A Mindful Christmas

POM Pomegranate juice
Image by gabster_ro via Flickr

The month of December is stressful for a lot of people. The holidays add to the tension and for some, light deprivation deeply affects our moods. During this season of light (or lack thereof!), we need to engage in empowering activities that bring the love closer. Because I am sensitive to the lack of light at this time of year, I engage in a self-made winter empowerment program. It involves exercise, lots of pomegranate juice and practices of self-forgiveness during moments of crankiness.

When I came upon Barbara Kilikevich’s book, A Mindful Christmas: How to Create a Meaningful, Peaceful Holiday, I felt a sense of relief. Moving beyond the consumer madness, we can rejoice in knowing our bodies are allowed move a little slower at this time of year. After all, bears hibernate. Why shouldn’t we?

Helpful tips from Barbara’s Website include:

∙ Organize your Christmas so that it is less stressful
∙ Add Meaning to your Christmas season without added expense
∙ Protect the Christmas Spirit in children
∙ Remember what you love most about Christmas (it isn’t gifts)
∙ Avoid post holiday let down
∙ Glide smoothly back into reality after it is all said and done

Celebrate your holiday slow-style by remembering less is more and more is too much!

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7 Comments

  1. Tweets that mention A Mindful Christmas « The Power of Slow -- Topsy.com

    December 6, 2010 at 10:11 am

    […] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Christine Hohlbaum, Christine Hohlbaum. Christine Hohlbaum said: A Mindful Christmas: Image by gabster_ro via Flickr The month of December is stressful for a lot of people…. http://bit.ly/gG2bxs […]

  2. Melissa Taylor

    December 6, 2010 at 10:20 pm

    I can’t wait to read this book, thanks for the suggestion!

  3. Porter

    December 7, 2010 at 7:33 pm

    Thanks! Looking forward to reading A Mindful Christmas. If it’s helpful, I think there are three steps to achieving Christmas sanity: just stop, think, and drop. Read about it here: http://slowchristmas.org/2009/12/16/3-steps-christmas-sanity

    1. powerofslow

      December 7, 2010 at 9:15 pm

      Oooo! I LOVE that. Thanks for stopping by!

  4. Willow Drinkwater

    December 7, 2010 at 8:51 pm

    This Christmas is already different from many in the past as I have chosen to have more experiences with other people than doing lots of shopping. It’s about family and friends being in partnership that means the most! Thanks for the reminder to take it slowly.

  5. Val Garner

    December 10, 2010 at 12:01 am

    Thanks for the book recommendation.

    SAD/ daylight deprivation can be so difficult to deal with. I found also that taking some Vitamin D helps, as well as the full spectrum lights.

    1. powerofslow

      December 10, 2010 at 10:21 am

      Yes, full-spectrum lights are awesome. I sit under one from November to March! 🙂

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