Five Resources For Staying Connected During Quarantine

One: Meditation & Prayer

To me; meditation and prayer are the same thing, they each have their different styles, but essentially they produce the same results. Meditation is a practice that goes far beyond a yoga mat or sitting silently in meditation pose. Meditation or rather, mindfulness, is the ability to take your meditation practice into your daily life. It doesn’t necessarily mean that your day will be filled with peace and love, but it does mean that when there’s a “bump in the road”, a disagreement, conflict or a minuscule mishap that you will not allow the incident to disturb your inner equilibrium. You are able to bring about a presence to the activities you partake in. So, meditation is a resourceful tool that teaches us how to stay even minded even amongst the chaos. It doesn’t require any money, but it does require your time and with more time on our hands now more than ever, what a perfect time to start a meditation practice! :)

Prayer is another form of meditation, but approached in a different context. It is generally done once a day, or just like meditation, you are praying throughout the day. Either one you want to practice is perfectly okay! I found that I started with prayer, seeking answers, asking questions, calling out to something, someone, anything. What I found is that in order for me to hear the answer to my prayers I had to quiet my racing “monkey mind” and sit still. This is what led me to mediation. Because we’re great at asking for help, but if you’re anything like me, you may struggle to receive it. I love asking my angels, spirit guides and Ascended Masters like Jesus and Buddha to assist me when I need help letting go, resting, forgiving, acceptance, peace and joy. And without fail they always show up for me, so long as I show up for them with my prayer and meditation practice. It’s my commitment to that connection with them, that relationship with them that generates the energy and feeling of support.

I have created and linked a Guided Meditation For Connection for you below! Feel free to like, subscribe and share with anyone you might feel would benefit from it right now! I will also share one of the first guided sleep meditations I used when I first began my practice! Enjoy!

Two: Divination Practices

Okay, this has got to be one of my most favorite pastimes; divination (the practice of seeking knowledge of the future or the unknown by supernatural means.) The definition is a little hokey in my opinion, but that’s beside the point. Divination is just another word to describe strengthening your intuition. One thing I would like to mention is that strengthening your intuition is a lot like strengthening your faith. They both teach you how to believe in something that is unseen, unexplainable, incomprehensible to the mind. For they are both felt, not understood. Divination practices can look like so many different things for so many different people. For me it looks like working with crystals, infusing them with the energies of my guides and angels with my intention. You can also make protection grids out of them. They are really fun to work with. They are a lot like my babies, you form a connection to their energy over time and they are a really valuable resource during this time as they can bring a lot of comfort and ease. My all time favorite is Rose Quartz. It is gentle, soft and nurturing and really helps to keep the heart open.

Alright my absolute favorite divination practice is Tarot, if you know me, you know that I love my tarot deck, I have formed my own connection and relationship not just with my deck, but it’s also helped me connect more deeply to my spirit guides and angels. It’s also a great way to develop your intuitive abilities, such as clairaudience, clairvoyance, clairsentience and claircognizance. I also enjoy working with oracle cards, especially if you haven’t quite learned tarot or aren’t interested in it, oracle cards offer another outlet for intuitive development.

I would say that journaling is another form of divination. Our words are spells, when we write our wishes, dreams, desires, goals and feelings onto paper, maybe even speaking them aloud, we create a very powerful connection to Source and to the contribution to our reality. Writing a letter to a loved one you miss and sending it in the mail. Writing a letter to an ex and burning it in a safe place. Writing a bucket list. Writing a gratitude list. Writing down your feelings and thoughts can really help to clear your mind and body of stored energy. It’s a great way to release and also to manifest. As we practice writing what we do want, as we dedicate to the practice we are able to completely shift our outlook and perspective on life. Divination could also include burning candles and working with a pendulum. It could also look like working with plants, flower essence, and herbs to heal and provide medicine for the body, mind and soul.

Three: Exercise & Movement

This next one may not sound like too much fun, but don’t throw it out too quickly. It is a great mood booster and awesome for your overall physical and mental well being. I love me a good cardio kickboxing workout that I can do in the comfort of my own living room. No one around but me, turn on my tunes and enjoy connecting to my body and my breath. I am not one to go to the extreme when it comes to physical exercise, I generally prefer a slower, more yin style approach to working my body. But don’t get me wrong I live for a good jog outside at the park and also I love a good cardio workout from dancing! But my favorite way to work my core and to move with a sense of ease is yoga or what I call simply; stretching. It is a must for me to stretch out my body everyday, to tend to my body with gentle care and to also observe my mind from a neutral space within. Depending on the day and the mood I am in I can enjoy a more intense core workout and flow or some days what I need is a cozy and slow practice. This is why it’s so important for you to develop a relationship with your body. It is always speaking to you, but are you listening? Take 20 minutes each day to connect with your body, check in with your feelings, how is your mind? Where are you holding stress or tension in the body? And then, tend to it, take care of it and you’ll be amazed at how it begins to support you. Give it your time and attention and you will benefit beyond your wildest dreams.

Meet your activity from a place of self love and self care, don’t come to it with the attitude that it’s a chore, you’re only working against yourself at that point. Meet it with enjoyment and pleasure and it will feel as if something greater than you is doing the work for you. A good cardio exercise does not have to be strenuous, it can be a fast paced walk at your nearest trail or neighborhood, it could be a bike ride or playing a game of tag in your yard. Allow your activity to become fun. You can create all kinds of games and different workouts to do at home, especially with children. So, you have two options, a slow and gentle approach and an intense faster approach. The best part is, you can interchange them depending on how you’re feeling that day! It doesn’t matter how you look or where you start, all that matters is you take the time to show your mind and body that you care.

Below I have linked a playlist on YouTube to easily access channels and videos for at home workouts, yoga classes and dance sessions from Fitness Blender, Yoga With Adriene, and My own account ashley emig where I recently created a 30 Minute Guided Dance Session for Boredom and Energetic Protection! I hope you find these as fun and beneficial as I do!

Four: Sound Healing

This has got to be one of the most powerful resources for healing; sound therapy. I really enjoy the benefits from this particular practice. In fact as I write this I am listening to gentle music playing in the background. I listen to soothing music each night to help me have a more restful sleep. It’s also great for studying, meditation, yoga, cleaning, reading, cooking, napping, taking a bath and journaling. One of the best methods for sound healing is listening to drums, they are known to help put us in a trance state that allows for us to quiet the overactive part of our minds and as we do that we begin to activate a different part of our brain that begins to soothe the inflamed nervous system and creates harmony and restores peace to the mind and body. This simple practice of just allowing yourself to be in a state if surrendered listening will quiet the chatter taken on from the day.

I love to use nature sounds to heal, and not just the ones recorded that you play on your phone, but also just being out in nature, listening to the birds chirp, the wind blow, the water flow, the traffic buzzing by, the crickets chirping and the frogs croaking. Taking the time to connect with one of your most valuable senses will improve your listening skills. A lot of us are great at talking, hellllo, that’s me, but what we really struggle with is listening, getting past our loud thoughts and dropping into the heart space to hear it’s guidance. It’s through the connection with our heart that we can hear the intelligence of the Divine communicating with us, but first we must calm our minds and if you ask me, sound is one of the most beautiful ways to do that.

One practice you can incorporate into your daily routine is connecting with and playing a musical instrument. Whatever instrument you prefer is perfect for you! You do not have to know how to play, all you have to do is be willing to create the time and space to gift yourself that time of sound healing. To regenerate your nervous system and to develop your talents. If you’ve always felt drawn to music in any way, you would greatly benefit from starting an instrument practice. I love playing my guitar! I haven’t even taken off the plastic cords off yet, I have no idea how to play, but personally I just enjoy the vibration on my belly and in my thumb and the sound. It brings me a comforting feeling that allows for me to open and relax. Truly it is the vibration that matters, not how good you are or how good it sounds, once again, it’s just that connection to your body and soul. The reason I love sound healing so much is because it’s frequency and frequency is how the soul communicates, it goes beyond human language and truly opens your mind up to receive the healing vibrations of Spirit moving through your body. It can be a profound healing practice if you lean into it with an open heart and mind.

Below I am going to link a website to Tom Kenyon. He is a world renowned sound healer and has been practicing for decades. His work is beautiful, unique and truly life changing. He uses shamanic drumming, chimes and all other sorts of instruments, but the most powerful instrument of all is his very own voice. He channels a group of souls that work with sound to bring healing to our planet at this time. They sound like angels singing through him. It’s pretty cool in my opinion. He also has some great seminars/talks related to neuroscience and the brain that I found interesting and educational. I will also leave a link for a crystal bowl healing sound bath that I really enjoy!

Five: Mother Nature

Of course Mother nature made it on my list! She is our most valuable resource during this time. She provides so much abundance for us and the planet as a whole. It is a great time to incorporate Earth Healing into your daily life, or if not daily, yet, at least weakly you should make it a priority to connect with Mother Nature. Her healing benefits are out of this world. One of my favorite Earth Healing practices is to simply connect to the sun. Now, I know it’s not shining everyday, what a bummer, but when it comes out, make sure you make an effort to come out too. A quick walk around the block or building will do, you don’t have to be out hiking mountains and rock climbing to connect to Earth all you have to do is place your attention on some aspect of her. It could be as simple as putting plants in your home and talking to them while you water them. It could be a vase of flowers that brighten up your home and mood. It can be standing barefoot in the grass. You could hug a tree or just sit under one, kinda like Buddha ;) You could cook with fresh fruits and vegetables. You could garden, go fishing or horse back riding! Or you can pick some dandelions and make a flower crown! ;)

I enjoy looking up at the sky, admiring the clouds, birds and all the different colors that surround me. I love connecting with bugs and animals as a way to connect with nature. Spending time near water or in the woods is therapeutic and can reduce anxiety. As you make this a priority on your “to-do” list it can actually help reduce the load of things you have to get done. It may seem like a waste of time, but truly it is valuable to your mind, body and soul! Just getting out at your lunch break to take a few deep breaths of air can shift your entire mood for the day. Do not underestimate the healing powers of Mother Earth, she has been healing us for years. If we can slow down and mend that relationship with her, the amount of support and love you feel will make you question what unconditional love truly is. It is her love and care that gives us that sense of belonging and security that we all long for. By connecting to her we’re connecting to the deepest part of ourselves and as we get to know ourselves more intimately our entire relationship with the world changes. I don’t know about you, but I am so happy to see the sights of Spring. Colors vibrant and fresh, flowers blossoming, rain showers, bugs coming back to life, the smell of grass and dirt. It’s the time of coming alive.

Thank you for reading!

Love and blessings, Ashley <3