March is that one month of the year with a spaciousness to it that other months just don’t have. I view it as the month to flow with ease and grace from the depths of winter into the newness of spring. It’s the month where I allow myself to use that space in ways that make sense to me. Sometimes it’s space for silliness and fun. Sometimes it’s space for just being and connecting to myself. Sometimes it’s tapping into my headspace or heartspace.
So much of the way we relate to having space is often the way we’ve been trained by external influences. Think about that…do you carve out the space you need, are you constantly in hustle mode or do you feel like you’ve mastered the balance of how you relate to and use space in a way that makes sense for you and your lifestyle?
Reiki and Space
My epiphany about the vastness of space came a few years ago when I was training to be a Reiki practitioner—I’ve since gone on to be a Reiki Master teacher. Upon learning the “distance symbol,” I came to understand how to send healing energy across time and space. Distance Reiki allows the person giving the energy healing at any point time insofar that it allows practitioners and masters to clear blockages from the recipient’s past or to send healing into their future. This works according to the Hermetic Law of Similarity in that we are all made up of energy and we are all connected through the expanse of time and space. I have received distance Reiki and I have given distance Reiki; the power of universal life force offers special, and at times unspeakable, healing results.
Self-Care and Space
I surely consider self-Reiki as self-care, but it just had to be it’s own aforementioned category.
I practice self-care and self love daily and part of that practice means I turn my attention inward and relate to the space within me—holding space for both my inner critic as well as my inner confidant. I hold space for my thoughts and my feelings. It’s so simple and yet such a profound practice as it allows for the wisdom deep within my soul to come through and offer any messages as source of guidance.
When my brain is a bit overwhelmed or tired and turning inward isn’t what I’m interested in, I create space by journaling or reading. The benefits of journaling abound as it helps me to get everything that’s taking up space in my brain by getting it out. Yes, I call it journaling, but really it’s a brain dump. It’s getting everything out on paper that was taking up so much valuable real estate in my brain. I read—or sometimes listen to an audiobook —in order to take myself to a different place. Stories provide a healthy distraction. Losing myself in a story allows me benefits such as: exercising my brain, improving my concentration, reducing my stress levels, engaging in another world, and for you readers reading this, you know the list goes on. If you haven’t opened a book recently, I’ll recommend the fictional story The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Tara Jenkins Reid and the non-fictional piece Rich As F*ck by Amanda Frances as those have been my two recent top reads.
The Physical World and Space
Although I do consider meditation a self-care practice, I’m placing it in this category as I find myself meditating to remove myself from the worries of the physical world. As of now, I’m on a 45-day meditation streak using the Calm App as it’s my daily outlet for slowing down and being present. Listening to a concentrative, guided meditation allows me to focus on breathwork and visualization which allows me to create space by tuning out everything else around me.
However, we can’t tune everything or everyone out, and over the course of the day, we interact with people, and sometimes it’s them in our space that throws us off—hello, Debbie Downer or Whiney Whitney. For those of you who have the ability to visualize, you might consider seeing yourself enveloped by a crystal clear bubble that repels people’s negative energy. In this way, you interact with the person, but their energy doesn’t intertwine with yours because you created a boundary as to not absorb certain people’s energy. If visualization isn’t your thing or if you find yourself getting entangled with unwanted energy before you even realize it, you can physically swipe away—from head to toe—others’ energy to get you back to your protected space.
And then there’s the space in your home, your car, or your workspace. Is it set up the way you want it? Is it giving you the sense of comfort you want it to? Space impacts the way you operate. As I sit here and write this article, I am in a comfy chair, with my feet in the foot massager, next to the fireplace. Yes, I have a desk to work at, but that just wasn’t going to be the optimum space for me at this moment.
Here are a few simple tips if you’re looking for a change in your physical space: play your favorite 3-5 minute song and declutter your space, sketch out a different set up of a space you’re thinking needs a change, or begin by making simple changes like turning off an overhead light and turning on a nearby lamp. The concept of Feng Shui is just beginning to pique my interest, so I have a feeling the physical world and space is going to be a focus of mine this month.
The Narrative and Space
What is your narrative behind having space and behind taking up space? There is so much space available to us; the universe is made up of space and time and all of its contents—from far off galaxies to you and me, two of nearly 8 billion people living on planet earth. In the course of your lifetime, I wish you spaciousness.
