Once you have identified your needs, take immediate action.  This is the next critical step.  When you feel out of balance, mindfully shift from your usual reactions to something that you would not normally do.  Make this a priority and beware of old habits of procrastinating and delaying self-care, or downplaying your experience.  Act out of love and compassion in the moment.  This is key to positive change and transformation.  Greater joy and happiness awaits!

It is very important to know your limits and what serves you well. How much of your time and energy can you give at this stage in your life?  Is there a happy medium that can benefit all, without neglecting your own needs?  Perhaps you need to pull back and commit to self-care.  Making time for recovery and rejuvenation is a vital part of healthy balanced living.

Assert yourself and your needs.  Set boundaries for wellness by expressing your needs clearly. You might choose to say “I’ve been feeling very tiredly lately.  I need to spend time practicing self-care.”  In addition, you might want to add more specific details such as, “I can still be available Mondays and Thursdays.”  Be ready to negotiate a win-win outcome.

Boundaries are essential to wellness. Setting limits for balance is essential in life.  Over the next few weeks, there will be tips for identifying, setting and maintaining healthy boundaries in order to experience greater joy and vitality in daily life.  Today’s tip involves self-awareness.  Knowing yourself is key!

Ask yourself “What situations deplete my energy?” Your responses may range anywhere from “When I give too much” to “When others or the environment overwhelms me.”.  Take time to reflect deeply and honestly on this question.  It may help to think back to times when you felt confused, lost, anxious, stressed, fearful, unloved or tired. These offer valuable insights into where and when boundaries need to be set.  Common areas that require attention for many include challenging relationships, unrealistic expectations and deadlines.  Assess fluctuations in your level of wellness with each situation.  If you discover there are moments when you feel extremely vulnerable, setting boundaries needs to be a priority.

As highlighted in last weeks post, a lens of perception that is free of illusions ultimately reveals our essential nature.  This unfolding opens the way towards deep fulfillment and true calling in life, both of which are common goals for all humans.

We all yearn for greater satisfaction in life.  This continual search for contentment is a part of our natural vitality.  Like a beautiful bird with an enormous wing span, we are now able to soar with great confidence regardless the winds and storms of life.

The lens of perception and inner guidance will lead you to your authentic self.  Your essential nature is gradually revealed once you let go of false perceptions.  Free of illusions, truths resonate deeply within thereby aligning your internal and external worlds.  This is the ultimate path of discovery!

An important part of the lens of perception is inner knowing.  Your unique lens is the portal to your core self, that part of you that is authentic and true.  Deep inside each of us reverberates a truth that reveals our core being.  This truth feels ‘right’ and renders feelings of wholeness.  Free of illusions, the lens yields valuable insights.  For instance, if you come across an angry situation, you would immediately know that unconditional love and acceptance are necessary over judgement and reprimand.

Your lens of perception is never static but always changing and evolving. Every interaction and every experience influences the colour of your lens.  When you mindfully choose positive experiences, you add more brightness to your lens. Similarly, when you consciously transform dark experiences, you also add more light to your lens.

Imagine your ideal lens.  What does it look like?  How do you feel wearing this very unique lens you created?

When anger, sadness or fear arises, the lens of perception becomes clouded with darkness. Instead of reacting with old patterns of behaviour, mindfully bring an open heart, unconditional love and acceptance to the forefront.  Stay open to exploring the origins of your pain.  Inevitably you will discover a distant memory that directs you towards self-care.  Perhaps compassion or forgiveness are needed in order to return to wellness. Have patience with yourself and the process of healing.  Like a small child who is soothed by a loving parent, you too can heal from darkness and grow stronger each day.

The lens of perception may be interpreted as consciousness.  Therefore whatever you hold in your conscious mind colours your lens.  Negative thoughts darken the lens while positive thoughts increase light.  Both are normal and natural parts of the human experience.  Both have value and contribute to the whole.

In order to increase light, adopt a neutral stance and become an observer without attachment.  This act alone empowers you in significant ways.  Not only will you detach from negative thoughts but you will also have more space for positive ones.  For instance, if you enjoy art, you might set time aside each day to explore colours, shapes and textures.  If you love music, you might set time aside to explore instruments, song and dance.  These practices alone will naturally enhance light in your lens of perception!

The lens of perception is derived from thoughts, beliefs and memories from within.  Your unique lens holds both positive and negative energies.  Positive energies include love, compassion and acceptance.  Negative energies include anger, fear, and rejection.  Accept and honor both energies within your lens.  Each are important components of the whole lens.  Just as a mountain reveals beauty on its sunny side, there is also beauty hidden in the shaded side.  Stay open to the dark side, bringing a healthy dose of positive energy to your experience.  The dark side holds valuable information on what is needed to amplify light on the sunny side!