Emerge Wellness Magazine by kasecircart

SELF-CARE // WELLNESS // MINDFULNESS // CREATIVITY

to a healthier, happier you.

THE SELF CARE ISSUE CARING FOR

YOURSELF IS NOT SELF-INDULGENT,

ITâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S SURVIVAL.

vol .

Issue Three

SPRING 2020 EMERGE - MAG.COM

WAYS TO INCORPORATE SELF-CARE INTO EACH DAY

BOOST YOUR WELLNESS WITH THESE DAILY PRACTICES

HOW TO LOVE YOURSELF UNCONDITIONALLY

THE GUIDEBOOK What’s Inside?

The Self-Care Issue //

some words of wisdom from editor in cheif, kasey jeffrey.

Surrounding Yourself With Positive People

//a note

by Emma Mitchell

//mindfulness

The Art of Being Idle

by Gabrielle Treanor

it is so important to intentionally allow yourself to be bored and to create pockets ot stillness in the midst of a busy life.

7 Steps to Loving Yourself Unconditionally

show me your friends and i’ll show you the future. you get to choose the people you surround yourself with. surrounding yourself with people who lift you up is so important. learn how to form a friend group of positive, supportive people.

by Deepak Chopra //

american author, public speaker and alternative medicine advocate, Deepak Chopra, talks to us about unconditional love. following these seven steps will strengthen your relationship with yourself and allow you to practice more self-love.

//holistic health

A Crash Course: Essential Oils & Crystals by Editors of EOS //

crystal healing is on the rise. have you ever considered combining crystal healing and essential oils?

//creativity

10 Ways to Stay Creative in a Busy Life by Christine Boggis //

don’t let your busy schedule stifle your creativity. here are 10 easy ways to stay creative despite your hectic and chaotic schedule.

// contents

Daily Practices for Overall Well-Being by Tris Thorp

learn different practices you can implement into every day life to help maintain healthy physical, spiritual, mental, & emotional bodies.

//featured finds

Self-Care Tools That Won’t Break the Bank by Lisa Fortunato //

28 How to Make Self-Care an Every Day Routine

//well-being

self-care doesn’t need to be fancy, and it definitely doesn’t need to devour your wallet. pamper yourself on a budget!

by Melanie St. Clair //

you can’t pour from an empty cup, take care of yourself first! it’s essential to make self-care a priority each and every day!

Learning to Forgive by Casey Hetrick //

//kindness

Sing Out Your Praises by Jean Wiley

it can be hard to do, but forgiveness can lead to greater feelings of hope, peace, and self-confidence. learn how to forgive yourself and others.

offering genuine compliments to friends and loved ones is a powerful gift that can bring equally powerful rewards.

//fitness

Body of Evidence by Catherine Kielthy //

reap the physical as well as the psychological benefits of practicing yoga each day.

3 // EMERGE // March 2020

Editor In Chief Kasey Jeffrey

Editorial Assistant Zachary Fortunato

Creative Director Mary Shriner

Copy Editor John Jeffrey

Online Editor Rachel Brettler

Production Manager Kathleen Jeffrey

Publishers

Alyse Ryan Kristen Costello

Art Director Adam Bunting

Illustrators Sarah Mills Leah Greger Jenna Zellner

Photographers Maggie Jelliff Katarina Ward

Senior Designers

Taylor Schwartz Ariana Alexandropoulou

Designers

Ryan Justino Amanda Collins Crystal Hunter-Jones

Emerge 45 Normal Avenue Kutztown, PA 19530 717.525.4358 info@emerge.com @emerge

// a note

THE SELF-CARE Issue How often do you make time for yourself? Do you set aside time each day to recharge and reset? Do you put your own needs before others’? Do you make selfcare a daily priority?

We explore ways to implement a self-care routine into your lifestyle in a way that works for you. Everyone is different, and so the ways that we care for ourselves should be different, too.

Self-care involves any activity that we do intentionally in order to take care of our mental, emotional, spiritual, and physical health. It’s become the latest wellness buzzword. And while we’re constantly hearing the word, the actual act of selfcare seems to sit on the backburner.

We know our readers have busy lives and seemingly endless to-do lists. Finding pockets of free time is both rare and difficult. Our goal is to make our readers self-care masters, despite a hectic schedule.

This issue of Emerge focuses on our goal to diminish the stereotypes surrounding self-care. Self-care is not selfish. It is not self-indulgent. It is necessary.

All of this and more are here in this issue. So turn off your phone for a few hours, call a babysitter if you have to. Cozy up for awhile, because you’re about to make some time for yourself. Left: photo by Sherry Wilkinson @sherrywilkinsonphoto

Kasey Jeffrey Editor In Chief

5 // EMERGE // March 2020

// mindfulness

THE ART OF Busy BEING IDLE Doing Nothing // Gabrielle Treanor

“I’m bored.” When was the last time you said these words?

As an adult it’s rare that we find ourselves facing a weekend with nothing to do, nowhere to go, no one to see, hours of idleness stretching ahead of us.

NO REASON TO BE BORED

It’s even easier to fill our time in this digital age because even when the chores are done we can turn to social media and lose ourselves in the black hole that is the internet. Curiously, though, hopping online to alleviate the onset of boredom can actually make the problem worse. Looking for hit after hit of entertainment, approval, and reassurance actually makes it easier for us to feel bored because we expect constant stimulation.

The glorification of busy can make us feel anything else isn’t good enough. Being idle has negative connotations, suggesting a lack of purpose, drive, and imagination. It can make us look downright lazy, we think. Having nothing to occupy us for a long period of time isn’t necessarily good for our mental state. Without diverse mental stimulation it’s possible to slip into mindless vices, such as overeating and drinking or staring at a screen to numb the bored feeling. Persistent boredom can whittle away motivation and lead to a melancholic lethargy.

“Don’t

your mind is left unoccupied so it can wander freely. When left to aimlessly wander, our mind takes paths and make connections it wouldn’t necessarily find when concentrating on a particular issue. If you want to increase your creativity, let yourself experience idleness. In 2013, a study by the University of Central Lancashire in the United Kingdom, found that boredom increased creativity. Two groups of people were asked for inventive ideas for the use of polystyrene cups. In the first part of the experiment, members of the group who were given a boring task to do beforehand were more creative in their idea generation. The second stage of the study saw a separate group given a task that specifically left them open to daydreaming and they became even more creatively stimulated, generating better ideas.

reach for the nearest digital device, gaze up at the clouds or down at your feet and just let yourself be idle.”

THE GLORIFICATION OF BUSY

How does this constant activity affect us? Are we in a persistent state of busyness out of necessity or out of fear of being bored? Do we worry we will look lazy if we’re seen to be idle? Do we fear that people will value us less?

THE BENEFITS OF BOREDOM

Research has shown that being bored can be beneficial. Leaving it alone and letting your mind daydream is a better tactic than trying to force a solution to appear. Psychologists have found that the areas in the brain associated with complex problem-solving become more active when we daydream. Ever wondered why you have such great ideas in the shower? It’s because

So next time you find yourself at a potential loose end, don’t reach for the nearest digital device. Instead, try gazing up at the clouds or down at your feet and just let yourself be idle. You’ll be pleasantly surprised at the outcome. Left: A Quiet Coffee Break, 2018, digital illustration by Kasey Jeffrey // @kasecircart

11 // EMERGE // March 2020

DAILY PRACTICES for Overall Well-Being // Tris Thorp

Overall, Americans are not in a great state of health. One of the contributing factors is that most people link health exclusively to the physical body. While the physical body is important, when we only associate health with our physical body, we fail to recognize other factors that contribute to our overall well-being. Your health is dependent on all four facets. Your overall health is influenced by a trickle-down effect: the physical body is affected by our emotions, our thoughts direct how we feel, and our energy level sways our mind and our thoughts. Letâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s get more specific on the details of each body and the practices you can follow to maintain their health.

THE SPIRITUAL BODY

The spiritual body is your connection to energy. For some, this may be more closely tied to religion than spirituality. For others, it could have more to do with the atoms in the body or the quantum energy that science refers to. Whichever way you choose to view the source of your energy is completely up to you. Energy trickles down from the spiritual body, from source, or the universe and first enters into the mental body. To fully access the spiritual aspect of your being, maintain a daily practice that keeps this connection open. If a blockage occurs, energy and information are unable to flow freely from the spiritual body down through the other bodies. This is why a daily spiritual or religious practice is so important to maintain this open connection. To be in a state of harmony between each of the layers of our being, we need to develop

our intuition and spirituality as much as we do our mind and emotions to create a solid physical foundation.

THE MENTAL BODY

On a surface level, the mental body is your thoughts. On a deeper level, it is the domain of your beliefs, desires, values, and goals. We all have desires to achieve or acquire something in our lives, which is why we set goals and intentions to help us get where we want to go. Some surface-level thoughts, which may create goals or desires, direct our mental focus from moment to moment. This is how our logical, linear minds learn and operate. If you are operating primarily from the mind as energy enters the mental body, there will be a disconnection in the flow.

// well-being Specific Practices

This imbalance can keep us stuck in a perpetual state of thinking, strategizing, plotting, and doing. An open spiritual connection enables us to access higher levels of energy, which the mental body effectively utilizes to make balanced, wise choices that unfold more potential for us.

THE EMOTIONAL BODY

Your emotional body is comprised of all your past, present, and future emotional experiences. It is the aspect of us that houses emotions. Whenever we have an experience, it generates feelings that are associated with past similar experiences. We then develop a label to identify the emotion that it makes us feel. Emotions and memories are categorized and stored, and they influence how we respond to experiences in the moment.

THE PHYSICAL BODY

Your physical body is the reflection and total sum of all aspects of who you are. It is a barometer that indicates how things are going in all areas, and it also provides the musculoskeletal structure and vital tissues and organs that literally carry you through this life. Diet and exercise are typically what come to mind when most people think about physical health. However, these aren’t the only things to consider. While it may not be immediately recognizable, chronic stress takes a tremendous toll on the physical body. Stress occurs when the needs of all four bodies are not being met. Stress triggers the fight-flight response, which is a survival mechanism that is hard-wired into our DNA.

“True health comes when we are able to create harmony between each of the four bodies.” As energy flows down from the mental body into the emotional body, it can bump into stored baggage from the past. In turn, thoughts from the mental body will generate emotional stress that affect the physical body. A person with overwhelming stress will ultimately experience physical symptoms because of the mind-body connection. According to an article published by Harvard, research shows that negative emotions can harm the body and happiness is linked to overall physical well-being. This is why it is imperative to develop emotional intelligence and to adopt a more positive outlook on life, both mentally and emotionally. When our thoughts are more optimistic, our emotional states will be more positive, and when our emotional states are balanced, our physical bodies will be healthier.

Health is much more than just the absence of disease. True health comes when we are able to create harmony between each of the four bodies. Our physical body is our foundation in this life. It is what everything else is built upon. But, it is equally important to exercise each of the other three bodies on a regular basis to maintain harmony. Taking time to carefully tend to ourselves as a whole can open energy channels, creating a spiritually connected, mentally stimulated, emotionally centered, vibrant life. Finding ways to exercise each of your four bodies daily will help you to cultivate more of what you seek. Left: All-Encompassing Wellness, 2018, digital illustration by Kasey Jeffrey // @kasecircart

In order to reach our full health potential, it is essential that we create a harmony between each of the four bodies. Below are practices specific to each body that you can implement into your daily routine. Everyone is different, so feel free to incorporate activities that are not listed.

Spiritual Body: •

Practice meditation daily

•

Study consciousness, religion, or philosophy

•

Pray

Mental Body: •

Set goals

•

Get a coach or mentor to keep you focused on your goals

•

Continue your education (e.g., read books, take classes, etc.)

Emotional Body: •

Self-reflect (e.g., journal, doodle, etc.)

•

Practice forgiveness (toward yourself and other people)

•

Deepen your connection with others

Physical Body: •

Move your body

•

Prepare fresh, organic meals

•

Get plenty of restful sleep

•

Spend time in nature

17 // EMERGE // March 2020

Self-Care is so vital, and most important is making it a daily activity. Learn some helpful tips and tricks on how to maintain a self-care regimen on a regular basis, kinds of routines to implement, and how to hold yourself accountable.

29 // EMERGE // March 2020

oes self-care seem like an elusive beast? Something that only “lucky” women have time for, but you certainly don’t? It certainly doesn’t have to be that way. Even the busiest of us can make self-care a part of our everyday lives. And not only is this something that we can do, it’s something that we should do. If selfcare has always seemed like something unattainable or reserved for a special occasion, then you’ve come to the right place.

Self-care may sound like work, but it doesn’t have to be. Rather, self-care is something that you can make a part of your life no matter how busy you are. But no matter how much you may want to practice self-care, you have to believe you deserve it. You can plan out your self-care routine, but it won’t do you any good if you feel guilty for acting on it. Self-care isn’t selfish; it’s necessary. If you’re still stuck in the mindset that taking care of yourself is a selfish, vain, and superfluous activity, I want you to tell yourself these words: I deserve to be loved and cared for. I deserve to love and care for myself. I have the power to love and care for myself consistently. Repeat these often and with meaning. Because it’s the absolute truth. Don’t think for a moment that loving and taking care of yourself is selfish. And now you can make it a part of your daily routine!

Start your day right with an intentional act of selfcare. Drink some water peacefully, meditate for 5-10 minutes, or eat your breakfast quietly and slowly. Don’t clutter your mind with e-mails and texts. Make sure to take care of yourself before you address the needs of others. Try to be mindful and stay in the moment. This time is just for you! In the evening, add self-care to your nightly routine. After tidying up the home, brushing your teeth, and taking off your makeup, end your evening with something just for you. Indulge in a luxurious night cream once in awhile, practice a full body meditation to relax you, or maybe read a book that you absolutely love. End your day as well as you began it. Go to bed full of self-love then start your day anew!

Here are just a few of the things that we love to cozy up with when it’s time to give ourselves a little TLC.

The perfect self-care tool, candles can be used at pretty much any time! Aromatherapy is a multi-faceted and highly customizable practice. Light one while you take a bubble bath, do yoga, meditate, journal, you name it!

As much as you start and end your day with self-care, it’s also important to continue your self-love throughout the day. Make sure to take breaks now and again to do a little something just for you. You can even set an alarm to remind you throughout the day. If you’re having a stressful day, be sure to keep 5 minutes to yourself to breathe, relax, and decompress. It’s better to head into a stressful situation with a clear mind and open heart than to work nonstop and drive yourself into the ground.

Now, self-care isn’t just about taking hot baths or giving yourself facials. You are a multidimensional person with multidimensional needs. So don’t let your self-care fall short of fulfilling you. Be sure to take care of your whole self by developing a multidimensional self-care routine. Don’t leave yourself empty by merely taking care of your physical self. Maintain self-care on many levels!

It’s so important to express yourself. Getting your feelings out on a page can be one of the most valuable forms of self-care. Try filling up three pages a day.

The bathtub is pretty much Self-Care HQ. This is the place to go for all that unwinding that you deserve!

Writing down your actions will keep you more committed to your self-care habit. I know when I’m logging my food, I always eat healthier. If you keep a journal of your self-care throughout the day and on a daily basis, you’ll remain mindful of your self-care actions. Writing them down will add an additional layer of intention. You can even plan your self-care in advance.

They say that having a workout partner helps you maintain your workout habits more than going it alone. Same thing works for selfcare! Enlist a buddy to log our self-care activities together. Check in with one another and send reminders to perform your actions of self-care throughout the day. This is especially helpful if you’re still feeling selfish for your self-care. Having a reminder from someone else might be the encouragement you need! Nourish Yourself, 2018, digital illustration by Kasey Jeffrey // @kasecircart

We like to think of tea as Self-Care Juice. It’s so good for you, those so many differen’t kinds! Cozy up with a mug, you won’t regret it

31 // EMERGE // March 2020

7 steps to loving yourself unconditionally by Deepak Chopra

A mother loves her newborn child without reservation, and romantic love, in its first stages of infatuation, can make the beloved seem perfect. But most of us doubt that love without reservation, completely forgiving and accepting, exists in our everyday lives Looking in the mirror, all of us see too many flaws and remember too many past wounds and failings to love ourselves without also putting a limit on it. In order to expand the love you experience now into unconditional love, a spiritual element is involved. Thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a path to unconditional love, as with any spiritual aspiration, and on this path success depends on allowing the goal to unfold naturally. Above: Woman Meditating in Shallow Water, photo by Maggie Jelliff @mljelliff_photography

Step one: MAKE INTENTIONAL

CONTACT WITH YOUR INNER SELF.

This implies paying more attention to self-care. Through meditation, selfreflection, or contemplation, and the experience of quiet at least a few minutes every day, you make contact with your inner world. You learn to appreciate and enjoy it.

Step two

: HONESTLY FACE YOUR INNER OBSTACLES

Most people don’t like to face their weaknesses and flaws because they judge them. But you are only human, and you will find that your sense of insecurity and anxiety represents feelings from the past that can be healed. In fact, they want to be released if you will give them a chance. The first step in healing is to look inside and let the process of releasing begin. Healing can proceed along many avenues—from therapy and support groups, to energy work, massage, and mind-body programs.

Step three

: CONFRONT AND DEAL WITH YOUR OLD WOUNDS

One could also call this advanced healing. As old residues of negative emotions are released, you find that you are stuck with resentments, hurt, and scars that must be dealt with. It takes help from someone else who understands the situation to go into these dark places—it could be a close friend, mentor, confidante, priest, or therapist. The work can be done safely, without anxiety, and once you start, there’s a tremendous sense of exhilaration, even triumph in the process.

Just find someone who has walked the path successfully and sympathizes with you fully and without hesitation.

Step four: FORGIVE YOUR PAST

You shouldn’t jump too quickly into forgiveness. It’s all too easy to pretend to yourself that you forgive old hurts and abusive treatment, when in fact what you are eager for is to escape the pain. The absence of pain, achieved through healing, gives you the right foundation for deep, lasting forgiveness. Self-acceptance is required first, and the realization that you—and everyone around you—has been doing the best they can from their own level of awareness. This can be quite a challenge when someone has hurt you deeply, but you can’t fully separate from wrongdoing until you accept that others are trapped inside a reality they can’t escape.

Step five: ACCEPT WHERE YOU

ARE IN THE PRESENT MOMENT.

This, too, is a stage you shouldn’t jump into too quickly. The present moment isn’t free of the burdens, memories, and wounds of the past. They must be attended to before you can look around, breathe easily, and love the moment you are in right now. A good beginning is to catch yourself when you have a bad memory and say, “I am not that person anymore.” For the truth is that you aren’t.

Step six

: FORM RELATIONSHIPS WHERE YOU FEEL LOVED

The path to unconditional love isn’t meant to be lonely. You should walk it with people who reflect the love you see in yourself. You are likely to look around at

some point and realize that not everyone among your family and friends are in sync with your aspirations. Without rejecting them, you have the right to find people who understand the path you’re walking and sympathize with it.

Step seven

: PRACTICE THE KIND OF LOVE YOU ASPIRE TO RECEIVE

Long ago, around the time I wrote a book called, The Path to Love, I encountered many people—most of them women—who were constantly waiting for “the one” to show up and sweep them off their feet. But the only way to realistically find “the one” is to be “the one” yourself. Like attracts like, and the more you live your own ideal of love, the more your light will draw another light to you. This single point, I am told, has helped most people find their love.

If you spend time every day with one or two of these steps, you will find a practical road that takes you to more love than you have in your life today. The steps unfold naturally once you begin to devote attention to them. You were born to be perfectly loved and completely lovable. The loss of that status is what’s unnatural—not wanting to return to it—and the return means reconnecting with your true self. The path has been walked successfully for centuries, so I hope you take heart and join the fortunate ones who aspire this high. There is no better time to begin than right this very moment.

35 // EMERGE // March 2020

ESSENTIAL OILS & CRYSTALS a crash course // Editors of Eos

From beauty products to yoga studios, crystals are popping up everywhere! Is this crystal craze a mainstream trend that will fade away, or are they tools to help support healing? A lot of people use essential oils because they are derived from plants and come from nature. Although not plant-derived, gemstones and crystals are of natural origin as well. With essential oils you have immediate physical benefits and support, deeper emotional benefits, and on an even deeper level you can pursue spiritual support.

IT’S ALL ABOUT INTENTION.

serve as visual reminders of the intentions we set, and they can easily be worked into a pre-existing meditation or intentionsetting routine.” Setting an intention is a powerful way to manifest a goal or a vision. Crystals have properties that energetically magnify and focus intention.

COMBINING FOR PHYSICAL & EMOTIONAL SUPPORT.

How about an example? Say, I’m experiencing a creative block and I want to get my creative juices flowing. The essential oil I would turn to is orange. The bright, citrusy scent of orange is uplifting and mood enhancing. It brings qualities of cheer and playfulness into creative work. It also boosts energy. I would then crossreference those properties with a gemstone that offers similar support.

1. Identify a need.

Citrine, a bright, warm, energizing stone, is known to stimulate the imagination, and awaken creativity. I would put apply the blend over my sacral chakra and other aromatherapy touch points, breathe in the oil to use it aromatically, or diffuse it.

A gemstone can be used with a single essential oil or blend. I’m all about keeping things simple, so I’ve broken down using essential oils and and gemstones together into four easy steps:

In very basic terms, intention is momentum that leads to action!

2. Identify an essential oil that offers the support you are looking for.

According to Nisonja McGary, a celebrity stylist and jeweler, “The healing power of crystals can aid in this process [of setting intention]. Similar to written lists, crystals

3. Identify a gemstone that offers support you are looking for. 4. Use them together!

Pay attention to your yourself and your personal needs. Draw on your prior experience, turn to appropriate resources, listen to your intuition, and play around! Right & Below: Essential Oils & Crystals, 2018, digital illustration by Kasey Jeffrey // @kasecircart

COMBOS to try rose oil & rose quartz manifesting love, healing, & peace.

wild orange oil & citrine

eucalyptus oil & blue lace agate

frankincense oil & clear quartz

lavendar oil & amethyst

rosemary oil & lapis lazuli

abundance & prosperity

communication & expression

spiritually & crown chakra

divine energy & spiritual clarity

communication & expression

// holistic health

45 // EMERGE // March 2020

// creativity

10 WAYS TO STAY CREATIVE in a busy life

// Christine Boggis

Out and about People-watching can be a great inspiration. Conversations overheard on a bus could feed into your novels, someone else’s clothes could prompt your next fashion design or the countryside outside the train window could be a futurepainting. Power lunch Spend your lunch time wisely and effectively. This daily break is a great time to begin drafting your novel, taking photographs, journaling, or sitting and sketching. Surf’s up No time for a lunch break? Take 10 minutes to browse inspiring websites like Pinterest, Etsy, or Instagram. These digital platforms are great for organizing reference materials that you find inspiring, to use for later. Screen time Do you really need that much of it? Could you take half an hour out of your evening’s socialmedia browsing or TV viewing to work on your art? Unplugging is the key! Morning glory Weekend lie-ins can be heaven, and you can look forward to that date with your duvet all week long. Just once though, try setting your alarm clock early on a weekend morning, get up before everyoneelse and spend that quiet time with your art. You may find you achieve more than you expect.

Culture vulture There is always more to learn from truly great artists. Visit an art gallery, unearth your Shakespeare or tune into Radio 3 to catch up on some great classics, even if it’s only for a few minutes. Social skills Meeting friends? Instead of heading for the pub, why not use this as an opportunity to be more creative? Start a knitting circle, a writing group or a book club and share your art with your friends. It’s a way of life If your nine to five is really stopping you from pursuing your dreams, could you change your life to give your art greater priority? Can you make money from your creativity, or could you cut down on household costs so you can work fewer hours and devote more time to your real love? Meditation station When it feels like everyday worries, chores, and just general stuff is stifling your creativity, take time out to clear your mind. Spend five, 10, or 20 minutes focusing on your breathing and allowing your thoughts to come and go without overwhelming you. It could be the mental break that gets youunblocked. Dream catcher Some of the greatest art works of all time came to their authors fully formed in dreams, like Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s poem Kubla Khan. Keep a notebook by your pillow to write down any inspiration that strikes while you’re sleeping.

55 // EMERGE // March 2020

$12.99 US