Dear beautiful souls

Welcome to my newsletter series. This one was actually written last week—but due to connectivity issues in remote jungle area, it wasn’t published then. I was writing to you from Mulu National Park, Sarawak surrounded by lush rainforest and giant trees as companions with fresh air and deep introspective thoughts.

This week’s theme “When we move with nature’s rhythm, every moment becomes a dance”

Let’s step into this week’s D-A-N-C-E together

Decisions

We live in a world with overflowing options and everyday we make countless decisions. More than a decade ago, I made a decision that every year I will fulfill a dream on my birthday. It ranges from taking a trip to visit dream destinations, or doing something I’ve always wanted to do- each with a special meaning attached to it.

Adding meanings to our decisions is one of the easiest ways to make them simpler and more intentional.

Take dinner, for example, the dreaded question “ What are we having for dinner?”—the biggest dilemma in every household (and relationship! 🫣 ). If we simply just add on meaning to that question—“I want to eat something nourishing tonight”—we’re already one step closer to an easier, more aligned decision.

Attention

As Dr. Joe Dispenza reminds us -”Where attention goes, energy flows” and “Neurons that fire together wires together”

The average person thinks between 60,000 and 70,000 thoughts per day, and that 90% of these thoughts are the same ones from the day before! One research even estimating that 80% of thoughts are negative . So, it does take effort to break free from these loops of ruminations.

If you ever catch yourself ruminating, pause and take three slow breaths, making your exhales longer than your inhales. Breathe out gently through pursed lips, feel your body relax, your heart rate slow, and notice how your thoughts begin to shift slowly.

Nature

I don’t need to emphasise how important nature is to our well being. It eases anxiety and depression, resets our nervous system, and a new research even claims forest bathing may enhance expression of anticancer proteins!

The first day I entered the national park for a jungle walk—away from the city’s noise—I instantly felt sleepy, much like during a sound healing session. The sounds of the jungle became my sound healing, the songs of the birds, crickets, insects, all vibrating in a grounding frequency. I realised my brainwaves were shifting into deeper, restful states—and I napped a lot. I haven’t felt this well-rested all year.

Practical tip: Try as much as you can to be in nature. If you cant, then dedicate at least 2mins everyday to look up at the sky. Notice its colours—is it light or deep blue? Are there clouds? Are they moving? Can you feel the wind? You can also try this with a tree in your neighbourhood or even just a small patch of grass and marvel at it.

“Nature is us, we are nature”

Compassion

My all time favourite Dr Gabor Mate teaches a philosophy called Compassionate Inquiry. When I first encountered it, I was mindblown.

Here’s a simple way to practice it: notice the difference between these 2 questions—
“Why did I do that?!” (judgment, blame, shame)
and
“Why… did I do that?” (curiosity, gentleness, compassion).

Note the tone between these two. The tiny shift in the tone changes everything. The first is full of judgment, condemnation and even self blame whereas the second is gentle and full of curiosity- one that requires you to deep dive into the root causes that drives our actions and behaviours.

I am a firm believer that the more we practice self compassion, the more naturally we are able to extend it to others.

Energy

Everything we ever do is an exchange of energy. Energy is indestructible.

Today lets focus on two natural energy sources- sunlight and the Earths negative ions. When we ground ourselves—by standing barefoot on grass, touching soil, or soaking in sunlight—we shift our nervous system into a calm, parasympathetic state and reconnect with life’s rhythm.

Practical tip:
Stand in the sun and feel your body warming up
Rub your palms together slowly and feel the heat from friction.
Touch a leaf, a stem, or stand barefeet on earth for few seconds.

Close your eyes and breathe deeply while you do all of these, and notice even the tiniest shifts in energy within you.

That’s your D-A-N-C-E for this week. May your decisions hold meaning, your attention rest on what matters, your body embraced by nature, your questions guided by compassion, and your energy lead you home.

Until next Sunday, keep dancing slowly.

With love,
Dr Sharolyn