How do you fancy being able to see more clearly, connect more deeply and live more intuitively?
There are many rewards of being alone, including having better focus and concentration, improved productivity & creativity, while reducing stress & underpinning your mental well being?
Well, it’s all possible and what’s more, what we’re going to suggest is completely free! Yep free – it’s not often you get a deal that good!
So what trick do we have up our sleeve? Well, it’s good old ‘me time,’ or more precisely solitude. Now before you decide that that’s just too dull or impractical hear us out. Just pause and think about how busy you are and all the stress you go through over the course of one week.
Surely with all that goes on you owe it to yourself, not to mention all those who depend on you and love you, to give yourself a little self love? Solitude, and just to be clear we do mean being completely alone, with no distractions and no intrusion from anyone or anything, is a wonderful tonic and best of all it creates the space where you can connect with yourself. It gives you space where your truth can be heard. Where that still small voice of intuition and inner wisdom can speak. It is the perfect stepping stone to begin making a connection with your soul and to replenish and energise this timeless part of yourself. There are many quotes about the wisdom that can be found in silence but one of our favourites is: Ma Jaya Sati Bhagavati’s “quiet the mind and the soul will speak”.
So what we’re going to suggest is that you try and carve out some time every day (if possible) to have a few moments of solitude. Can you spare fifteen even twenty minutes a day? We’ll go with every other day if that’s all you can spare – but remember a small amount of alone time on a very regular basis is better than occasional large chunks of time.
Here are some ideas to help get you started:
1. Put down your phone/iPad/laptop/remote control
There are many moments in our day, especially at the end of the day when we could all probably do with grabbing fifteen minutes to be alone. But instead, we tend to grab distraction. How much more time would you have in your life if social media didn’t exist? Could you give yourself a cut-off point in the day after which time you disconnect from it? Make sure all your devices are turned off or in another place during this special ‘you time.’
2. When could you be alone and undisturbed?
Could you set the alarm slightly earlier to enjoy the silence before the household wakes up? Could you turn the TV off a little earlier than usual to enjoy some silence towards the end of the evening? Could you do anything in your lunch break or during the day? It’s important to make a decision of when you can create a space for ‘alone time’ and to put that in your diary as a date.
3. Where and how could you practice solitude? What would work for you?
- Sitting in front of the ocean
- Sitting in your garden
- Connecting with nature
- Walking mindfully
- A short yoga practice
- Writing or journaling
- Meditating
- Taking a bath
- Breath work
- Even taking the time to enjoy a reflective cup of coffee
You get the picture, anything will do so long as it provides you with the space to be still. You might like to start your ‘alone time’ with some gentle breathing exercises just to calm yourself down and still your mind. You can also return to breathing gently if you find your mind is chattering and disturbing the stillness too much.
4. Solitude is about space and time out
It’s not about aims and objectives (there’s enough of those in everyday life). However, you could set a loose intention for your alone time. Here are some suggestions, feel free to add your own!
- Commune with your soul and connect with your innate wisdom & intuition
- Ponder creative ideas
- Reflect on problems or issues – see them from a new perspective or maybe re-frame them
- Tune in with your body, feel and then release tension
- Focus on and enjoy the sensation of breathing, one breath at a time
- Or think of nothing meaningful whatsoever… just gaze at the clouds
5. Make solitude a habit
The more you do this practice the more you will find it of benefit, the more you will want to do it. The hard bit is establishing it as a habit within your life and not sacrificing this special time to other demands. To keep the momentum going it will help setting time aside on a regular basis, it certainly helps if it’s the same window of time so that it can become an automatic part of your routine and not something that you have to remember to do.
In today’s constantly connected world being detached, quiet and alone is almost unheard of and yet there is so much to gain from it. As everything gets faster, busier and more invasive you have the opportunity through regular solitude to make a huge difference to the quality of your life and well being. Surely the chance to re-boot, re-fresh and slow the pace down sounds good? Surely being able to connect with yourself on the deepest level of your being would be of benefit? We certainly hope you’re tempted!
Let us know how you get on and email us at [email protected] if you have any queries.
Namaste
Fiona and Gavin
