Kristin Larsen

Ideas That Ignite Curiosity To Love With Courage!

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Slowing Down To Create Healthy Momentum

Posted on September 28, 2023 by Kristin Larsen

Value your needs by slowing down

It is so easy to get caught up in the fast paced moments in life.
Going from one place to the next. Doing one thing to the next.
Sometimes, (insert the metaphor) “running around forgetting that my head is attached to my
body.”

Slowing down may not seem like an option. There may not be an understanding of how to do it.
Thoughts of, “how can I afford to slow down when there is so much to do and there is not
enough time to do it all?”

Slowing down gives the opportunity to tend to your own needs while also creating healthy
momentum through presence. It allows someone to “be there” for others attentively.

It adds quality to the moments of interaction and connection. By slowing down, you also give
yourself time to process and reflect. There is the creation of perspective. In doing so, it
nourishes mental health.

Without taking time to slow down in life, it could lead to anxiety and neglect of personal care.
Then it is a constant feeling of, “I need to do more” because you might feel you are not doing
enough. Not tending to your own needs.

Some easy and effective ways to slow down are:

  • Take a mini break to check in with yourself
  • Feel yourself breathing, bring attention to your breath and control it with deep, slow
    breaths
  • Spend some time in nature
  • Schedule times to put away the cell phone
  • Set priorities and boundaries – commit to them
  • Manage time efficiently through organization and delegation
    Eat slower

There may be resistance to slowing down. It may be something that has just been part of
everyday life for as long as you can remember.

The creation of slower-paced moments in life is a choice that rejuvenates the mind and soul.
The creation of calming peace in your day.

It simply equates to presence. In presence there is freedom from worry about the future or past doubts.
Time is flexible and can be adjusted in many different ways. The perception of time and it’s
limitations is what makes it rigid and fixed.

When your needs are valued, life can be enjoyed in all it’s moments because you slowed down
to be in them with presence.

The Gratitude Formula

Posted on July 26, 2023 by Kristin Larsen

Feeling Joy and Inner Peace with the Gratitude Formula

How a person is choosing to show up for themselves in their life could be directly related to their mental health which could also affect how they perceive things in their life.

Mental health can most often be a perception of their happiness.

This is attributed to the thoughts and emotions being constructed from the reactions and interpretations of what is occurring.

Gratitude is not the only thing that alleviates mental health functioning, but it is an important piece of the formula to experience joy and inner peace.

Gratitude is one attribute that promotes positivity with thankfulness. It places perspective on emotions that focus on accepting events, situations, people and things as blessings as opposed to dwelling on the negative thoughts or experiences.

Any type of new process takes time to implement or adjust to. That is the same with living with daily gratitude. Making it part of a daily routine requires patience before seeing or feeling it’s immediate results.

Studies have shown that it has a psychological effect, almost like re-wiring the brain.

It is re-wiring the brain to see the goodness in life by placing focus on it. People begin to notice that the source of the “goodness” in their life is not just external.

Through gratitude there is a connection to something greater than ourselves.

To think that gratitude can help to feel positive emotions, savor experiences, improve mental health, develop adversity, connect in relationships, it is hard to imagine why someone would not commit to a daily practice of gratitude.

However, with any habit, lies resistance or reluctance to follow through for change to occur.

A simple process helps with making it a consistent habit

Writing or saying one thing you are grateful for each day for 30 days is one way to start living into it.

There are many ways to express gratitude

  • Thankful for past memories or blessings during any time period of your life
  • Thankful for the present experiences, moments, situations in your life
  • Thankful for the future of hope, optimistic outlooks of what could be

Through my life journey I have realized the Gratitude Formula that works for me.

My Gratitude Formula

Acceptance + Acknowledge + Giving & Receiving + Curiosity + Wonder = Love, Connection, Joy

= GRATITUDE

Acceptance means appreciating the situations for what they are in the moment. What they are showing, teaching about life, others and myself.

Acknowledge means expressing the blessings wholeheartedly. The simple things that give joy for living each day.

Giving & Receiving means being open to allow the exchange of abundant appreciation.

Curiosity means continuously committed to being a student in life with expansion to learn, grow and transform in thoughtful connection.

Wonder means having captivation be visible in everything around you. The awe of how things came to be.

Knowing the benefits of gratitude is just the beginning.

If you started your day, everyday with focus on what you have instead of what you don’t or what you feel you are lacking, how might that change your approach in life?

What would you be letting go of?

What would surrendering to inner peace give you or others?

What would you be creating?

Gratitude is a powerful way of “being” which is a key ingredient to live with contentment, inner peace, and glowing elation.

Immersed In The Healing Of Nature

Posted on May 29, 2023 by Kristin Larsen

Return to wholeness through nature 

Imagine walking through a forest with the trickling flow of water from a stream, overlooking a landscape filled with lush trees and plants.

It can feel so calming, so peaceful.

Being in the presence of nature realigns your energy.

I find it brings me back to my senses.

Just through simple observation of what is seen, concentration on what is heard. Directing my attention to the smells of surrounding plants and vegetation.

There is scientific evidence that suggests a strong connection to nature enhances emotional wellbeing.

Benefits Of Being In Nature

First, the cognitive adjustment in how we think and function is a complimentary benefit. The step of taking a break from electronic screen time and exposure to everyday tasks. Allowing the mind to relax and settle into a peaceful state.

Second, simply taking the initiative to get outside into a space where the senses can be awakened to ascend into a ritual of mindful surrender.

The natural sounds in nature such as birds, wind, etc, have a calming effect throughout the mind and body.

Third, the experience deepens your connection to the natural world and shifts overall mood in the process.

The effects can be noticed with reduced stress, lower blood pressure,  immediately improve concentration and focus, and the release of endorphins which contribute feeling a sense of wellbeing.

Fourth, the experience offers a deeper connection to life. A deeper connection to self.

With that felt connection is the soothing effect it has on mental health.

The ability to relieve anxiety in the moment, to bring calmness in the mind and body.

Nature provides presence with the wonder, possibility, and beauty for the creation of life.

It allows you to surrender to something greater.

An understanding that being alive is enough.

It teaches you about life. You notice the movement from the wind. You see the curiosity in how things grow. Exploration in how these living things adapt and thrive in their environments. There is a powerful possibility in it’s grandeur.

There is an eternal gratitude for nature as the sole supplier to our survival with food, water, shelter, medicine and materials.

It is part of the contributing factors to what brings joy in life.

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