When you've seen beyond yourself, then you may find, peace of mind is waiting there. – George Harrison
When the door shut on my marriage it felt like a land mine was going off in my head – every thought creating an uncomfortable explosion of fear: how am I going to move forward, how could I have not seen this coming, why aren’t I enough, who is this pathological liar I thought I knew to be my husband, who am I?
I started going to yoga to escape myself. When the instructor, Bryan Kest, informed us that the average person experiences more than 100,000 repetitive thoughts per day, mostly negative I suddenly had clarity as to why I felt I was going insane! It was such freedom to get outside of myself for 90 minutes. And the irony for me was I actually “found” myself in yoga.
Peace of mind is what you need to give you clear vision and courage for your future. Here is a list of things I did that helped me build a peaceful existence:
1. Friends – I have a group of friends who carried me through like angels. I don’t think I could have made it without them. They cried with me, encouraged me, supported me and cheered me on every step of the way. I still get emotional when I think how incredibly lucky I am to have such amazing friends. Support groups are a must!
2. Laughing – laughter is the sunshine of the soul. And there’s nothing I love more than howling laughter. I surrounded myself with friends who made me laugh till I cried – this was soooo healing. When you laugh you release endorphins bringing happiness and joy to your being. When you are happy and living in the moment you forget about your problems – giving your mind some welcome relief. I laughed A LOT.
3. Connect with nature – I used to rollerblade at sunset – flying through the beach air made me feel so free. It was a great way to get rid of the days stress and anxiety and being one with nature seemed to shrink my problems down to nothing.
4. Yoga – this was a huge savior for me. Focusing on the breath and feeling my way into the poses cleared my thoughts and lessened their importance. Connecting with my inner source gave me strength and brought my mind, body and spirit into a very peaceful alignment.
5. Meditate – I started meditating and although it was challenging to quiet my mind the pay off was fantastic. If you can sit quietly for ten minutes, concentrating on the silence that is your soul and repeat the mantra, “I Am,” you will be able to open to universal knowledge and gain insight that will help you resolve the issues that are bothering you.
6. Music – could there be anything better than music to get you out of a sucky mood? Whenever I was home alone and feeling the edge of darkness starting to creep in I would put on my favorite tunes and start movin and groovin and shakin and voila, instant euphoria.
All of the above helped me move to a brighter place. The key to overcoming sadness and fear is to know what mood enhancers work for you. Stay active, the worst thing you can do is wallow, surround yourself with upbeat people who will help you heal and move forward.
BONUS TIP– if you would like to explore this further and discover what actions you can take to pull yourself up and out of a dark mood I invite you to visit http://www.peaceafterdivorce.com. - to bring you the peace and light you desire and deserve.
