Overwhelmed

“Carefully watch your thoughts, for they become your words. Manage and watch your words, for they will become your actions. Consider and judge your actions, for they have become your habits. Acknowledge and watch your habits, for they shall become your values. Understand and embrace your values, for they become your destiny.” Gandhi.

As the first month of 2023 draws to a close there are many, I have observed, who are feeling a state of overwhelm.  January is a notoriously tricky month, generally the weather is poor in the UK, the days are short, we have the post Christmas blues, the cost of living spiraling out of control and so on; all things we have little or no control over and therefore these can feel dis-empowering.  I feel this year there is more.  We have had almost 3 years of being out of control over a lot of things that happen in our lives.  We have seen conflict in families, work places and with friends, many of us have lost loved ones for whatever reason.  Those who watch the TV news have been fed a succession of trauma from around the globe.  It is my belief (and I am not a psychologist or a scientist, I am a spiritual practitioner) that the accumulation of months of this has taken it’s toll on people.  I doubt there is anyone who has escaped the effects of this in one way or another.

When I looked up the definition of overwhelm for the purposes of writing this blog the first thing at the top of the web search said : Bury or drown beneath a huge mass of something.  Of course a state of overwhelm doesn’t need to be a bad thing, we can be overwhelmed with joy for example, but I felt this was a good definition.  When we are in a state of overwhelm even catching our breath seems to take an enormous effort.  The tasks we need to complete begin to tumble in on us like an avalanche and before long anxiety is through the roof and even the simplest of tasks feels insurmountable.

If you are in a state of overwhelm and it is impacting on your every day life for a period of time it is important to get professional help.  This is not a one size fits all, for some people this is a spiritual mentor / group for others it is their doctor it is important that you do what is right for you, but reach out.

I have heard of people blaming their state of overwhelm on Mercury retrograde, the full moon, ascension symptoms, the Schuman resonance; the list goes on and maybe those things have an impact, however when we look to external factors we once again give away our own power.  Within us is the power to achieve calm, peace, happiness – a state of wellbeing, but we need to put in a little work.  This in itself may seem impossible, but baby steps forward over a period of time can effect a big change.  Our mission on this earth plane is to work on ourselves until we find out who we truly are.

Most young children have a sense of who they are, they know very quickly what makes them happy or sad, what makes their soul sing or what makes them feel uncomfortable.  Sometimes they are told they are living in a dream world and they should jump into REAL life other times they are taught to obey and little by little the sense of Self begins its journey into a dormant state.  Here’s the good thing it is never too late to make a change and begin to come back to who you truly are.  When we live in an authentic state life begins to get a whole lot easier.

Reiki is just one way to embark on the journey back to the Self.  Many people think of it as just a hands on healing modality, however, when the precepts are closely observed and the Reiki way of being, coupled with blessings / initiations our inner light begins to shine and little by little change occurs not only in our mental state, but often our physical wellbeing, for some very quickly for others over a period of time.  For me when I found Reiki back in 2000 it felt like I had come home.

One of the baby steps that can be taken is to acknowledge that their are choices.  Maya Angelou said “If you don’t like something, change it. If you can’t change it, change your attitude.”  There are some things in life that can’t be changed, but we can choose how we react to them.  If something or someone is regularly triggering you, go deep within yourself to find out what it is that causes the trigger, it will be something within you.  We all have those things, often based on historical in events in our life.  If it upsets us then that is a flag to show that work needs to be done.  Often the people around us can pull us down, but we have a choice as to whether to allow this to happen.  Could we walk away?  if not how can we protect ourselves so that our vibe isn’t pulled down by the offending person.

When not in the stressful situation or interaction do you play things over and over again in your mind?  YOU have the power to stop this.  Bring yourself back to the present moment.  Focus on what you are doing, mentally talk yourself through it if that helps.  Allowing one’s brain to run on auto pilot is very energy draining and the lower the energy the greater the feeling of overwhelm.  It is a downward spiral.  If plagued with negative thoughts, teach yourself to acknowledge them and over time you will be able to change them ‘change your thoughts, change your life’ Dr Wayne Dyer.

To sum up, if you feel overwhelmed reach out.  Remember all things are transient, this too shall pass and remember that deep within you is the power to take control.  Take one tiny thing, something easy, and change that and then keep going. Don’t try and tackle everything at once and above all stay rooted in the present – the past has gone, the future is yet to come, NOW is all there is.

I hope this helps just a tiny bit.

 

Lesley x