Reframe this Quarantine into a Spiritual Practice

Prefer to read? Here’s a transcription of the video:

Welcome. You’re watching this on the Expansive with Anna Gatmon YouTube channel.

So we’re faced right now with a situation where we’re at home and we’re quarantined. We cannot leave her home unless we have to go and buy food or something. You know, pharmacy, doctor, something like that. But the rest of the time, we’re really asked and required to stay at home.

And so there’s a very big constriction that has occurred on our movement and our our daily activities in our usual routine.

So I want you to imagine that instead of the fact that you’re at home and the world has changed overnight, if you imagine that you went on a retreat, on a Vipassana retreat, and you went for a month. It’s a long time to go on a retreat away from your habitual lifestyle, everything that you’re used to doing and all the ways that you are used to soothing yourself and escaping yourself. Here you are. You didn’t do it by choosing, but the universe created a retreat center for you, a retreat event for a month or two, because that’s how long were in for it, still.

And so here you are and you know how it goes, you start meditating the first day, and it’s like, “Okay, this is nice. I needed a break. I’m letting go.”

By the end of the first day or the second day or the third day, there’s a breakdown. It’s really hard to sit in the same position all the time, not have the foods you like, not have the friends you want to connect to.

But here you are in this constricted retreat center. And at some point, as you go through all of your internal blocks and egoic games and all of that, suddenly there’s a freedom and something opens up. And you leave after 10 days or a month or two months, however long you stay at the retreat, and you feel such a relief.

You’ve seen all the games you play. You’ve seen all the things where you stop yourself from living fully, your full potential, from living your purpose, from sharing the love and the care in your unique creativity and medicine with the world.

And so I’m inviting you to experience what we’re going through. We’re in this. There’s nowhere to hide. There’s nowhere to go. You can’t travel on vacation somewhere, the whole world is in quarantine.

So imagine that the universe, out of love for you, has created the conditions for you to be in a retreat center.

Now, it’s a different one because you’re not gonna be silent. You still have to work and you still have to do things. But there’s a lot of pressure and constriction, and you can succumb to it and crumble.

But you can also take this opportunity to grow spiritually, emotionally in your life. Become more creative, find new ways to connect, be present and share your gift with the world.

It’s not an easy task. This is a big quarantine. This is a huge pressure cooker that you are in, that I’m in, that each one of us is in, and that we are in together as humanity.

But here we are gotta deal with what we have. Gotta live with reality.

And so turn this into a retreat. How do you want to grow spiritually? How do you want to grow emotionally?

Set yourself goals. “I want to be more fit within the next two months. I want to lose weight in the next two months. I want to have read so and so many books by the end of May or June.

Decide what your goals are and go through all the challenges that it takes because to decide to read a book a week or a book a day is a challenge, and if it’s something that’s not easy for you, then you’re gonna come against all of your blocks and all of the monkey mind telling you, “Don’t do it. Do this instead. You know, just look on social media. Just get lost there. How can you numb it all?”

You’re in a retreat right now. The universe, the loving Universe has created a retreat for humanity.

And so go through all of these blocks. But then you’ll see. At some point you’ll come out a new person, more whole, more fulfilled, more satisfied, more full of your passion.

So take this opportunity and do that. And so if you need respite, nature is always a way to be replenished. Whether you have a garden outside and all the way to plants inside if you have, or flowers in a vase, or technology can allow you to see stunning images of nature and beautiful sounds of nature on YouTube. And just listen and take that in. And connect to nature in whatever you have available right now.

The second way you can allow yourself to get some support is connection.

So through online virtual platforms, connect with old friends, with family you haven’t spoken with, with your closest friends. If you have a birthday party or holiday, do it virtually. Connect.

You can also, whoever is at home with you, playing board games, baking just spending time together.

And then make a list of all the things you have that you want to do, but you never have time to get to and make it your spiritual practice to do them. So if reading a book is one of them, do it. If it’s painting mandalas, then do a mandala a week. Do it. You are gonna meet yourself. You are going to meet your challenges, whatever it is.

But you’ll have a goal. Take this month or two that we have left to be at home as an opportunity to you, for you, to grow emotionally and spiritually and boost your emotions and boost your spirit, either through nature and friendships and connections. And boost it by doing this retreat where you push against all the blocks that you have.

Remember, you are going to come out the other side a new person. A butterfly that came out of the cocoon. That’s what you’re gonna be at the end of this quarantine.

If you allow yourself to see it as a retreat that the universe has lovingly pressured you into, let’s see what butterfly you become.

I look forward for your comments. You can share your challenges, use this opportunity and let’s see what comes out of it.

There’s beautiful things awaiting us all ahead of us. If we stay home, do all the precautionary measures that were asked to do and use this opportunity to grow spiritually and emotionally.

Blessings.