Ciao from Firenze! Spring has officially arrived here! I hope wherever you are the sun has found its way to you, too!
The blossoming flowers, the sound of birds greeting the morning sun, the smell of fresh earth as the grass replaces snow brings a lovely feeling of aliveness and renewal! As we transition into this new season, we are also invited to cultivate our own inner-blossoming.
Many people start their “spring clean up” by tidying accumulated clutter or digging out garden supplies. While this is beneficial, I believe spring has so much more to offer when we shift our energy towards cultivating an inner-spring clean up. Tending to our mind and heart like a garden allows us to blossom too, just like the flowers. Although I am not exactly known for my “green thumb” (ask any of my friends - I have been known to overwater my succulents!), luckily this gardening process doesn’t require any such skill. Phew! So, with that being said, below are the “gardening tools” you’ll need to plant the seeds of your own inner-garden. Are you ready to flourish?
There are 3 steps to the process:
1. Planting the seeds you want to grow (i.e. self-compassion, self-acceptance, self-trust)
2. Removing the weeds that are standing in the way (i.e. self-judgment, self-abandonment, self-doubt)
3. Tending the soil by nourishing your seeds (redirecting negativity with a truth statement).
Let’s get started!
1. Planting seeds.
The beautiful part is that you already have the seeds of everything you’d like to cultivate inside of you: kindness, joy, peace, serenity, compassion, love. Yet, sometimes these things get buried beneath our self-doubt, worry, or feelings of unworthiness. But you are the gardener of your own life; you can choose what you grow! These seeds merely need your attention, care and nurturing. So let’s get started on choosing what you want to nurture and grow. Below is a short exercise to help you choose your seeds:
Planting Seeds Meditation
Place one hand on your belly, another hand on your heart
Close your eyes
Inhale through your nose, and exhale through your mouth letting out a sigh.
As you exhale relax your shoulders and jaw.
Repeat 2-3 times and then ask yourself: what would I like to cultivate within myself? What needs tending inside?
When you soften and release your body, your heart will have space to speak up and it will guide you.
The answers are always inside.
Take a few moments for your answers to rise to your awareness.
These are your seeds.
Write down the seeds you’d like to cultivate, for example:
1. Self-compassion
2. Self-acceptance
3. Self-trust
Keep this list nearby; we will refer back to it soon!
2. Removing weeds.
Ok, now it is time to do some weeding. Your weeds are anything that prevent your seeds from blossoming. If the weeds start to overgrow, there is no room for the beautiful flowers to flourish in all their color and brightness. So what does this look like as it pertains to our own inner-garden? Perhaps you notice that you speak unkindly to yourself throughout the day; the weed of self-judgment is likely getting in the way of the seed of self-compassion. So in this step, you will identify what those weeds are for you so you can start removing the things that are no longing serving you. Your garden will reflect what you water—your seeds or your weeds.
Ask yourself: what weeds are growing in my garden? Are my thoughts and words kind to myself and others? Am I patient with myself and others? Are there negative beliefs I have about myself that I need to let go of? Write these down.
The weeds to remove might look like:
1. Self-judgment
2. Perfectionism
3. Self-doubt
The beautiful part is that, when we tend to the seeds within and remove the weeds, we naturally start to extend that same kindness, goodness, and compassion to all of those around us. In this way, each one of us has so much beauty to offer the world. Now let’s get into the final step to make sure our garden is well-nourished. (PS the good news is there’s no such thing as over-watering your seeds—unlike my succulents). Let’s start tending the soil!
3. Tending the soil.
In order for our seeds to take root and prosper, we must tend to the soil. We will do this with a truth statement. This will become your rebuttal anytime you notice that your thoughts, energy, or behaviors are watering the weeds. Think of this step as watering your seeds with kindness and love.
Everyone’s truth statement will be different. Choose one that resonates with you, one that you actually believe. It has to feel true for you in order for it to be helpful. This mantra strengthens what your seed needs in order to grow, while at the same time weakens the weed that is not serving the garden.
So let’s choose your truth statement! Refer back to one of the seeds you want to cultivate. Now choose a phrase that will help nourish that seed. For example, if your seed is self-compassion, your statement might be something like:
I am worthy of compassion and love. Inhale compassion, exhale judgment.
Or, if you choose the seed of self-acceptance, perhaps your statement could be:
I do not need to be perfect. I am lovable as I am. Inhale acceptance, exhale perfection.
Choose a statement that is true for you, and use it with your breath as shown in the examples above. This not only helps nourish your mind with truth, but also allows you to experience this practice in a felt sense through your breath—plants need oxygen too!
Now you have all of the “gardening tools” you need and you are well on your way to cultivating your own beautiful inner-spring Let’s put everything together in an easy format for your daily practice so that it is both simple and sustainable.
Daily 5 Minute Practice to Cultivating Your Inner Garden
Step 1:
Start each morning with the “Planting Seeds Meditation” to identify which seed you want to tend to that day. After choosing your seed, identify your weed. Next, create your truth statement and repeat it 3 times. This will start your day off in a way that mindfully nourishes the beautiful seeds within you!
Step 2:
Write your seed + weed + truth statement on a sticky note and place it in a few different locations that you’ll see throughout the day: your purse, car, bathroom, office, etc.
For example, your sticky note might look like:
Seed: Self-compassion
Weed: Self-judgment
Truth statement: I am worthy of compassion and love. Inhale compassion, exhale judgment.
Step 3:
Set designated times throughout your day as a checkpoint to bring awareness to your thoughts and notice what you’re watering. You can use an alarm to go off at certain times in the day, too. Use this as a reminder to re-state your truth statement. For example, before lunch, another in the afternoon, and again in the evening before you have dinner.
Remember, all of the seeds you are cultivating are already within you. You are merely tending the soil, and giving each one what it needs to blossom beautifully.
May you cultivate the seeds of love and compassion.
May you tend to the goodness inside you.
May you nourish your soil with kindness.
And may your own inner-garden flourish with the beauty that is you.
Buona Primavera - Happy Spring!