By Tania Ho
March 25, 2020
It’s not easy for anyone to be calm these days. Myself included.
When the coronavirus started to affect the business at Museflower in February I already knew that it would only get worse. Groups and guests started to cancel their bookings for the upcoming months.
In the middle of March when the Thai government announced mandatory quarantine for six countries entering into Thailand, I knew that was it – we would not have any more business until this whole situation blows over. My head was spinning with possible cost-saving measures. What could I do? I could hardly breathe into my belly. My shoulders were getting tense. I was feeling anxious.
Fast forward to today, when last Friday the Thai government announced the closure of all spas for 14 days and then yesterday, a state-of-emergency order was issued starting Thursday 26th. Well, I did have to make a few quick decisions. But I could maintain a sense of calm within. I knew what I had to and just had to act on it. Compared to one month ago when I was panicking, I felt I was much more prepared, grounded and centered to face the uncertainties of the ever-changing world.
I’m not perfect obviously. I still get affected by the news and the fear and panic around the world. But I observe that during this time, these 3 tips have helped me reconnect with my inner calm and I’d like to share with you as below.
1 – Limit Exposure to the Fear & Panic Around
I’m definitely checking news update much more than before, and I realize that is taking a toll on my emotional, mental and energetic health. We are all sensitive beings to varying degrees. For people who are more sensitive than others, it’s easy to take on energies that do not belong to us, carry the burden of the world on our shoulders, and feel helpless at the same time.
We are all social distancing, or isolating at home now to limit the exposure to the coronavirus on a physical level. It would only make sense that we should also think about ways to limit exposure to the fear and panic around the situation on an emotional, mental and energetic level.
We still need to check the news as everyday the world is changing. Borders closing. Cities and countries going into lockdown. We need to be able to adapt quickly. But checking the news once in the morning, in the afternoon and in the evening would be quite sufficient, for me at least.
One great way to help limit the exposure is use the “screen time” function on your smartphone. I have started to use “screen time” to limit browsing time on certain apps, such as social media apps and the news app. Turning the phone on “do not disturb” or “airplane” mode, and turning the phone screen away also allow us to get a break instead of constantly being bombarded with messages and notifications, and being absorbed into the endless scrolling “blackhole”.
Perhaps even consider a digital detox or a social media detox for a minimum of 1 day or longer. Refrain from watching the news while you are eating as well, as you are literally “swallowing” the energy of the news as you eat. Use this time away from the technology to do something that you haven’t done for a long while. Painting. Writing. Decluttering. Or do and plan for “nothing” and see where your intuition guides you.
2 – Commit to Your Spiritual Practice Daily
When the world falls into chaos, it is paramount to commit and to deepen our spiritual practice, and to strengthen our faith to help us go through these challenging times. There are so many things we cannot control. The Universe always works at mysterious ways that sometimes we don’t understand. The one thing we can control though is showing up daily to our spiritual practice, whatever it is for you. It may be meditation, it may be praying, it may be journaling.
Through our spiritual practice, we can reconnect to our heart center and listen clearly to our soul’s whispers and intuitive guidance. Sometimes I find that in my mind I already have all the possible solutions. But my heart isn’t there yet. I need to take some time to allow my emotions to come through. Once I give myself time to digest everything, that’s when I have true clarity that it’s the right time to act. Everything is aligned to carry out these actions –my mind, my heart and my spirit. That’s when I know I am in the flow, and magic can happen.
Bonus Tip: Follow the free online “Calm in the Chaos” meditation created by Sarah Walton, co-facilitator of Museflower Soul Bliss Writing Retreat in October 2020 to help tune into your inner calm. All you need is your breathe, imagination and intuition. To access the free online meditation, simply sign up to our Soul Bliss writing retreat mailing list where Sarah and I will send you a free online monthly wellness gift to help reconnect and express your inner voice. Sign up here to access your first free wellness gift – “Calm in the Chaos meditation” instantly: https://mailchi.mp/museflower/soulblisswritingretreat2020
3 – Be Clear With Your Intention
These days I’m constantly reminded of being clear with my intentions and what I want. My intentions serve as clear guidelines for me to decide what’s important and my priorities.
In the practical standpoint, this also helps to clarify what I will and will not do in my own business. For example, instead of panicking over how much money I will lose and obsessing over cost-saving measures to keep costs minimum or how we can still make money at this time, I decided what I need is a monthly cost budget. Once I decide what the monthly cost budget is, and accept that this is the loss I can bear on a per month basis, then I can plan ahead on how many months I can sustain this before entering into a critical stage. And what is the worst that can happen? The worst is closure. And I accept that, if it is meant to be.
During one of my daily meditations, I am asked to remember why I created Museflower at the first place. That night I was suddenly inspired on finding ways to bring the essence of Museflower online – which is to reconnect with oneself. That’s how I got the idea of starting to offer free online Saturday soul sharing circles from now to end of April.
I hope my above tips can give you some ideas on how to create calm within chaos. With all the uncertainties in the world, we cannot expect to find calmness outside of us. This is really the time where we need to close our eyes, turn our gaze inward, and reconnect with the inner sanctuary within us. We are more powerful than we think we are. Whatever questions or problems we have, the answers and solutions lie within us.
Trust that the guidance always comes at the right time. Sometimes we just need to wait it out. Sometimes we just need to act. Listen to your soul’s voice within. Your soul will tell you.
