Mirror, Mirror

Blog Author: Emilia Wheaton
Blog Editor: Kristen Kennedy Smith

Our outer world has a tendency to mimic and mirror our internal world; the peace or havoc we hold inside is transferable to those around us and--on a macro scale--to the collective energy force of the world. It’s likely that you’ve felt this energy transfer before… Can you think of a time when you've walked into a room and the energy in the room was just decidedly low? No words were shared, body language wasn’t telling, but you could just tell that something was off. Or, think of an occasion where you were in a crummy mood, maybe tired from a long day at work, but your mood completely flipped when a friend’s exuberant joy overcame your grouchiness. These are instances where energy was infectious and transferable, but an accumulation of all these instances summize the collective energy of the world. 

If we leave our emotional boundaries open during times of global panic and insecurity, as we are finding ourselves right now during a pandemic outbreak, we open the gates for anxiety, stress, fear, anger, grief, distrust--all the negative junk--to pass unfiltered into our hearts and minds. What if we flipped the script, and not only managed to block out all those low vibrations but to raise our collective vibration by spilling out our own positivity, optimism and peace? Using ourselves as a mirror, we can reflect bliss upon the world, transforming the current chaos to calm. 

In this model of ourselves as mirrors, self-care becomes care for all humanity. The peace we cultivate within ourselves becomes the peace we are able to share with our neighbors, our families, our communities, our world. Though, fear not reader, this task is not yours and yours alone; it is the responsibility of each one of us to be stewards of our inner selves in order to begin a global chain-reaction that pushes us all toward peace and contentment. What are some ways each one of us can generate and spread peace?

POSITIVITY.
A little dose of optimism does wonder for the soul. Every morning as I am getting out of bed I tell myself with conviction that “today is a good day to have a good day.” Initiating each day with a positive outlook, with the expectation that the day brings goodness, primes my mind and prepares me to see the best in each moment of the day. Try infusing your day with a bit more positivity; when you’re given the chance to react with negativity or positivity, choose positivity. 

BREATHE IN, BREATHE OUT.
Breathwork has the ability to slow our stress response by changing the course of the automatic functions of our hearts, digestion, brain and immune system to a self-induced state of calm. The best part of conscious breath? It’s totally free and so so simple. We don’t need to be master meditators to simply breathe in slowly and deeply for six seconds, to hold our breath for a moment longer and to release just as slowly as we inhaled, for six seconds. Repeating this ten times over alters our body’s response to stress. We can then take matters into our own hands and begin to consciously replace panic with peace, to replace anxiety for an analysis of what can realistically be done to improve our current situation. And that brings us to our next bright idea…

BE CHOOSY.
As a young girl, my aunt imparted some wisdom I still hold dear. She told me “When you are worried about something, ask yourself this: Is there anything I can do to make it better or different? If yes, go for it. If not, let it go.” Okay. Yes, easier said than done, but I still practice this when I feel my anxiety flare up and thoughts of worry fill my mind. So we’re all worried about this viral pandemic, right? Can we fix it? Can we rewind history and quarantine the very first case before it spread to the masses? Nope. Let what cannot be changed go and begin focusing on what practical things you can do. Once you’ve taken those actions to follow public health recommendations and to extend care for your loved ones, consider your job well done and move on to release any heavy anxieties.

KINDNESS.
Now, it’s my own opinion that kindness really can improve just about any situation. Offering kindness in whatever ways you best know how, is an infectious energy transfer that can shift the moods of anyone we come in contact with. Hold the door open, give a compliment, wave at people on the street, give your seat up for a woman with children, send your mom a nice text, make your partner coffee, listen, smile. Even if the kindness goes unnoticed, our hearts are fuller for having consciously chosen kindness. Filling our own hearts allows the potential of filling the hearts of others.



Using these tools, as well as any other feel-good practices you live by contributes to living consciously and giving due attention to our internal peace will in turn foster a sense of collective peace. With a positive outlook, intentional breathing, kindness, and a practice of distinguishing between what is within our control and what remains outside our means, we are able to cultivate and spread high vibrations all around. Put in the work for yourself and for our global energy circuits. We need your drop in the ocean. It does not go unnoticed.