.png)
I invite you to ask yourself, “How does my spirit soar?” Or, “What do I feel, where do I visualize myself when I think of the last time I felt my spirit soaring?” Does your spirit soar in your day-to-day life? Where are your moments of deep connection? Are they separate from daily routines? Are they so momentary that to capture the feeling seems just beyond reach?
Women, just like everyone, want to feel that empowering, life-giving energy that expands our spirit and brings a deep sense of joy outward. When I refer to women, I am using the word in its most inclusive and broadest way, tapping into the feminine in us all. This feminine quality is one that has a natural intuition, a deep sense of when connection to spirit is alive within us. This same feminine nature carries with it the beautiful quality of deep empathy and compassion which can easily turn into losing the inward connection and giving so much attention outward that depletion and overload ensure.
Just like the moon reflects the sun’s rays, feminine qualities of receptivity and reflection are a source of deep connection. Do you remember the last time you had a moment alone? One with that sense of such deep relaxation and calm that you connected to the profound pool of reflection that cultivates deep contemplation?
Nurturing and being nurtured follow a female lineage, traditionally through generational care and care-giving. We see this where the elders help young females of the next generation while the young women or mothers care for the newest members of the family or community. When was the last time you felt nurtured? When was the last time someone else nurtured you? Are you able to give yourself the self-care and nurturing needed for your own wellness?
Many of these same women found ways to have daily connections. In traditional cultures this may be more available while in a modern world less so. However, we can still see this very important thread of female connection. Here in Vermont quilting bees are still very active; when I lived in Ecuador, going to the river to wash clothes was a social opportunity. Girls night out may be more familiar to you and common in Western culture. The point is, women thrive on being socially connected to others. When was the last time you had such an opportunity? Is it one that has been cultivated over time and is an on-going part of your life?
I pose all these questions to bring mindful awareness to how we tic. These mindful inquiries help us to contemplate an inner life. Connecting to this interior life and the ways in which it connects us to our own spirit is where these contemplations lead us. For if our spirit is soaring, it fuels us to thrive as women.
Now let’s turn to mindful microdosing and why it helps soar our spirits? First of all, why mindful microdosing? Just like the mindfulness inquiries above, approaching microdosing with mindful inquiry helps to connect to our natural feminine qualities. Mindfulness asks us to quiet the mind to connect to our hearts. Through breath awareness and many other mindfulness practices, we get closer to our natural ground of being, our natural feminine way of living from the heart.
Some of the inquiries may be: What is my deep intention for microdosing? What part of me wants fuller expression? In what ways can more nurturing happen? Can I get more clarity on where I am headed? From these mindful inquiries, a more heartfelt intention has a chance to arise. Your intention is what carries the microdosing journey forward, like a compass for you to bear in mind.
Then when actively microdosing, with more mindful awareness, you will more easily observe subtle shifts and gentle whisperings. You may be moved to continue with more mindful inquiries to what arises. Throughout the process and when integrating, this same mindfulness approach helps cultivate seeds that will germinate into the cornucopia of your life’s garden. A woman’s nature is tuned into the seen but also the unseen: the spirit behind what is manifested.
Mindful microdosing is especially empowering for women when looked through the lens of SOAR. For that is the potential of Mindful Microdosing: connecting to your spirit and nourishing it to soar.
Social and Emotional Well-Being has become a standard curricular area in schools around the globe. Children are learning the skill to be proactive in naming how they feel and what behavior they can choose to engage. Rather than being reactive, a place of mindful awareness arises and then the choice to act with greater emotional balance, equanimity, and compassion is more accessible. Thus, a more mindful way to be in the world can be embodied. Enhanced social and emotional well-being is a common reported benefit of microdosing. For women, the stress-reduction that comes from mindful microdosing brings more calm and ease. For instance, there might be more tolerance for colleagues, children, or friends to do things that would have bothered you otherwise. In addition, your reaction may change to one of mindful awareness rather than reactivity; thereby cultivating more mindful living.
Optimizing Executive Functions brings cognitive enhancement to almost all areas of our lives. Planning, working memory, organizing, and prioritizing; to name just a few of the executive functions, are the brain power behind all we do. Attention is another executive function or cognitive ability that invites a greater capacity to be mindful. Not only does optimal executive function help in everyday life, by harnessing mindful awareness through greater attention, we are better able to integrate mindfulness into our waking hours. Many people microdose for cognitive enhancement; particularly at work, but we can see that its benefits are manifold. When we feel we are functioning at a more optimum capacity, there is a greater sense of empowerment for women.
Amplifying Inner Knowing helps to recognize deeper feelings and your own deeper wisdom. Just like the mycelial network that grows underground, what we keep hidden or may not express— even to ourselves, may not serve us. The source of all that germinates comes from what is resting deep in our hearts and in our own inner knowing. Mindful inquiry and other mindfulness practices help us reach these places. Microdosing also is known to amplify feelings, tap into greater intuition and epiphanies, and invite them to the surface— to be recognized and embraced with gratitude. Then choices can be made about how to proceed. In the end, healing and a more holistic wellness from our core evolves. As women, we tend to disconnect to our very own source of being, our inner spirit, when we are in the busy part of our lives; whether it be professional, family, care taking, or other times of life. Staying connected through mindful microdosing becomes an ally in our journey.
Remembering Our True Spirit Our own inner knowing connects us to our deeper wisdom and this opens the door to our true spirit: the lightness, sparkling, powerful energy that can bring magic to our own healing and to all those who accompany us on our journey. Moreover, it connects us to something greater than ourselves. The practice of mindfulness can do the same; in addition, many comment on how microdosing connects them to nature in a profound and moving way. With the combination of mindfulness and microdosing, each enhancing the other, we have even more support to be aligned and live from this greater connection. This connection is feminine in nature as it brings healing to ourselves and the world in which we live. It is a moving source that beats with the rhythm of the natural world and all that inhabit our planet. It takes in the suffering while transmuting it to love.
When we connect to this feminine energy that stirs the very nature of life—in us and all around us, we live in greater alignment to all. We live with greater expression of our true selves, our true spirits. Mindful microdosing can be a key ally to invite us into this alignment and ensure our spirits soar.