Happy Spring! As the sunlight stays out longer and the new flowers bloom, the theme is renewal.

In this episode, Dr. April discusses the various definitions of renewal and how they relate to our current environment, and shares a meditative exercise to guide you into contemplative renewal of the mind, spirit, environment, and actions.

Learn more about the Sisterhood of Limitless Living: sl3podcast.com

Episode 2.9: Sisterhood of Limitless Living

Renewing Your Mind and Environment

SUMMARY KEYWORDS

renewal, pandemic, spring, worn, interruption, resuming, circle, actions, joy, people, sisterhood, today, spiritual connectedness, rundown, renewing, practice, activities, seeking, feeling, happening

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Welcome to The Sisterhood of Limitless Living we are in the month of March, it is actually a little closer to the end of March. But it is still March. And my goal is to share a podcast episode, once every month. So this is the spring, and it is my favorite time of the year. And there are so many reasons why we love the spring. It's also season that I was born and coming up in a few weeks, April. My name is April. And today we're gonna be talking about the topic of renewal. And first of all, you know, we can talk about what renewal means, right. So according to like Google's dictionary, there are a few different types of definitions for renewal. The first one that came up was this, like instance of resuming an activity or a state after an interruption. And I can see that most definitely, as it relates to the pandemic. But we've been going through resuming activities, or stayed after an interruption, there was a huge worldwide interruption, and there still continues to be. And you know, I have a background in public health. And most definitely, I've seen a lot of data and a lot of evidence that shows that we are still in that interruptive state. However, resuming activities doesn't necessarily mean the same activities, resuming activity, for continuing to meet your purpose, resuming activities to find joy, in every circumstance, in every situation is still something a powerful act of renewal. Another definition of renewal is the action of extending a period of validity, such as a contract or license, things like that. And so renewal maybe of a dedication to self care, extending the period of renewal, of self care, of dedication of maybe your spiritual life, or even a relationship even, that could be a sense of renewal. And in some circles, there's a talk about renewing, renewing a marriage vows, for example, or even renewing every morning, right after, when even when you wake up in the morning, the act of spiritual prayer, that's act of spiritual connectedness to yourself and higher powers. And all around you is an act of daily renewal as well. And then the third definition that comes up on renewal is this balancing, or repair of something that's worn out rundown or broken. So renewal on this case is also very similar. I think in the case of the pandemic, and resuming after a huge interruption. A lot of us were rundown, worn out and feeling broken. And what's very interesting is that even before the pandemic began, I remember sitting in a yoga class. I have a whole lot of other stories related to this yoga, teacher training I went to and did not complete. But I remember us sitting there in early January, or February in the circle, and asking being asked about what we're going through what we're feeling, and everyone was actually already worn out and run down. We all had oversubscribed, over committed and been working on so many things in our schedules. We were tired. That was the general consensus in this circle. And I don't know how many people remember that. But the pandemic was one way for everything to come to a stop for a second. That shutdown was a time for contemplation and a time for kind of isolation in some ways, but also time for self care and self care. And I would use all capital letters for that sense of self care and that renewal. Now, after we've been worn out and run down in different ways, we have gone into this new pattern of feeling worn out around down because of the pandemic, and the different

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precautions and the different ways we've had to weigh pros and cons of self care, with family, social, distancing, social isolation, and also one's health. So there is a lot that has been happening especially in larger families of all ages, multi generational families, there's a lot that's been happening with different socioeconomic status, people who have had no choice but to be out in highly crowded environments, with or without protection, masking and so on, people who have no health care, people who haven't had access to vaccinations and other proactive safety measures. So that is something we've also been very rundown worn out and feeling broken about, in the multicultural communities in the bipoc communities, many of us know loved ones who have died from COVID, because of the nature of the work that feeds you, or because of the nature of the type of information, non non research non scientific information people have been hearing in their socio economic circles. And there is a huge number huge rate of death in the Latin ex Hispanic, and the African American and black communities as a result, what's been going on. And, you know, as I mentioned, the sisterhood of Limitless Living is about seeking Joy chasing your joy, dwelling in your joy, designing your ideal life, regardless of chronic illness and other circumstances. But we are not blind or not blind to the fact that there are challenges that we must transcend, there are challenges that we cannot close our eyes to, there are challenges that we must be a light of joy, hope and truth and strength for and that is the power of the sisterhood. So today, my question for you is What does renewal look like for you? It is the spring season. There's so many signs out there with nature, flowers, the beautiful weather, the fresh air that's been coming through after the rains and the wind, the spring, cooler weather, and sometimes the warmer weather. But is the practice of renewal like for you? What is the what are the thoughts, the intentions for renewal in your life? What are the practices of connection to yourself and others in renewal? What does that definition like for you? And what are the actions that you are seeking to pursue that you have decided and committed to pursuing today? And that question is something I would ask for you to begin in meditation and a practice of asking yourself that first question of how can I renew my mind, my life, my spirit and my environment around me today? So asking yourself those questions in your own words, and meditating and thinking intentionally in silence for 10 to 20 minutes today is my practice that is suggested. In this episode of The Sisterhood of Limitless Living, I would love to hear what thoughts and feelings and new actions and new inspirations emerge from that meditative practice. And again, 10 to 20 minutes asking yourself the question at the beginning of your meditation today. What is it that I seek to renew, in my mind, in my spirits in my actions, and in the environment around me? Thank you for listening to this episode of The Sisterhood of Limitless Living. To learn more about us and to find out more about our past episodes, visit our site which is now at SL three sisterhood.com And I hope that you have a wonderful and blessed spring season. Speak to you again next month.