When was the last time you felt a deep sense of consistent contentment or trust in the timing of your life and everything happening in it? When was the last time you had an innate inner joy that made you marvel at the universe and it’s timing?
If it’s been awhile, then it might be time to get up close and personal with yourself and try on some new ways of connecting, integrating and aligning with the universe and your higher self.
Kelsey Patel is one of LA’s leading wellness and reiki experts, and an expert in burnout. In her new book, Burning Bright: Rituals, Reiki, and Self-Care to Heal Burnout, Anxiety, and Stress
Kelsey shares the tools she uses in one-on-one work with her clients — many of them struggling with massive career burnout and anxiety.
According to Patel, “Joy is not something that is outside of us. In order to feel and receive joy on a daily basis, we need to know what it’s like to have that feeling inside of ourselves without needing anything else. We already possess and own the skills needed to make joy a bigger presence in our day-to-day lives. Often times, we are just stuck and committed to a pre-programmed approach that we have likely been engaging in for years.
“In order to feel something new, we have to try something new and change our own cycles and rhythms. Whether it’s the way we wake up or the way we show up every day, if we don’t interrupt own our daily rituals, then we are stay in the same state — and achieve the same results.”
Here are 3 daily rituals Kelsey uses with clients to bring more joy into life now….
the Morning Ritual: There is a reason we hear about ‘morning rituals’ so much nowadays and it’s because it works!As soon as you wake up in the morning, instead of checking your phone or rushing out of bed to get ready, take 5 minutes to try this instead:
Place your hands on your heart and take a few deep breaths. Connect to your physical body and tune in to the thoughts and energy of your mind. Just notice what’s going on up there. As you continue to breathe with your hands on your heart, allow your whole body to fill up with a sense of openness to your upcoming day. See yourself joyfully connected to your day. Even if there are things that feel overwhelming or intense, invite the energy of joy into those moments and see how it makes your body feel instead.
Before you close out this ritual and begin the day, ask yourself “What is one self-loving act I will do for myself today?” or “What is one self-loving choice I will commit to for myself today?”
the Joy Ritual: Tune into the vibration and feeling of joy to give your body a boost anytime during the day.
Take out a pen and paper and write out the things that make you feel joyful. Anything and everything that you can come up with — write it down.
When you feel complete, close your eyes and begin to slowly allow each of those ideas to enter into your body, almost like a visualization of the moment being present inside of you. Feel into the vibration you connect with when you recall these things. After a few moments, notice how you feel. Begin to breathe through those feeling of joy without any restrictions. Visualize yourself with joy inside of your whole body for the rest of your day or week.
Ask to be shown what joy ‘looks like’ for you for the rest of the day. See yourself embodied in this place and let it settle in to each cell of your body, mind and heart. Take this visualized feeling into the week with you and open up to that feeling with a deep breath at any moment to come back to your joy state.
the Giving Joy Ritual: This one is easy. Perform one act of kindness during the day to simply give joy to someone else.
Anything from a text message to someone you love letting them know that you appreciate them to holding the door open for someone qualifies here. Make an email introduction to two people who may be able to support one another’s work. Plant a small herb or give someone a plant. Make the simple effort to recycle or pick up a piece of trash on the street. All of these micro-moments can create a macro-impact on those around you.
