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I did it! I made it through my 40 days. And you are probably wondering what this all entailed. Don’t worry, I did not keep myself in complete isolation.
40 days of silence and solitude. It was fasting on social media apps (specifically Snapchat and Instagram) and large social crowds. It was learning how to listen to God in the quiet, and being able to find peace in solitude. It was learning how to pray and meditate in my current circumstance. And every weekend of September I dragged myself into the woods to be in that meditative state. Of course, I didn’t have to traverse the mountain in order to do that. But it definitely helped.
And what did I get out of this? A lot of things. I can’t put all the details into one blog post, so bear with me. Anyway, these 40 days allowed me to experience goodness in the present moment, and taught me to find peace in the midst of the storm in my head. I learned how to be okay with being alone. It was such an eye-opening experience to set myself apart from a fast-pace world. Furthermore, I am a lot more calm than I was a month ago, and it amazes me to see where I am at right now.
Why did I do this? Because I was in the midst of noise, and it was very difficult for me to hear God and the word that is most pertinent to my walk. On a weekday evening, I was so angry at God and I kept questioning him. Then I finally sat on my bed and asked Him, “what do you want?” And he held my heart and said, “find me in solitude”. That was the moment I decided I needed to drop a lot of things, at least for a while. Why 40 days? You can guess that.
Besides meditating, praying, and hiking, here are a couple of other things I did during these 40 days:
1) Along with the Bible, I read a couple of self-help books including the ones listed below. Check them out! They were very helpful to my walk.
Invitation to Solitude and Silence by R. Barton
The Untethered Soul by M. Singer
Mindfulness: Finding Peace in a Frantic World by M. Williams and D. Penman
A little side goodie. Here is a quote from The Untethered Soul that I take to heart:
Talk to people because they are interesting, not because you are lonely. You want to talk to people because you genuinely like them, not because you need for them to like you. -Michael Singer
2) I optimized my meditation environment, especially when I was at home. Call me a holistic nut but I love essential oils, candles, and white noise- preferably the sound of a stream from one of my apps. Below are links to some of these items.
Peppermint Essential Oil (I love this one! It helps alleviate my tension headaches.)
3) I spent more time with my pets and cleaned up their tanks more (yes! I have reptiles and I love them dearly!) Just simply holding and watching my babies keeps me calm…and intrigued. Sometimes they are little derps!
4) I journaled. And that helped me process.
What do you do during your solitude time? Please comment below!
Therapist Thoughts 