Consciously Female by Tracy Gaudet

Author:Tracy Gaudet
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Nonfiction
ISBN: 9780307417954
Publisher: Random House Publishing Group
Published: 2007-12-18T05:00:00+00:00

Suzy, 32:

THE SPIRIT CENTER

Find a way every day to nourish your spirit. Spirit is what fosters a sense of connectedness between you and the larger world. It’s a feeling that life is about more than you; you’re part of a family, part of a community, part of a country, part of the incredible system of humanity, part of the vast universe. Spirit concerns having a sense of meaning and purpose in your life, whether you gain that from religion, faith, humanity, nature, or some other source. Both your body and your soul benefit when this center is nourished.

• Reflect on what spirituality means for you. We are all spiritual beings, whether or not you consider yourself “spiritual” in the conventional religious sense of the word. For you, Spirit might be your faith and your involvement in your religious community. For many women this is a powerful, bedrock source. In addition to this, or instead of this, other women find Spirit in their communion with nature, or in a one-to-one relationship with God or the universe. Spirit also refers to your human connections, your relationships to other living beings. Your family, your neighbors, and the personal and professional communities in which you operate can all play a role in stitching you to the world beyond yourself. (Pets count, too.) You can find spirituality in solitude also. There’s nothing like sitting all alone on my back deck, focusing on a sunset, to give me an intense connection to the world beyond me. To be always alone is detrimental; to be occasionally alone can be incredibly nourishing. The important thing is to figure out what your particular Spirit needs are at this point in your life, at this stage of your personal development, and then to make choices to accommodate those needs.

• Find your Sabbath. In the get-you-thinking words of psychologist Joan Borysenko, who has written extensively about women, spirituality, and health, “Every person could kick their life into a whole new orbit by taking off one day a week as a real Sabbath. By this I mean to drink deeply at the well of faith, family, friends, joy, and rest, not a day to catch up on errands.” What and when is your sacred time to connect with the bigger picture of life? All day on Saturday? Sunday mornings? The hour right after work? First thing in the morning? Committing to the importance of the pause of a Spirit step is the first action you should take. I recommend making at least one day a week a day for yourself.

• Understand that connections count. The evidence is compelling that people who feel connected boost their well-being. A study comparing populations in several cities found that the individuals who were the least socially connected were twice as likely to die compared to people who were more socially connected, with the data controlled for health and lifestyle risk habits such as smoking, drinking, obesity, and a sedentary lifestyle. Studying women with metastatic breast cancer

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