Playfulness - Soul Coaching Oracle Card for 2023

At the beginning of the year, I picked a card from Denise Linn's Soul Coaching Oracle card deck for 2023 and received Playfulness.

Playfulness and the way it's represented in the card will mean different things to different people...so, if you knew what this card's message for you would be regarding 2023, what would it be?

The sense I got for myself was that it would be good for me to have a lighter approach to life this year. To let things arise and fall away without trying to hold on too tightly to them and to go with the flow of life more. To make time for laughter and play and do things purely for fun with no other goals in mind.

So, I thought I'd share some of the ways I've been doing this in the hope that they might be helpful to others.

☺️Laughter Yoga☺️

Sometimes it's not that easy to do something that has the potential to make you feel happier when one you might be feeling down. But the next time you might find yourself in a slipping into a not so positive state, I'd recommend giving Laughter Yoga a try.

There are lots of videos on YouTube so you can try it for free. A few days ago, I watched a short five minute one after waking up in a not so great mood and it made a world of difference.

The laughter might not be real at first but even the sound of false laughter can lead to real thing and soon, your mood becomes much lighter and happier ✨

If you'd like to try it, here's the link to the video (I don't make any money or gain any other reward for sharing this):

https://youtu.be/hrMMWAEtaVM

????Blue Mind????

This is something that I've only come across recently but have experienced many times and it's to do with how being in, close to or under water positively affects our brains and the rest of our neural (nervous) system. The water can be in the natural or built environment or accessed through videos, photos, sound files and other media.

The term was coined by Dr Wallace J. Nichols who wrote a book by the same name. He speaks about how water can bring communities together, induce calm and inspire creativity.

I spend a little time almost every day watching and listening to one of the many videos you can find online of beautiful oceans, mountain streams, waterfalls and so on. It's almost instantly calming and relaxing.

Let the sounds, feel and/or sight of water transport you to a place of tranquillity, where the mind is free to daydream, imagine and play.

Here's very a short, less than two minute video in which Dr Nichols talks about Blue Mind:

https://youtu.be/0dgNVSV1qow

And a longer one (about 37 minutes):

https://youtu.be/SMi-vlAmSEg

????????Happiness List????????

Making a list of things that you enjoy and have positive associations with is a wonderful tool to have to hand. It could be people, pets, memories, places or whatever else makes you feel joyful.

It's important to write them down or type them up on your phone and save this list when you're feeling good or neutral, so that it can be quickly accessed and read if there's ever a time that you're experiencing a low mood. As we go over the list, we start to re-experience the joy associated with what we've written.

The same thing could be done with music by creating a playlist of uplifting songs. I've got one on my phone that I sometimes listen to on the way to work, which helps me feel more positive even if it's cold and the bus is packed. It really works :)

✨If you'd like a free Soul Coaching Oracle card reading, do get in touch. These types of reading will help you connect with your inner wisdom to bring forth the answers that lie within you ✨