Serenity Sherpa Official Blogger: September 2020

Monday, September 14, 2020

Having a Bad Day? Try This Short Meditation

Press the play button.

Our Meditation for a Bad Day

The intention of this meditation is to help put things in perspective and keep in mind that even bad days have positive or neutral events within them. The meditation is about 8 minutes long and will guide the listener through a few exercises followed by a few brief periods for reflection. Some of the things covered include: tending to moments of difficulty with compassion and appreciating moments of contentment.

To listen to the meditation, simply press the play button on the video above.

The background music is Gentle Contemplation by Rebecca Reads Recordings, used under her Standard Music License.

Every Day May Not Be Good…But There Is Something Good In Every Day
-Anonymous

Other Ways To Cope With Bad Days

This PowerofPositivity.com article lists seven strategies to help people deal with bad days. They are:

Get in touch with your support network.
Listen to music.
Play dress up.
Exercise.
Eat better.
Do nice things for someone else.
Assume control.
Get outside.

Of course, we’d throw in “Meditate” as an eighth option, but we’re biased. (wink, wink.)

Speaking of listening to music, why not sing along to a song about a having a bad day?

Here are two that we enjoy:

The first one is Bad Day by Daniel Powter. The lyrics are certainly applicable.

“Cause you had a bad day, You’re taking one down, You sing a sad song just to turn it around…”
Daniel Powter, Bad Day

Bad Day by Daniel Powter

The second is Sad Songs (Say So Much) by Elton John. Sir Elton also understands the healing power of singing along to songs that resonate with us.

Guess there are times when we all need to share a little pain
And ironing out the rough spots
Is the hardest part when memories remain
And it’s times like these when we all need to hear the radio
‘Cause from the lips of some old singer
We can share the troubles we already know
Elton John, Sad Songs (Say So Much)

Here are three other coping strategies listed on PsychologyToday.com that may be helpful:

1. Set an intention to be gentle with yourself.

When you’re feeling battered around by the winds of luck, you’re going to need some self-nurturing. Set an intention that you’re going to be kind to yourself while you’re waiting for the universe to start dishing out some kindness again.

2. Treat yourself.

A dose of positive emotion will increase your resilience during stressful days.

3. Get something small done that’s on your own agenda.

Positive mood comes from a combination of pleasure and a sense of mastery (feeling you’re competent and can get things done). These both go out the window on bad days because having a run of bad luck usually feels frustrating, demoralizing, and out of control.
Source: Alice Boyes Ph.D., https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/in-practice/201507/4-ways-deal-horrible-no-good-really-bad-day

Things To Keep In Mind When You’ve Had A Bad Day

Daniel Wallen over at Lifehack.com has a great article where he lists 9 things to keep in mind if you’ve had a bad day. They are:

No one promised life would be perfect.
Success doesn’t happen overnight.
There is a lesson in every struggle.
Hard times help you appreciate the good.
It’s okay to cry.
Worry makes you suffer twice.
No one’s life is as picturesque as it looks.
It takes courage to ask for help.
There’s always something to be grateful for.

We highly recommend reading the full article here.

Lastly, try and remember two things: we all have bad days and bad days are temporary.

Let us know in the comments below if our guided meditation for bad days helped and if you have any other strategies that you’d like to share.

from Serenity Sherpa https://serenitysherpa.com/having-a-bad-day-try-this-short-meditation/

Feel More Grateful with this Guided Meditation for Beginners

Our Guided Mindfulness Meditation on Gratitude

To listen to the meditation, simply press the play button on the video above. The video is about 15 minutes long and will guide the listener through a few gratitude exercises followed by quite periods for reflection. Some of the things covered include: feeling grateful for yourself, your body, others, the world around us, and challenges we face.

The lovely background track is Moon on the Lake by Rebecca Reads Recordings, used under her Standard Music License.

Gratitude turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos into order, confusion into clarity…it makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow.
Melody Beattie (author)

Why is Gratitude Important?

Gratitude expert Robert Emmons, Ph.D. gives four reasons why gratitude is good for us:

Gratitude allows us to celebrate the present and magnifies positive emotions.
Gratitude helps block toxic, negative emotions.
People who are grateful are more stress resistant.
People who are grateful have a higher sense of self-worth.

Source: https://greatergood.berkeley.edu/article/item/why_gratitude_is_good

Practicing Gratitude Has Health Benefits

There is a wonderfully, detailed article on PositivePsychology.com that lists 14 health benefits of cultivating gratitude. They are as follows:

For the individual:

– increased happiness and positive mood

– more satisfaction with life

– less materialistic

– less likely to experience burnout

– better physical health

– better sleep

– less fatigue

– lower levels of cellular inflammation

– greater resiliency

– encourages the development of patience, humility, and wisdom

For groups:

– increases prosocial behaviors

– strengthens relationships

– may help employees’ effectiveness

– may increase job satisfaction
Source: https://positivepsychology.com/benefits-of-gratitude/

Ways to Foster More Gratitude in Your Life

According to Harvard Health, there are several ways to develop gratitude. They are all great ideas, however, we are partial to the last suggestion. (Of course we are!)

Write a thank-you note. You can make yourself happier and nurture your relationship with another person by writing a thank-you letter expressing your enjoyment and appreciation of that person’s impact on your life. Send it, or better yet, deliver and read it in person if possible. Make a habit of sending at least one gratitude letter a month. Once in a while, write one to yourself.

Thank someone mentally. No time to write? It may help just to think about someone who has done something nice for you, and mentally thank the individual.

Keep a gratitude journal. Make it a habit to write down or share with a loved one thoughts about the gifts you’ve received each day.

Count your blessings. Pick a time every week to sit down and write about your blessings — reflecting on what went right or what you are grateful for. Sometimes it helps to pick a number — such as three to five things — that you will identify each week. As you write, be specific and think about the sensations you felt when something good happened to you.

Pray. People who are religious can use prayer to cultivate gratitude.

Meditate. Mindfulness meditation involves focusing on the present moment without judgment. Although people often focus on a word or phrase (such as “peace”), it is also possible to focus on what you’re grateful for (the warmth of the sun, a pleasant sound, etc.).
Source: https://www.health.harvard.edu/healthbeat/giving-thanks-can-make-you-happier

How do you cultivate more gratitude in your life? Please let us know in the comments below.

from Serenity Sherpa https://serenitysherpa.com/feel-more-grateful-with-this-guided-meditation-for-beginners/