Contemplating Life’s Choices

I hope you’re ready to join me on 52 Weeks of Contemplation that starts tomorrow. In preparation for this exploration I wanted to share some of the things I’m going to be using throughout the year.

First, I created a playlist! Yeah, music is life to me so I love having a good soundtrack for whatever is going on. I have certain songs that instantly take me back to a time or a place and I really enjoy that so I pulled together some of the soundtrack that is fueling my contemplation right now. I’ll likely add to it as I have time but this is a good start for my absolute favorites. If you have other favorites that are a similar vibe drop them in the comments. I’m always looking for new artists to explore.

I have a journal and pens that I’ll use though I’ll also try to share what I’m working through here. If you’re looking to pick up a new journal, I have found that Michael’s has great journals by Artist’s Loft that are about $8 and have a variety of cute covers. I’ve used them for a number of years and found out from a friend that they work great for left handed folks as they can open up and lie flat. My favorite pens are the Paper Mate Flair felt tip pens because I adore having pens in all sorts of colors.

I personally love candles and incense. My husband bought me some incense and a new candle from Dancing Cranes here in Salt Lake City for Christmas. They will absolutely be part of my contemplation time and I love that I can support this great local business. They do ship if you’re not able to get there in person though check out your local community for similar stores and see if you can support someone local.

The last thing I’m going to use are tools to help ground and focus me. I love things like crystals, oracle or tarot cards, and mindful movement. Even a simple five minute breath practice could help center your mind before you get started. If you’ve never done breath work I learned from my yoga teacher, Syl Carson, and she’s got a playlist of guided breath work practices you might find helpful.

Ok, so these are some of the tools I’ll use through the year. I’ll elaborate on some of these things more in other posts but I wanted to share this as something that could help as we embark on this journey together.

P.S. I will always recommend shopping local, small, and diverse owned businesses when you can. If doing so is out of your budget do what you can to still make your time and space special. A candle from Target can be just as powerful as something hand made or skip it all together. The only thing you need is yourself, an open mind, and somewhere to write your thoughts down.

P.P.S. none of the links are affiliate links. These are things I use but don’t feel obligated to use the same things. What I’ve learned is the most important key to sticking with something like this is to find what works for you. I just want to be transparent that, at this point, links don’t pay me a dime so do what you will with the information.