I was supposed to go on a spiritual retreat in Hawaii this week, where the theme was entitled “Awaken Your Alive.” I planned on exploring the island, connecting with nature, going on adventures, strengthening sisterhood, and rediscovering the feeling of aliveness that we are all destined to feel. I was supposed to be in Hawaii, but I did not receive my covid test results in time, so I could not go. Even more inconvenient, I was exposed to someone with covid, so I had to quarantine until I received my negative results. Instead of sitting in my room crying like an ungrateful brat, I decided to dedicate this week to learning how to awaken my alive here, from home, and this is what I learned.
Below is a list I have curated of things that make me feel full of life, energy, freedom, and excitement. Some are pretty simple, but all of them make me feel that buzz of life throughout my being. I hope that these things also awaken your alive, or at the very least give you inspiration to create a list of your own.
1) Dancing Solo
I am starting with my absolute favorite one, and that is having a solo dance party in my room. Hear me out; this simple act has truly transformed my life. Dimming the lights, putting on wireless headphones, listening to my favorite upbeat music, and just moving my body in any way that feels good is pure medicine.
Dancing alone is so freeing. No one is there to judge you, and you can flow with the rhythm of the music and the energy of your soul for as long as you want.
I can’t explain the feeling I get in words, but I am going to try. It feels like a celebration and a coming home. We are always so distracted by our minds and the outside world, that coming back to feeling and flowing in our bodies is so foreign that it is euphoric.
I implement this type of body and soul movement almost everyday because the feeling I get inside is paramount.
2) Getting Outside and Connecting with Nature
I love feeling grounded, aligned, and in tune with the nature of my soul and mother nature herself. Getting fresh air, walking barefoot in the grass, tuning in and listening to the sounds of nature around me, playing with my dog, closing my eyes and soaking in the feeling of the sun on my skin, dipping my feet into the cold ocean/bay, all of those little things fill me with vitality.
I can’t really explain why, but connecting with nature makes me feel alive, present, capable, and awake. So, I connect with mother earth daily, as to never lose touch with my roots or disconnect with that feeling of oneness with all of creation.
3) Watching the Sunrise
Ooo I love doing this! Getting up when the world is still asleep, when the sky is a thick gray, and when the birds are just starting to sing, is a magical time. Paring that with the experience of watching the sun peak up from the horizon and ascend into the blue sky is pure bliss.
This time of day is so peaceful, because there is nothing expected of me. The world is still asleep, and I get to witness the angelic beauty of nature fully and without distraction. Every time I watch the sunrise, I always gain a vast perspective on life. I zoom all the way out, and I realize the magnitude of life, and how insignificant all of my worries are.
It also helps me to connect deeper with the Universe (or God, or whatever Higher Power you believe in). The divine beauty this world holds is truly a gift, and it makes me feel so grateful to be alive and able to witness all the love that this human experience has to offer.
Put very simply, watching the sunrise makes me feel full of life and gives me a burst of energy to go seize the day and experience all that I can.
4) Being Creative
"The desire to create is one of the deepest yearnings of the human soul." ~ Dieter F. Uchtdorf
I truly believe that quote. I think we are here for many reasons, and one of the main reasons is to play. Getting creative, in any form, whether that be painting, singing, dancing, writing, photography, knitting, interior design, or even collage making, is a gateway to inner peace.
I am not an artist by any means, but putting on relaxing music and painting on a blank white canvas makes me feel so alive. The colors, the strokes, the infinite potential to create anything I want, the lack of rules... it is all just so fun! The same can be said for writing. I love taking a blank white page and creating a story. Being creative syncs me up with my purpose, and that fills me with life.
"To practice any art, no matter how well or badly, is a way to make your soul grow. So do it."
~ Kurt Vonnegut
5) Random Acts of Kindness
Love is, and always will be, the answer. Bringing unconditional love into all of our daily experiences will enhance our lives exponentially.
Part of my whole “awaken my alive” journey is due to missing out on something I was really looking forward to. So, due to that disappointment, I had to regroup and recognize just how many things I have to be grateful for. In that came a strong desire to help others, to volunteer, to treat my friends and family to a holiday beverage, to bake for those who are currently sick, to donate my time to those who need help, etc.
Doing those acts of kindness fill me with light. I feel aligned in my true nature, and it helps to make me feel more alive.
6) Making a List of All my Excuses, and then Burning It
This was so fun; I encourage everyone to do this.
I was feeling frustrated, so I scribbled down all of my excuses for why I am not living the life of my dreams, for why I am not experiencing all that I want to in this life, for why I am not putting in 100% effort to achieve my goals, and then I lit the piece of paper on fire and watched it burn.
Let me tell you, I felt a nice little adrenaline rush. It was symbolic, and it filled me with the strongest desire to make all of my wildest dreams a reality.
7) Becoming My Own Best Friend
I have never had it smooth in the friendship department, so I have gotten very good at being alone, but never have I relished in that alone time.
This week I spent quality time with myself. I got to better know who I am, and I learned to not just tolerate her, but to truly love her, and it felt amazing.
Actually feeling comfortable being and doing things alone is akin to having a superpower in 2020. This has been a hard time for every single person on the planet right now, and we have all experienced loss in some sort of form. The only thing we can never truly lose is the self, so why don’t we spend more time fostering and growing a solid relationship with ourselves?
It feels magical and freeing to exist in solitude and feel an overwhelming sense of contentment and love for the self. It definitely made me more excited to be alive.
8) Meditation
I have found that the amount of time we have to sit and do nothing has increased dramatically, so why not sit and do nothing with a purpose.
Meditation seems intimidating at first, but there really is no wrong way to do it. Sitting up straight, focusing on deep abdominal breaths, and clearing the mind is a blissful feeling, and the alignment and connection I feel to the Universe fills every atom of my being with vitality.
I am grateful that I had time to strengthen my meditation practice this week.
9) Challenging my Comfort Zone
I have learned the beauty of being uncomfortable this year. It surprisingly became one of my favorite emotions. When we are uncomfortable, it means we are headed towards an imaginary boundary / limit that we have created in our psyche to keep us “safe.” However, the boundaries only keep us from truly experiencing all this life has to offer, they don’t actually keep us safe from outside threats (that is adrenaline).
Feeling uncomfortable is a good thing. It means you are growing, challenging yourself, and becoming a more authentic version of who you are.
Once I realized that, I leaned into the situations that made me feel discomfort. I asked, “what are you teaching me?” I pushed through the emotion and reached the other side stronger and happier every single time.
So, with the extra time I had this week, I challenged more limiting beliefs that made me feel uncomfortable, and I grew even more because of it, making me feel more alive and more myself than ever.
10) Just Focusing on Raising my Vibration in Any Way Possible
It is impossible not to feel invincible, infinite, and awake when you are vibrating at a high frequency, and lucky for us there are thousands of ways we can achieve that.
I made a list a while ago of all the things that help me to raise my vibration, so I busted out that list this week and did a bunch that I felt called to do, and it definitely did not disappoint.
Conclusion:
Obviously, I would have rather had spent this week on a spiritual retreat in Hawaii, but I did not let that stop me from fulfilling the purpose of the trip, and I awakened my alive anyway.
I share this list for two reasons...
One, because we are in an extremely depressed state as a collective, and I think we would all benefit from feeling a little more alive, even in the midst of such hardship.
Two, there is a vast misconception that we need to travel all over the world, have a lot of money, and go on wild adventures in order to feel fulfilled in our life experience. That is not the case. I find that the most magical moments can also be the most mundane.
I am wishing every single person in the world right now an abundance of love, light, and aliveness.
With infinite gratitude,
Dee xoxo