. What you repeatedly tell yourself to be true, you will eventually start to believe it. This is because the unconscious part of your brain takes on board all thoughts you have and what you say to yourself. The more it grasps onto an idea, the more you will begin to start taking action towards living as those thoughts or affirmations. This month really go within and nurture yourself with kind words and positive affirmations. As you begin your day, start with repeating this mantra to yourself 3 times. It’s better if you actually vocally say this to yourself and not just mentally. Words and thoughts are both extremely powerful; they can create self-limiting beliefs but they can also vanish them, so be wise about what you say to yourself and most importantly be kind. 

DO A WALKING MEDITATION

Meditation practices are very effective for the overall wellness of our mind, body and soul. This month, get out in the fresh air and do a walking meditation. It is a very effective practice and I highly recommend doing it at least once this month. What is a walking meditation? First, choose a location that is not too isolated from noise, but not too crowded with people. I know this sounds strange, but the whole point of this exercise is to tune in within without getting distracted by external noise but simply allowing the noise to just be. Secondly, leave your phone at home or in the car. And thirdly, try and do this bare foot and start walking very slowly, one foot first, then the other. (make sure the surface is clear and you will not get injured by walking with no shoes). With each step, place your awareness completely on the footsteps you take. Look ahead about 100m and try to stay in this mode, without looking around or too far out. Just slightly have your head up and forward but still looking at the ground. Continue to keep your awareness on your walking solely and allow all external sounds to just be, with no judgement or frustration. At some point, you can start introducing a mantra such as OM or avida (letting go of the self and self-importance, releasing the ego). Say this mantra repeatedly to yourself mentally. Do this for half an hour or so. Walking meditations are amazing because they help you connect with mother nature, but also with yourself. By walking slowly, this brings you in a more patient state, allowing you to be in the present moment, without rushing or walking for the sakes of it.

START A SELF-RECOGNITION JOURNAL

​Journaling is a great way to get your ideas, thoughts and feeling out of your system and onto paper. This self-recognition journal is slightly different though. You can do this for the whole month, or choose one week out of November and commit to it for the whole week. Every evening, before you go to bed, write down one aspect that you realised about yourself today. It will be better to write the whole experience and how you came to this realisation. We go through everyday so quickly and carelessly, that it’s difficult to actually acknowledge ourselves. This exercise is not to give your ego a boost, it is more about you realising that you do have amazing qualities but you don’t see these because you focus on something else. More often than not, we tend to focus on how we want to be and fail to acknowledge what we are in the now. So by doing this you will discover a whole lot about yourself, which will teach you to appreciate yourself more. 

DO 3 SMALL ACTS OF KINDNESS

When you start to love and appreciate yourself, you will also do so for others. It’s important to start valuing your existence in a kind way and not from an ego driven action. Engaging in acts of kindness from the right intention, will bring to your awareness and energetic field the vibration of kindness and compassion, from which you can flourish. Do these small acts of kindness from the heart, not to get an ego boost that you can brag about to others or to feel better about yourself. Do these by opening your heart and practicing unconditional love, which often is giving without any expectation in return. You don’t need to do some big grandiose acts but just something nice for others, which you contribute to their life; for example, you can buy your friend a coffee just to let them know you were thinking about them and to wish them a nice day; or you can go to the local animal shelter and volunteer for a day, or make a small donation. You could send a nice message to a dear person in your life to let them know just how much you love them and tell them three great unique qualities about them, or you can simply pay a nice, truthful compliment to a coworker or somebody you don’t know that well. These all may seem small and insignificant, but when you are in the energy of giving, everything can make a difference. 

This month be kind to yourself. Appreciate all that you are and allow yourself to be still, honouring your body, mind and soul completely. Even if it seems tough for some of you, I challenge you all to do it. Give yourself 30 days of complete devotion to living more consciously, embracing your unique self and the contribution you can make to the world with your existence.