Grey Girl

Sleep is magic. With it we are full of energy, clear-headed and healthy. Without it we become zombies, but instead of brains we crave z’s. And if you’re anything like me, that zombie mindset makes you do things you wouldn’t usually do -make mistakes, skip out on time with friends and family and maybe even neglect responsibilities. Or even worse, zombie walk to the kitchen to shovel sweets in your mouth at 3am.

I’ve created a list of things that I use to gain the most restful sleep so you can be the best non-zombie you that you can be.

Headspace Meditation App

Headspace is a free guided meditation app. There is a paid subscription as well, but you don’t have to in order to get plenty of short, guided meditations. Meditating helps relax you and allows you to brain-dump anxious-driven thoughts, your to-do list for the next 3 years or all the embarrassing memories you have from age 5 to present. Basically everything that keeps you up at night.

Headspace doubles as a teaching app as well. Meditation is much more than closing your eyes and breathing weird (yeah, I was shocked too). The meditations can be as short as 3 minutes. And if you are usually staring at your ceiling for hours, there is no harm in trying it out.

Lavender Essential Oil

I love lavender. The essential oil promotes relaxation and relieves anxiety. You can put a drop or two on a tissue, cloth, or pillowcase to have on your bed. It was the first essential oil I bought from doTERRA and I became obsessed. Putting lavender on my pillowcase or diffusing a couple drops has been a game changer in the realm of sleep for me. This is coming from someone who has anxious thoughts, worries about everything, and has intense nightmares.

doTERRA’s Serenity blend is a good choice to promote restful sleep as well. It includes lavender and other calming oils such as roman chamomile, cedarwood and Hawaiian sandalwood.

These oils can be diffused (you can buy a cheap diffuser on amazon), used on bedding and/or 2-3 drops can be added to baths. And taking a bath is in and of itself pretty dang relaxing. Add Epsom salt, candles and relaxing music and you have yourself a recipe for peace.

Lush Sleepy Lotion

Speaking of lavender, Lush makes a lotion aptly named Sleepy that has lavender in it. It is a somewhat thick lotion and has oatmeal in it that helps with dry skin. It also smells like heaven. I will forever recommend taking a hot bath and putting Sleepy lotion on before bed. You’ll smell like heaven and sleep like an angel. You don’t have to put it all over, but I wouldn’t blame you if you did. I usually put it on my arms and neck at least to initiate maximum angelic sleep mode.

Turn Off the TV and Turn On the Rain

Okay, so this isn’t really a product, but it has helped me a lot. The noise and light from the TV have always helped me fall asleep. This probably comes from the fact that my father would stay up to 2am with the tv on loudly in the living room and I found it comforting to know he was awake and watching over us all. However, the noise and light actually interrupts my sleep once I get there. I have taken to making a playlist on spotify dedicated to rain, thunderstorms and other sounds I find highly relaxing. The noise is gentler (basically more like white noise) and just makes me feel safe and cozy. As for the light, I keep my phone on the dimmest setting and set it on my bedside stand. It still gives me the same comfort as the TV, without the interruptions. I strongly suggest making your own playlist of soothing sounds instead of leaving the TV on.

I am currently in a period of new beginnings. I am buying my first home, moving to a new state and starting a new job. Beginnings (and the implied endings) can be scary, exciting, sad, bittersweet and a whole array of emotions. It is easy to become unaligned during this time where we feel uprooted, off-balanced, or unsettled. It has happened to me daily, sometimes multiple times. During these times we are usually thrown off our routines and daily self-care practices. Which means it is that much more important to do them.

My biggest struggle when in periods of transition is surrendering. I am not in control. If the home I’m looking at has major issues and I wasted 750$ on appraisal and inspection fees, I CAN’T CONTROL THAT. That just means that God, Universe, Spirit (or GUS as I like to refer to them) has different and BETTER plans. Even with this knowledge, I could easily sit around and come up with a hundred things to worry about. I would lose sleep, the circles under my eyes would darken with the clouds of impending doom and I’d become sullen and moody. And though I have spent many days (probably even years, if I’m being honest), doing all the worrying of all the things, I know there is an easier way.

We all possess the ability to NOT feel this way, but we don’t always put it into practice. Here are a couple ways that during this huge time of change and transition, I’ve been staying grounded, surrendering to GUS, and staying aligned with everything I deserve.

Use Your Support System

My support system is mostly made up of my mom and a close girlfriend that is my twin, just 7 years younger. I have a bad habit of withdrawing during times of stress. However, this makes me feel 20 times worse. Having someone to gently remind me to stay the course or violently shake me out of my spiraling mindset of negativity calms me down and reminds me to change my perspective. My mom has a similar spiritual mindset as I do, so it helps for us to support each other. She prays for me and with me and reminds me to choose love over fear. It is powerful work that takes seconds.

If you are currently in-between support systems, I recommend building one. Ask for guidance from GUS (okay, you don’t have to call them this, but you get what I’m saying). Say aloud with conviction “I deserve loving and supportive people in my life. I am grateful for being guided to them.” There are so many ways to build your tribe. I’m currently in the process of it myself. I joined doTERRA as a wellness advocate because I love their products, but now I’m realizing the depth that it can bring in my life. It is empowering and gives you tools to build a team (and wealth)! But maybe your path doesn’t look like that. Maybe taking those dance lessons you always wanted to take or joining an online book club could expose you to the people that will become your support system.

Talk to GUS -And Let. It. Go.

This is by far the one that seems the easiest for me to neglect, but definitely the most important. Channel your inner Elsa and let it go (Frozen references are still okay, right?). The only being that will take your problems and concerns willingly and even with a smile, while probably not asking why you’re always giving them issues, is GUS. You can find a guided meditation for letting go by searching on Google. It generally goes something along the lines of breathing in a controlled manner, visualizing the burden, visualizing how you’re connected to that burden and then seeing yourself cut away your ties to it and giving it up/leaving it behind.

I like to envision my worries, obstacles, or problems as the devil’s snare from Harry Potter. Stick with me here. Devil’s snare is a plant that constricts anything around it. If you struggle, it just constricts harder. In order to get out of it, you have to surrender and remain calm. (Or use lumos.) I envision I’m casting lumos at this big strangling plant that hates light that I have all wrapped around me. Each emotion or worry that connects me to the overarching problem is a strangling vine that I’m offering up and surrendering from. By the end of all of this, I usually feel lighter (and I’m probably sobbing too). Do this as much as you need to. Sometimes I think I’ve released the problem and then I realize that the devil’s snare is creeping around me still and I do it again. But it is always a little less of a struggle.

In summary, let go and let GUS.

Take a Bath -It is Good for the Soul

I love to take baths. I find them relaxing. I love the sound of the running water, putting the water as hot as I can handle it and settling in. Generally, I listen to an audio book through audible ( put on a self-help book to be ultra loving to yourself). I also usually have Epsom salt in there so I am giving my muscles a treat. Add essential oils and you really do have yourself a little self-care brew. I love putting a couple drops of lavender in the bath if I’m taking one before bed to promote restful sleep. But it can get as wild as you like with bath bombs, candles, music, wine.

Whatever little act you can do that brings you peace, ensure you do it during times of stress, big changes, and transitions. But also, try soaking in the bath if that isn’t one of your go-tos. I guarantee you won’t hate it. Bonus, you can do your talking to GUS in there too!

Truth the Heck Up

We are the biggest liars we know. We tell ourselves all sorts of lies. We could be in the middle of a torrential downpour of miracles and somehow make ourselves believe we don’t deserve it.

We are our truths. If we tell ourselves that we aren’t good enough, athletic enough, tall enough, pretty enough, smart enough -then that will be our truth. But you are the author of your life. Rewrite it. No, really write down the truths you want to live. And change your language to yourself.

I deserve a wonderful new home I can move into before my new job starts. And while I am at it, I deserve that new job because I worked hard for it. I deserve my family to live close by and for us to have time for adventures. I deserve peace.

Be Grateful

Give thanks to what you already have and for being guided to what you will have. Write a quick list of at least 5 things you’re grateful for or run through it while doing the dishes, driving to work, while the cashier at Walmart is telling you about her 17 cats, etc. I like to do it before bed which helps end the day on a positive note.

I ask for divine intervention and guidance often. And I receive it often. When I show gratitude, I’m aligning myself to receive an abundance of miracles. And I am very grateful for that.

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