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L i s te n to T h e A B M P Po d c a s t a t a b m p.co m /p o d c a s t s o r w h e reve r yo u a cce s s yo u r favo r i te p o d c a s t s 29 refreshment and nourishment, and it is a reliable way to recover energy, breath, and awareness. The routines, rituals, and habits you create consciously or unconsciously are currently shaping your existence and your future. About 40 percent of our daily behaviors are actions repeated from the past. Therefore, "If we change our habits, we change our lives." 2 Daily routines and habits are a touchstone providing stability, refreshment, and continuity. Based on the results of your daily habits, are you happy? What meaningful routines or habits do you currently have that boost your overall well-being? And what new nourishing habits would you like to create? The new year brings a new opportunity to reimagine the physical and energetic structures you are building with your daily thoughts and habits. The process of constructing your own sacred space, filling it with what you love, and customizing your own sacred practices can reinforce your true nature and help launch you into the future you desire. Successfully forging a nourishing new habit is best accomplished when it is simple, easy, and pleasurable. If connecting with family is important to you, then maybe the dinner table is your sacred space and Wednesday night family dinners become the nourishing habit. If self-care is valuable to you, the living room can become your sacred space while you stretch, dance, or listen to a favorite song or guided meditation. Your experience of the sacred can be infused at any time and in any place where your actions are in alignment with your values: sacred practices are self-care! Whatever the practice, listen to and honor your heart's desires. Trust your intuition to show you where to begin, what to include, and what to do. No matter what this new year brings, feel yourself enlivened and nourished by your sacred scaffolding, and a future full of heart. Notes 1. Gayatri Bhaumik, n.d. "Sound Healing – How it Works and Its Health Benefits," Destination Deluxe, accessed November 2020, destinationdeluxe.com/sound-healing-health- benefits. 2. Gretchen Rubin, Better Than Before (Crown, 2015). Heath and Nicole Reed are co-founders of Living Metta or Living "Loving Kindness." The Reeds have been team teaching national and international workshops and retreats since 2001. They place a strong emphasis on growing body intelligence, intuition, and self-care. They invite you to join their membership community to inspire and refresh your practice. Their bodywork, self- care videos, webinars, home study courses, and more may be found at livingmetta.com. Healing with Sound and Light To Heal is to Make Sound Sound healing is the use of sacred instruments or the power of your voice to release energetic blockages. Sound can induce states of ease and harmony in the body. The vibrations produced by healing sounds can "alter your brain waves and can shift frequencies from guilt and fear to vibrations of love and joy." 1 Creating healing vibrations with crystal bowls, tuning forks, drums, rattles, chimes, and more is a powerful way to reinforce an intention or affirmation. Using your unique voice to pray, chant, or repeat an intention can be a powerful nourishing habit. Let There Be Light Light has been used as a symbol of illumination for centuries. Lighting candles, creating a sacred fire, or burning herbs through ritual and ceremony are believed to carry prayers, intentions, and requests to the universe, nature, or the divine. Using the power of light in your sacred space can rejuvenate feelings of peace, connection, and inspiration. 3. Create a Nourishing Habit Once you create your sacred space, decide how you will enjoy it. Will you use the space to meditate, stretch, pray, or set intentions? Will you just sit with your eyes closed, enjoying a few minutes of peace and quiet? Will you sing, chant, ring a chime, play an instrument? Your ritual can be as simple or as intricate as you like. It can be something you share with roommates or family members, or you can spend that time alone. But whatever you choose, make it nourishing and meaningful to you. Some days, we light a candle or burn sage while we say a prayer of loving kindness. Sometimes we choose a card from one of our favorite decks to help inform a daily intention. Other days, we beat on a drum or resonate with a singing bowl. Drawing from sacred traditions from around the world and our own travels has inspired us to include a variety of resonant, symbolic, and nourishing practices. Everyone can benefit from creating places and habits that are intentional, inspiring, and full of heart. Choosing to do so will be a resource for continual SCAN AND WATCH "Creating Sacred Space"