Today I’m very excited to bring you ‘The Weary Travelers Guide to Self-Care’. A blog which covers some of the foundations of living well on the road.
If you have been following my journey, you may know that self-care is something I have need to redefine as I navigate this little thing called van life.
So, if you feel like you have gone off the beaten track as I have a few times this vlog may just be for you. You can purchase The Weary Travelers Guide to Self-Care E-book here for under the cost of a coffee. This has even more helpful content to get your wheels turning to health and wellbeing. https://www.destinationsacredgrounds.com/product-page/the-weary-travellers-guide-to-self-care-e-book (You can purchase the e-book here for only $4 available for a short time on my website before it goes live on all the e-book platforms. Please note that this is a limited time offer through my site at a discounted price. You will be sent the PDF link within 24 hrs of purchase.
As a holistic practitioner, I like to look at the overall picture and this is why I take all of the bodies into consideration. The mental, physical, emotional and spiritual as they all form a part of the whole. But what if we take these aspects of self and add them to our ‘on the road’ travel experiences. I’m going to give you some insights of the metaphors I use within my self-care practices as this allows to embody the teachings within ‘The Weary Travelers Guide to Self-Care’.
The Metaphors
I like to call the mental body ‘The Driver’ as it is responsible for making the decisions, left or right, stop or go and its crucial in order for you to make safe decisions. Now if you have too much mind chatter going on, you won’t be able to hear what’s happening under the bonnet. The clicks, banging or any sound for that matter letting you know that something is wrong but when we quieten our minds, we have a much better understanding of self and environment. We create a spaciousness that makes room for creativity and flow. Next time you’re driving perhaps notice where your mind is wondering off to.
I like to classify the physical body as ‘The Vehicle’ as this is what you use to get you about. You need to ensure its well taken care of so you can run at optimum level. I know when I haven’t given my body the fuel and water it needs or a good run, I start to feel sluggish, just as your vehicle may too. Now if I’m really tuned into my body or my vehicle for that matter I know when the start of illness is coming or when the timing belt is starting to wear. So, take an in depth look at what you put into your body, how you take care of it and listen to what it needs. Perhaps even notice the sensations that arise, the temperature, any aches and pains or maybe even a numbness.
Now the emotional body I call ‘The Hazards’, are the things you come across which may change up your driving experience. These are what you need to navigate to ensure a smooth ride. If you don’t check the weather conditions or how deep the puddles may be in front of you, you may be in for a big surprise and I’m not talking about a beautiful sunny day on the beach. This may be the same if your emotions aren’t in check. If you have just been triggered by a deep childhood wound then go on a long drive into the city with loads of other cars without acknowledging or unpacking what has occurred, who knows what other hazards could present. These ‘hazards’ are a normal part of life however when you learn to navigate them, the journey becomes much more pleasant.
The spiritual body I see as ‘The Navigation System’, which tells you where you are going, how long to travel, where to turn and even when the speed cameras are coming up. Are you connected enough to hear the navigation system if a warning msg comes up about a speed camera? What if you didn’t need to be connected to a physical navigation system at all? What if you were truly connected to a deeper source such as Self, God, Deity, Universal Force, Intuition and you learned to trust the process, know where to go, when to slow down or speed up. Take a moment to reflect upon the last time you trusted source or your intuition.
Now that you have an idea about the metaphors used in The Weary Travelers Guide to Self-Care let’s take it a step further.
I like to think of the roads in which we travel as The Cross Roads. You can choose which roads you travel depending on how well the ‘bodies’ are balanced.
There’s the road of golden pastures where the sun shines, the birds sing and there is limited traffic. Obviously, this is a great road to travel, its where the bodies are all in sync, thriving in equilibrium. Things are great and you’re feeling on top of the world. I get to experience this road often and it’s a part of why I continue my on the road journey.
Then there’s the road of getting bogged where you recognize your bodies are out of equilibrium. Perhaps you are not connected to source, you overthink or eat irregularly, exercise is limited and you distract with gaming, social media or TV rather than connect to how you are feeling. You have a choice to continue driving down that water logged road and risk getting bogged or recognize that you need to stop, reflect, perhaps turn around and take another direction in self-care. This has been me over the few couple of months.
The road of break down, well I have been here a few times as I sure we all have at some point or another. This road is where you have completely broken down and need to seek help to get out of the situation you are in. This is where the bodies are completely out of whack, perhaps you are having an emotional break down, you can’t stop ruminating, you are physically ill and not connected in any way to self or spirit. This is where you really need a plan in place, perhaps find your support people, a community where you can gain support to help get through those tough spots.
All of the things I have spoken about here show that we need awareness, awareness of what’s going on with self and environment to allows us to make the best decisions aligned to our health and wellbeing. That is why I have created some meditations within The Weary Travelers Guide to Self-Care E-Book as I really believe this is key in creating a balanced and healthy life. These can be listened to for free on my website. ADD LINK
I hope you have gotten something out of this blog. You can purchase my E-Book below here for a deeper look into the self-care practices I have developed which include:
· Checkups - self-enquiries to see how you are travelling in that area.
· Tune ups - the meditation practices designed to raise your awareness into self and environment and of course.
· The tool kit - a journaling process designed to craft a self-care plan specifically for you.
Until next time,
Stay Safe Stay Present,
TamSun