Sound Bath

All my life I've been very receptive/ sensitive to sound.  The right music can just lift me up and completely change my mood,  and the wrong music just jars on me and I can't bear it.  

Lately I've been putting in the words Sound Bath to apple and spotify,  or youtube and listening to what they conjure up.  Lots of it doesn't work for me,  but I've found things that are just wonderful!  Sound Baths are healing vibrational sounds  - gongs, bells,  singing bowls, chimes etc..  often with music, rain sounds, sometimes on their own,  that are meant to resonate through you and work on your harmonics. 

If you are seeking some refuge,  something different,  try listening to new music.  Most sound bath music does not have lyrics,  but often does have spoken visualizations over it.  Some of the spoken stuff does not work at all for me,  some of it is soothing,  some of it I never hear,  because I've fallen asleep by then.  But a lot of it really relaxes me.  

My most recent find is Dr Ramdesh.  You may not like her, don't worry if you don't,  but find someone that does work for you. If you are troubled with anxiety or racing thoughts,  try finding some new guided visualizations, or meditations.  I find they help enormously. 

Anxiety

Anxiety - even the mention of the word can make us feel anxious.  Throughout the Covid years I was speaking to a lot of people with increasing issues with anxiety.  And somehow they all felt,  once Covid felt like it was behind us,  the anxiety would decrease.  But there is something about long exposure to anxiety,  it sensitizes us to it.  So the more you are anxious,  the more anxious you can become - feels terribly unfair!  

The best advice I've found for dealing with it, is getting out into nature - a walk in the woods,  by the river,  or the ocean -  works wonders.  But sometimes we are far away from nature,  and getting out of the house on our one day off and trying to find some nature just adds to our stress.  So... I've been recommending guided meditations downloads and aps.  

But first I'll start with a disclaimer.  I absolutely believe that these can help,  but I'm also incredibly picky.  One wrong detail and I'm out of there,  no longer relaxed and in touch,  but rather irritated and more anxious!  So I can reject then on the basis of accent,  of back ground music,  of one wrong word.  But I believe in them,  so while I am picky and reject far more than I accept,  I keep ploughing on till I find the one that works for me.  These have worked for me or been recommended by people I trust and have worked for them.  They may not work for you,  and that's not on you or on the product, it just didn't connect to you.  If they don't work, please just look for another one - and if you find one that really does work for you, let me know and I'll add it to my list of referrals.  

I've listened to literally hundreds of guided meditations,  and this is one of my favorite creators - Belleruth Naparstek. ,  she speaks so kindly and so wisely.   I also like the work by Andrew Weil, he writes a lot about food,  but his CD on music,  with Kimba Arem ,  was just so healing and calming. Also the very well named,  Anxiety Release app comes highly recommended.  

So take a deep breath,  and dive into that world and see what speaks to you... 

9 of swords

Here you are, sitting up in bed, unable to sleep; anxious, tense and troubled about either what has happened or what might happen. Here your problems are invading your sleep, you find it difficult to get rest, difficult to switch off and it’s hard to find an inner peace.

The Inner child cards show the anxiety as a dragon, trapping you in her sinuous curves, leaving you brooding and weak.

Often, fear and doubts makes us feel younger than we are, childlike in the face of these obstacles. I like this quilt image, because it shows how vulnerable you can feel when these emotions dominate. There is no way out but through, when we get these feelings, we have to address them head on, or they can swamp us.

One thing I frequently do when I see this card is ask about actual sleep patterns.  If you are having trouble sleeping, there are 2 things I recommend.  Firstly,  Belleruth Naparstek has a series of meditation CD's.  Her sleep one is highly recommended,  but if you don't like her,  find another one that speaks to you. Secondly,  I have found Tranquil Sleep,  by Natural Factors,  a Melatonin based chewable tablet very helpful for me and would happily recommend it on to others.

And now for the swords...

We leave the water based cups and now move on to the swords, cutting through the air. When I think of swords, I think of cutting through complications, sharp edged and smart. The swords deal with the mind, both rational and irrational. The swords are intellectual and want to learn but emotionally they often learn through pain. I associate Swords with strength, defenses, conflict, anxiety, and ambition, but above all, swords seek the truth, and how valuable that makes them!