Come gather ’round people, wherever you roam
And admit that the waters around you have grown
And accept it that soon you’ll be drenched to the bone
If your time to you is worth saving
Then you better start swimmin’ or you’ll sun like a stone
For the times they are a-changin’
So sung Bob Dylan in 1964. Today times are certainly changing, and as more is learnt about the COVID-19 virus, the speed of this change can be extremely confusing.
There are two things that the majority of expert health and governmental officials all agree on and that is (1) wash your hands thoroughly and often (lathering the soap for at least 20 seconds); and (2) limit your need to go out and about – in other words, whenever possible, simply stay at home.
The thought of self-isolation appears to be causing an increasing degree of anxiety for a number of people. As I am naturally introvert, to hear people raise their challenge around the inability to socialise (especially after such a short period of time) is somewhat confusing. I personally have an endless amount of projects that I can turn my attention to, or I am more happy to simply read a book. The biggest challenge I find that I am facing is the need to move into the world of on-line video conferencing, zoom calls and even live streaming on social media.
Technology and I are not always the best of friends. Even as I write this, I am also chatting to the Support person having attempted to install something onto the Temple of the Dark Moon website only to crashed it completely!!
While I knowledge that for some people, self-isolation can indeed heighten anxiety and other health concerns (and not only mental), now is a perfect time to practice “reframing” – a technique used to help create a different way of looking at a situation, person, or relationship by changing its meaning from negative to positive. You may even like to turn this into a game or challenge.
Up until the fear off COVID-19 closed events down, on Monday evenings I held a meditation circle that focused around mantra chanting. My personal goal is to commence a live streaming of these meditations on the Isian Centre of Metaphysic’s Facebook page.
If you would like to join in, please do – even if you are unfamiliar to meditation, or mantras, open yourself up to a new experience. These meditations will commence around 7.30pm ACST (Australia Central Standard Time). Between now and then I will also attempt to put together a video or two about how to meditate, why I use mantras, and maybe explain more about some of the other techniques I use.
Even though we may feel isolated, we are all in fact going through these uncertain times together, and we are all being impacted – some more than others, and some more visible that others. As we find ourselves being forced out of our comfort zones, being “encouraged” to show/expose our more vulnerable sides, we also need to remember that everyone else is also going through the same thing. Therefore we all need to show a higher degree of kindness, understanding and even patience.
Together we can all get through this.
