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Anthony Quintiliani, Ph.D, LADC

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February 26, 2018 By Admin

Self-Care as Ritual

Self-Care as Ritual

Self-care for Americans is often considered a luxury.  Due to our technological demands and addictions (Demons as they are), and the slow slipping of our economic structures, we are often at the mercy of the bottom line at work. Over-paid CEOs and CFOs and their many assistants eat up so, so much of workplace finances. Rush! Rush! Rush! In the 2017 American Psychological Association survey on stress in America, workplace stress and financial worries were major causes of increased emotional reactivity for Americans. Add to this our enormous addiction problems (drugs of abuse, alcohol, nicotine, opioids, cell phones, and “conspicuous consumption” as anormal process).  So instead of healthy self-care many American take the path of least resistance and self-medicate.  To improve psychological and physical health, we need to ritualize self-care practices. We need to make them one of our most important priorities on a regular basis. You may want to note that you must care for your child within. The list below provides some starting points for you to consider. Try as many of these practices as you can, and adopt as ritual a few you really like. Remember effective self-care is bio-psycho-social-spiritual. Ritualize it!

  1. You are transforming at the cellular level – every second some part dies and some part is born, arising and falling
  2. Hot stone massage
  3. Early morning walks
  4. Daily mindfulness, meditation, and yoga
  5. Pray
  6. Mindful movement stretches
  7. A Reiki session
  8. Long warm baths with aroma therapy, oils, and candles
  9. Tea drinking ceremonies
  10. Hot oil foot massage, or whole body hot oil massage
  11. Practice Mindfulness-Based Stress Reductions
  12. Sit with your pet and pet it
  13. Plan for an enjoy one whole day of silence
  14. Un plug everything – TV, computer, cell phones (especially), etc.
  15. Take a break from the evening news
  16. Write brief entries in a happiness journal
  17. Locate a “wisdom mentor” and pay for your time with her/him
  18. Apologize to a person you harmed, make amends
  19. Do  your own personal spiritual practices
  20. Write or recite gratitude lists
  21. Hug a lot – with emotional meaning
  22. Walk in a labyrinth
  23. Recycle – reduce your personal carbon footprint
  24. Walk in nature
  25. Have a conversation with your inner self-helper, that part of you that tries to help you be well
  26. Use helpful mantras – “I an ok the way I am.” ” I have enough right now in my life.” ” All things change.”
  27. Practice deep, slow, calm abdominal breathing often during the day – take a breathing break
  28. Practice active kindness and compassion
  29. Practice self-compassion
  30. Love a lot – with emotional meaning
  31. Radically accept yourself, and stop being self-critical

For more information refer to The Little Book of Self-Care…(2017). New York: Adams Media/Simon and Schuster. See also Thich Nhat Hanh (2017). The Art of Living. New York: Harper Collins.

Anthony R. Quintiliani, PhD., LADC

From the Eleanor R. Liebman Center for Secular Meditation in Monkton, Vermont and the Home of The Monkton SanghaChiYinYang_EleanorRLiebmanCenter

Author of Mindful Happiness  

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