There’s so much going down in the world right now that I can’t keep up.

And, I’m here to offer what I can. Here is a prosperity practice to support stress management.

One of the biggest stressors right now is uncertainty. And with each day, uncertainty seems to be the most consistent thing…with misinformation, contrasting information, and a barrage of intense major developments that influence each of us on some level.

My experience has varied greatly from moment to moment with the days both dragging on and flying by. I’ve been alone most of the time and have had some very deep and dark moments of clearing and ultimately transformation.

Money, income, and business have been among the topics of conversation for many people. These plus health and safety issues hit some deep places in the human psyche, and bring up stuff for many of us. We are living through a significant cultural, spiritual, collective, and personal shift and even a rebirth.

For me, I hit a whole new level of being in touch with the voices in my mind….and ultimately connecting with my heart.

Frankly, the voices can be assholes and there was not enough of the usual distractions to keep me from hearing them.

One night during full “lockdown” I watched a bunch of tv. I was walking into my bedroom afterwards & I realized I felt crappy. When I inquired what about the feeling, I saw that I had been judging myself for watching so much tv. What the heck? Who cares how much tv I watch during a global pandemic?

I gave myself permission to watch tv. To do nothing. To stare out the window. To sit on the earth for as long as I want. To paint crappily. To thrash dance in my living room to obnoxious music to get my feelings out. To eat more potato chips than usual (even non-organic!) To not shower for three days. Yup. I admitted it. Three. Days.

Suddenly, I didn’t feel so stressed out. I was present with myself, giving myself space instead of having a heavy hand on my shoulder, a critical eye constantly judging me. I’m not used to slowing down. I’m used to being busy all of the time. And that pace had its consequences that my body is still recovering from. This period is an opportunity for me to reboot my nervous system, slow down, connect with myself, heal, and to come more from my heart than I ever have.

We all are having different experiences right now. I wonder how many of you are learning big lessons, deepening your connection with yourself, evaluating your values, and evolving your vision for your life.

Sometimes questions help us see what our desires are, what we value. On my “intake” form for new clients, I ask 5 pages of questions and one question, “What would you do if money wasn’t an issue?” is so interesting and revealing. Often times people say they would relax more, read more, do more self-care, and (of course the popular) travel more. Let’s take out the travel option since it’s not an option right now.

If you say you want more free time but you believe you have to wait until some future point when you’re rich to take a break, think again.

Wait for it……free time is FREE.

I get that if you work to make a living, if you take care of others, if you’re dealing with a global pandemic, you have many hours of stuff to do per day.

And you can still give it to yourself. For real.

How much of that “busy” time is spent doing busy work or spinning your wheels anyway? Or doing the things the pressure to “do more” is telling you to do? What’s more important than feeling free? (even in quarantine)

If you don’t stop, rest, play, and give yourself enough space to get into a variety of brain wave states to allow your intuition and some nourishment to come in, you will not feel prosperous….ever. In my early coaching years, I had an entrepreneurial client who was so rich he was trying to decide between buying a private jet and a professional sports team. He was one of the most unhappy people I’ve ever met. It’s never about the money.

You don’t have to wait.
You don’t have to arrive anywhere.
You can do this now.

This is stretching your receiving muscle and your prosperity muscle.

A lot of times, as entrepreneurs, we have so much pressure in our minds to work more and do more. We don’t actually have/take real free time completely because we’re always putting pressure on ourselves. The voice in the back of our minds is saying “You’re not doing enough” or “You should be doing something more important” or some other version of “not enough.”

When those voices are still present or a part of you is judging what you are doing (or not doing), or you think you are actually procrastinating, you are not able to enjoy and be present, to fully choose what you are doing. This takes away from the present moment and we never get a break, much less feel rested.

I’m sorry to be the one to tell you this. But that thing you’re chasing out there in the future by being super busy…..that’s not where prosperity lives. Trust me, a part of me chased it for a long time. And even when you get the carrot, it doesn’t live up to the expectation you had hoped for.

Prosperity is not in a dollar amount. Not getting somewhere you’re not. Not in doing the perfect thing perfectly all the time. It’s simply a practice of being. It’s only found in the present moment.

So, to practice, give yourself a pass for two hours of “Abundant Free Time.” Practice expanding and strengthening your prosperity muscle to RECEIVE by doing this prosperity practice. Do whatever the heck you want for that two hours and see how you feel. You can even schedule it weekly as a powerful prosperity practice and stress management tool.

For me, as soon as I step in to my “Abundant Free Time” I feel a sense of excitement, curiosity, and relief. I feel less anxiety, stress, and overwhelm.

I may do deep breathing, put on music, draw, paint, dance, stare out the window, sit in a random place on the floor just to see what I notice, pick up a book (or 3 and just peruse), reorganize an area, or tend my many plants. Lately during this kind of time, I commit to staying off of social media. I don’t do anything unless I want to (but I let myself write down anything that I want to remember to do later so I can mentally let it go.)

FULLY give yourself 2 hours of “Abundant Free Time” and see what happens. Receive from yourself as a prosperity practice and see how it feels.

LMK how it goes.