Winter can be such a challenging time when it comes to depression. The days are shorter, in the US more people die in winter than in warmer seasons, and grey skies can dampen your spirits. Of course, physical illness, stress, emotional turmoil, and abusive experiences from our past or present all contribute. And if you are an empath you may have bouts of depression for reasons that may be difficult to trace.
I spent many years being depressed, and recently, with the loss of a few people in my life, I found myself feeling the heavy feelings of depression once again. Fortunately, today I have more awareness about the messages depression is bringing and I have more tools for bringing myself into a lighter and more peaceful state.
While there are many books and articles about how to therapeutically address depression, I would like to share a wonderful discovery about prayer and depression. In early years I just wanted God or somebody to fix me. I tried external stimulants like sex food and other distractions—all of which only temporarily provided relief. When my prayers and distractions didn't seem to be working, I thought about just leaving the planet. Something deep, deep inside told me that wasn't going to be an answer either, and that is when I finally surrendered.
Surrender was an incredible form of prayer for me because I finally stopped struggling and started listening. In the silence of listening to and honoring my feelings—all of them, my life began to change for the better.
Recently, a beautiful Native meditation was brought to me that has been asleep for over 100 years. In this beautiful meditation, you simply hold your feelings in the great feminine womb of your love. Our wombs (men and women's energetic wombs) connect to the womb from which all life began. When we hold our feelings in love and compassion, surrendering to the creative force of life, the fears behind the pain of depression begin dissolving until all that is left is peace.
I have been doing this meditation regularly these past days, and the depth of comfort and peace it brings to my soul is profound. Layer by layer the fears behind the hurt are transforming. It is one of the most profound ways to pray I have ever encountered—sweet, painless, loving, freeing.
For more about this beautiful meditation, look for the topic "Creation Meditation" at http://www.newdreamfoundation.com
Misa Hopkins is the author of the best-selling book, “The Root of All Healing: 7 Steps to Healing Anything”, which has been named the first-aid handbook for the new 21st Century consciousness. She is also Spiritual Director and founder of New Dream Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to global spiritual family and honoring the sacred feminine. With over 30 years of teaching and training experience, including teaching hundreds of healers, and now as a spiritual counselor, Hopkins is an astute observer of human motivation and potential. Her observations about the healing progress of her clients, students and friends, and her own miraculous healings led her to ground-breaking conclusions about why people remain ill, even when they are trying to become well. Hopkins recognized that illness may actually meet unconscious needs you aren’t even aware exist. In her book, workshops and articles, she provides insights about how to break through the limits of illness to experience the freedom and joy of wellness.