"Dawn"

The time to relax is when you don't have time for it. Anonymous

In the twenty-first century, it is easy to get so busy that we begin to feel stuck: stuck in our heads, stuck in the rat race, stuck in caring for others rather than ourselves, stuck in activities, ruts and routines. Getting unstuck requires us to break our habitual cycles. It requires us to take charge of our own lives again.

Get larger, not smaller, go deeper. Angeles Arriens

When we feel stuck or scattered, out of control or overwhelmed the best thing to do is to take a deep breath and turn our attention inside. This helps us to get grounded, to re-energize, and re-center. We can also focus on the sounds of nature, of birds, flowing water, the wind, as a way to calm ourselves, feel more peaceful and re-connect at a deeper level with the beauty of life. Nature may also trigger insights about new ways to live.

Be fluid like water, warm like fire and solid like a mountain. Angeles Arriens

In a relaxed and self-reflective state it is much, much easier to ask ourselves meaningful questions. What are my highest priority values? Do I put those values into practice in my own life? What can I do every day to live in a more meaningful and fulfilling way? How can I rearrange my daily actions to take better care of myself, while also being there for others? As Sunny Massad would say, “What things make my heart sing?” And how can I do more of them more often?

While moments of quiet for looking inside and pondering such questions can be stolen before the family wakes up or the job begins, mere moments are sometimes not enough. To really take care of ourselves and fashion the life we want to live, it makes sense to take at least a few days now and then to relax, get away, break our patterns, talk to new people, day dream, be exposed to new possibilities, self-reflect in silence, create music or art, write in our journals, and gain insights about how to adjust our course.

We all need to retreat every once in awhile to get in touch with ourselves and examine the issues we are facing with more depth than is possible in our day-to-day lives.

Love yourself in every direction. Love your amazing beautiful body. Love your wonderful intricate mind. Love your heart and all its exquisite emotions. Love your infinite eternal spirit. Care for yourself every day, every minute. Hold yourself in the great loving care of your own good heart. Daphne Rose Kingma

To find out more about Retreats created by the Hawaii Wellness Institute click here.

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