There are moments in our lives when we experience stress, anxiety and depression. I believe when we experience such feelings, our body is trying to tell us something.

Maybe we need to slow down, or maybe we are not following a path that makes us truly happy. Perhaps these feelings are warning signs from within, telling us that we need to pay attention to something.

In order to get to the bottom of it, it’s important to quiet down the mind and calm the body.

What is it that we need to know?

A beautiful way to quiet the mind is to do meditation or deep prayer. When we can reach those states of transcendental awe, that’s when we can reach into the infinite abyss of information and universal wisdom. That’s when we can feel our bodies align with it all and start receiving awareness for the things we ask to know.

I also want to share other ways to quiet down the mind and calm the body. These things can be complimentary to meditation, or done in place of—depending on what you want, need or can do at the time.

Here are some things you can do to center your mind:

1) Be in nature.

In the accompanying video I created for this article, I show you visuals of being outside and in nature. Go outside and take a walk or run, or just sit in the grass. Did you know that we share DNA with all life on this planet? There is something very powerful and magical about that. We are often too disconnected from nature, and I believe we suffer for it.

2) Be near water.

Water is cleansing, relaxing and soothing. The sound of water can immediately calm you down. I also feel extremely contemplative when I am sitting near water. If you need to clear your mind, I recommend sitting near a body of water. If you don’t have access to one, sitting in the grass and looking up at the sky will also help.

3) Earthing.

Earthing means to walk barefoot so that our feet are in direct contact with the Earth’s surface. The Earth carries energies just as our bodies do. When we walk barefoot, a sort of energy infusion takes place. The Earth begins to align our bodies with it, and as a result our bioelectrical beings begin to regulate themselves.

According to this research study, many people experienced a range of improvements not limited to: reduced pain, reduced inflammation, increased relaxation, ability to sleep better, lowered stress, improved blood pressure, etc. Why did we ever stop wearing shoes and walk around barefoot? Whenever I walk barefoot, I feel a sense of peace in my body. I feel connected to the Earth I live on. I feel alive again.

4) Anxiety, Depression, and Stress Relieving Ritual.

This is a ritual I created to help empower the mind. For this ritual, we are going to sit in a bath and do some meditation and intention setting. Did you know that thoughts, intentions, prayer and other units of consciousness can directly influence our physical material world? I highly recommend reading this article by Arjun Walia. Arjun did a great job explaining and researching this topic by including some impressive scientific studies and research on the matter. We will be using our minds, intentions, and thoughts to alter our state of worry. Let’s begin.

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What you’ll need:

Candles (for mood setting, plus the energy of fire is symbolic for rebirth).
1/4 cup of Epsom Salt.*
1/4 cup of Sea Salt.**
15-30 Drops of Essential Oil(s)—choose something that promotes stress reduction or calming effects.
Small dish
Tea of choice (one that promotes calming effects.

Instructions:

The first thing you want to do is mix the Epsom Salt and Sea Salt in a small bowl. Both of these salts will also detox the body, so make sure to drink a lot of water after your bath ritual. Add essential oil(s) and mix with your hands. As you mix them together, start imagining the words calm, relaxed and fearless. These words are the power words that are the exact opposite of anxiety, stress and depression. By concentrating on them, you will begin to mold your reality to fit those vibrations.

Prepare your bath and tea. Keep close.

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The Meditation Ritual

Enter bath and begin to connect with the water and focusing on those words again: calm, relaxed, fearless. You can begin to say, “I am fearless. I am calm. I am relaxed.” Anytime a stressful thought enters your mind, say the opposite of it three times.

Begin to imagine all of the chaotic and heavy energy fall off of your body. The sea salt will do this on its own, but concentrating will make it a major release.

Be in gratitude. Throughout your praying ritual, give thanks to all aspects that are a part of it. Be grateful to the water, the salt, the plants that make the essential oil and to life’s journey. I know you are releasing something, but every experience is an important one. Be grateful to the lesson of this release.

In the moments following this gratitude session, let your mind be still and listen intently for any insight or message. Follow your intuition. It is there to guide you in your human experience.

After you have finished with your meditation, enjoy the rest of your bath with some music and your tea of choice. Tea will also help you unwind and provide the nutrients your body needs inside.

You can do this ritual as often as needed and I recommend two to three times a month for maintenance.

If you try this ritual, let me know how it works for you. Or, if you have other stress-relieving recommendations to share, please do so in the comments.

Share this with a friend who may need to try this ritual. And remember, you are beautiful.

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*Epsom Salt contains magnesium, which soothes the central nervous system and promotes relaxation in the body. Think of this in terms of anything tense in the body. If you have a tense muscle, magnesium will help loosen it.

**Sea Salt is packed with naturally occurring minerals from the Earth. Our bodies are so depleted from minerals and nutrients these days that it’s always a good idea to absorb them whenever possible. When we are stressed, our bodies tend to lose nutrients. Soaking in this bath will help regain some of it. Also, sea salt will help clear your auric field (or clear your energy field, in other terms). Any sort of stuck and heavy energy around you can be cleansed by using Sea Salt.

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Author: Kari Tribble

Editor: Toby Israel

Photo: Courtesy of Editor // Flickr/Pepe Pont