The Importance of Retreating

Through the ages many spiritual-minded people have had the need to escape the business or busy-ness of life and to withdraw into the inner worlds of the mind to hopefully find peace and quiet. In our day to day life this is quite difficult to achieve because we constantly get pulled in many different directions all at once. As your mind and energy gets pulled we lose concentration in the present moment and we become part of where those energy strings take us. The most positive of these mental expeditions can be daydreaming about some future holiday or experience, or sometimes reminiscing on something good that has happened. Obviously the negative side of these distractions can lead us to revisiting past hurts and fears, this can create anxiety in the body, we lose focus and we plummet into the underworld. Unfortunately our minds, jump from one thing to another like a butterfly flitting from one flower to another, at least the butterfly has mostly beautiful experiences with colours, smells and sweet tasting nectar from the flowers. We on the other hand lose our life-force energy with this constant flitting about. We are almost in spring (some calendars say 1st September is the start of spring, but in ancient cultures it was only around 23rd September). Spring brings fresh new energy to be explored, it brings renewal after the winter and an opportunity or invitation to spring clean our lives.

Spring cleaning can take many forms:

Physically we clean our homes, space clearing, declutter, recycle and donate unwanted items
Physically we can clean and recharge our bodies by detoxing and cleansing
Mentally we clear stuck and negative thoughts, beliefs and behaviours
Emotionally we clear negative emotions
We can also clear our inbox from old emails and Whats-app
We an clear our energy fields from negative energy patterns

Retreating is a way to separate ourselves from the outside world of distractions and become more centred in our core being, our hearts. Our busy schedules do not always allow us to retreat, like in going away and doing nothing, but we can integrate a daily practice of a couple of moments of silence and contemplation. I recently read that the most successful people in the world all have one thing in common: daily meditative or contemplative practice and they read something new and interesting every day.

Ways of retreating:

Go for a massage
Spend 30 min every day learning something new
Read something interesting
Colour in or paint
Listen to some good music, even if it is just in the car
Spend a couple of minutes every day in nature
Create a sacred quiet space in your home, feed this with energy and intention every day
Take on a hobby or invest your energy in a worthy cause
Cook a wholesome meal together as a family
Go for a walk around your neighbourhood
Invest in some guided meditations
Invest in yourself and have regular energy clearings
Become more mindful of your surroundings
Use uplifting essential oils like lavender and eucalyptus
Create a vision board
Collect images of future holiday destinations
Spend time away from your cellphone for a couple of hours
Have a technology free weekend

If you have the time go on a holiday with the main purpose to retreat and limit your interaction with electronics and the outside world, then your energy body will thank you for this with an increase sense of vitality and creativity.

Please Explore the options on retreating that this newsletter has to offer and hopefully you will find something that aligns with you.

The AuraEssence Team