Around the middle of May, I started feeling an uneasy melancholy about the state our world was in. It took me off guard. Our family had been fortunate. We had not lost anyone in our circle from Covid-19. In our less-populated West Coast county, there had been only one death from the virus. We existed almost in a bubble, watching the tragedy unfolding in our country and others from a distance.
We were also fortunate regarding our work situation. Our family operates an essential food-related business, which continued as normal. We were thankful not to have to worry about being able to pay our bills. Our daughter and our son were able to work and study remotely from our home. These weeks had been a blessing of reconnection for all of us.
Then why was I feeling so out of balance and sad? Yes, what we had been told would be a short lockdown had morphed into more than sixty days, but I had been happy during this time. There had been time for contemplation of what changes I wanted to enact in my life coming out of shelter-at-home orders, an opportunity I hoped others were seeing. I had written a lot of poetry; changed from giving Reiki sessions in person to Zoom sessions, not how I preferred, but still powerful; and I had taken a long walk in nature almost every day. We had played games, watched movies, cooked together, and had time for deeper conversations. It took some days of introspection for me to understand why I was feeling down.
A few weeks ago, I started watching the news a couple of nights per week, something I usually don’t do. I longed to hear some good news about things getting easier in our country. Quickly I was reminded this was the wrong place to look for hope. What I saw was an incredible level of blaming and bickering between political parties. People were turning against others, many even taking authority into their own hands by informing on those they felt were not following the guidelines. Naysayers were predicting that the lockdown could last into the end of the summer and that the virus would hit again when colder weather returned in the fall. These stories were disheartening. Eventually I realized that this, not the lockdown, was what had pulled me down.
I was rereading Emmet Fox’s Alter Your Life. I believe, like the author, that the creative power of the universe is thought, and when we learn to control our thinking, we can have happier lives. He writes that we give “power to some outer conditions by fearing them” and “there is no condition that enough Love will not heal.” In his opinion, the Great Depression was a “panic of belief,” and I believe that idea could also be applied to the fear displayed in our current situation.
From past experiences, I know I have the power to change my reactions to events happening around me, and it was time to make some adjustments. Often, I have gone to metaphysical books, and by applying the teachings, my emotions have turned around. My son was reading Esther and Jerry Hicks’ book, The Astonishing Power of Emotions, and he offered to share the book with me. Each chapter offers a problem where someone has found themselves out of alignment and then gives examples of how to slowly guide thoughts back into balance by consistently choosing better thoughts. After reading the book for a couple of days, and practicing the suggestions, I started to feel better.
Besides reading these books, I took other actions toward feeling more positive. I signed up for a free Zoom presentation offered by Tyler Odysseus, a Quantum-Touch teacher I had taken classes with two years earlier. His presentation was called “Eight Ways to Pure Positivity.”
Here are some of his ideas:
• Relive a positive memory, because our emotions don’t know the difference between actually experiencing a happy time and remembering it.
• Give a service from your heart.
• Do body tapping.
• Smile and laugh, which can be done by watching a comedy.
• Mark into your calendar small periods of time to work on a dream you have.
• Do things you enjoy (create art, walk in nature, listen to music).
• Make a list of five things you are grateful for every night.
• Remember to get a good night’s sleep.
Right after the Quantum-Touch, I did a distant Reiki session for a fellow Reiki practitioner who was also feeling down. Between the two energy practices, I felt my emotional vibration rise noticeably. I reminded myself that there are many circumstances that we cannot control in life. Most often, our only control is determining how we will react.
It is now a week later, and I am feeling much more positive. As a Reiki master and teacher, I know I am not able to help others if I am not balanced. The instructions to put on your own life vest first are valid. For me, having these tools to help turn an imbalance of thoughts and emotions around has been extremely beneficial.
