Written by: Shannon Olsen, Executive Contributor
Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise.
What is self-connection? What does it mean to “get to know yourself?” How do I not already know myself? I am myself every day…Aren’t I?
These are the questions that would swirl in my mind every time I heard someone talk about self-discovery and “going within”, or whenever I read an article or post on social media about self-mastery and how it will change your life.
I had no real sense of what all of that jargon meant, nor did I know how to achieve this state of self-awareness and connection, but I DID know that I felt a little twinge deep in my belly, a little flutter in my chest, a little niggling in the back of my brain every time I came across some variation of the concept of self-development or building your Intuition, and I knew I had to pay attention.
The reason I had to pay attention is because the shift that I would make of coming home to myself in true connection would eventually unfold as my true passion and soul-led purpose in this lifetime. This process is something that I have been uncovering and evolving for several years now and the way that I refer to it is the “relationship to self.”
What I have discovered is that our relationship to self is the foundation of how our lives are unfolding and that we have the ability to choose to create something different at any given moment. I love to empower women to see the value and worth in themselves so that they can recover and repair their relationship with themselves and learn to trust and believe in their own decision-making without second-guessing and seeking outside validation every step of the way.
The most powerful piece of wisdom I have gained through the many years of my journey back to myself is that your relationship to self is the foundation of everything- how you view yourself, how you view life, and your ability or inability to see possibility and follow your heart to create the life you desire.
Here’s what I learned that changed how I lived my life every single day...
When you are connected to yourself and your Intuition, you build self-trust and belief that outweighs all of the fear that arises from external opinions, judgments, and expectations, and allows you the freedom to be at peace with your unique self instead of being boxed in, restricted, and dimmed down by the conditioning and expectations of society.
You no longer have to seek validation outside of yourself, you no longer have to second guess and agonize over every decision, you no longer have to justify your feelings or decisions to anyone, nor defend yourself and your truth. This is the greatest freedom of all in my experience- to be at true peace with yourself and your life, knowing that you are in the driver's seat of your life and are the source of your own happiness.
Try these 3 simple steps to start to strengthen your own inner self connection today
1. Create some time in your schedule that you can manage consistently, even if it's only 5-10 minutes one or two times a week, to just be in your own energy without distraction
Have this be whatever feels good to you in the moment. This can look like going for a walk, having a bath, listening to music, going for a drive, writing in a journal, doing a meditation, getting outside in nature, or relaxing in silence. The point is to not have anyone else there, no phone, no TV, just you with yourself and an open heart with the intention of making that connection to yourself.
Each time you do that, you are honoring yourself and sending the message within that you ARE important and worthy of your time. That is how you gradually build that foundational love and commitment to yourself that will transform your life.
2. Start to become more aware of your thoughts, feelings, and decisions/actions by creating a self "check-in"
Take a quick moment to step away for 1-2 minutes, take a deep breath, and just check in with yourself. Place a hand over your heart, close your eyes, and ask yourself – “How am I feeling?”
Just that simple task of pattern interrupting the day-to-day busy grind to take a quick moment to yourself in just acknowledging what is there, you are again sending yourself the message that YOU matter, further building that love and trust in yourself and strengthening that foundational relationship. Checking in means allowing yourself to be present with how you truly feel in that moment, instead of passing time on full autopilot, never giving yourself permission to just be, to just breathe, and to just honor HOW you actually are!
3. Be in charge of creating your own happiness
Love, joy, and gratitude are the emotions with the highest vibrational energies that make us feel amazing, and so when we consciously create these emotions in our lives, we are embracing our power to choose how we feel at any given moment.
When we can start to empower ourselves in this way, we begin to realize that we are in the driver's seat in our lives and that we get to decide how we deal with challenges that arise, and how we live our lives every single day.
Are we going to allow ourselves to be completely derailed and stuck in fear/stress/anxiety?
Or are we going to choose to connect back to ourselves, take the action necessary to overcome the challenge, and move forward?
We can start empowering ourselves in this way and practice that conscious choice by doing something as simple as a gratitude practice. Find at least ONE thing you are grateful for each day and sit in that emotion of gratitude for a moment. You can choose to write it down in a journal, make a list on your phone, or just think about it and speak it aloud declaring it to yourself. In doing this simple practice, you are again pattern interrupting the daily toll of emotions from our environment, from others, and from ourselves that keep us in that lower energy state of feeling blah, out of sorts, stressed, overwhelmed, etc. and choosing to create something different for yourself, even for a moment.
As with the rest of the practices I have covered, these small moments of empowering and honoring yourself will build on each other, and piece by piece lay that strong foundation to continue to grow and nurture that relationship to self that really is the root of everything in life. I hope you found these tips helpful and will start to build your practice of connecting deeper to yourself and discovering the magic that lies within.
If you are feeling the nudge to dive deeper, I would love to welcome you into my world and invite you to connect with me to check out my free resources and tons of free spiritual training in my private Facebook community here.
Shannon Olsen, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine
Shannon Olsen is a Spiritual Mentor & Trauma Coach, Angel Medium, 2 time Amazon Best Selling Author, Advanced Crystal Master & Reiki Practitioner, and is the founder of her spiritual wellness business Vibrations of Light. She is here to awaken and guide conscious, visionary women to transform the way they see themselves and step into that next level version who is empowered, fulfilled, inspired, and fully trusting in themselves as they tap into their Divine power to find their own unique path and purpose in life. As Shannon experienced on her own journey, the level of fulfillment that comes when you are aligned with your Highest Self and Soul's calling is indescribable, and is the reason behind Shannon's work.
