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#HealingGardenHappyPlace

3 Cures to Fix What’s Ailing Your Healing Outdoor Haven ~ Part 2 with Tip Sheet!

If you are not feeling the healing benefits of your outdoor haven, it’s because your space isn’t growing your happiness inside; it’s not growing your peace, health, inspiration like it can.

Feeling frenzied by your garden space and need to put it in a time-out? Your space may need a spa-treatment.

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To replenish your scene, reap the benefits and boost your mind, body, spirit, try my Cure #2 for what’s ailing your healing outdoor haven.

(This is Part 2 of a 3-part series – to clean, connect & find comfort naturally, like a spa treatment for you and your outdoor space. Cure 1 is over here. Cliff-notes version? Click here for Your 3 Cures Tip Sheet!) 

Cure 2: Commune to soothe senses

Hummingbird_Purple Salvia

This is a Cure to Grow Your Health through Sensory Connections

With our lives often barraged by a cacophony of circus-like sensory input – overwhelming, draining, stringing us out on our last nerve –  an easy getaway, your elegant escape hatch, aka delightful DND zone right outside our door goes a long way to refuel and reconnect with your easy-breezy-beautiful self again.

Your time outside can be like a spa experience for your senses: boosting energy, bringing clarity, blending gratitude with an all-body renewal practice.  Nature allows for what researchers have deemed “positive momentary distractions”. 

It goes like this: when experiencing a restorative nature space, our senses get a bath of soothing, enchanting, calming sensory input which helps our brains switch gears, focus on the present moment and just rest.  

By making your garden space into a Sanctuary Garden, you indulge yourself in a sensory spa treatment, anytime, right outside your door, engaging all 5 of those frazzled senses in renewal happy dance. This cure is apt to stimulate different parts of your brain, conjure up good memories and lend you the experience of your very own rejuvenation station.

[bctt tweet=” A Sanctuary Garden dials down sensory noise & tunes us into that which soothes & supports.”]

Action-taking Tips:

  • Take green-microbreaks. Let your eyes drink in a comforting, research-proven design recipe for your brain: 1 part calming colors of greens and blues, a dash of natural light and a generous helping of lush plants.
  • Smoky, got your ears on? Appoint your space with pleasing sounds. The tranquility trifecta: chimes, water, wildlife.
  • Stop and smell… scents help us unwind, destress and commune with the memories of good days (and people) past.

Engaging our two or more of our senses in a positive dose of nature allows us to disengage from the frenzy and heal. By making your space a sensory spa experience, you’ll find this cure will energize your health. It will help you disconnect from the go-go-go routine.

This cure fulfills our innate pre-programmed need to connect with nature for an overdue shift back to perspective – and back to the better sense of ourselves.

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Cure #3 about making space comforting for your soul is waiting for you here.

Psst! I have something special for you… 

Get your 1-page Tip Sheet of my 3 Cures to Fix What’s Ailing Your Healing Outdoor Haven.

Click for 3 Cures Tip Sheet!

Need help in transforming your yard space from ugh to AHH! My Sanctuary Garden Design Consultation may just be the help you need

Are you a style-keen, nature-loving, holistically-inclined “soilsoulsister” (or brother) who wants to tune out stress & dis-ease & tune into your mind.body.spirit connection, thanks to your own slice of everyday, personal paradise? Plant-tas-tic! Sign up for news, resources, good shares and we’ll get on with your thriving outside & healing inside.

3 Cures to Fix What’s Ailing Your Healing Outdoor Haven ~ Part 1 with Tip Sheet!

Perhaps a mere second ago, you pulled back the blinds to peek out the window for the umpteenth time. You felt excited after flipping through magazines and cruising Pinterest boards.  And there you were – jazzed and inspired with pulse rate elevated.

So you walked over, peeked out your window or door onto your outdoor space – you know, that would-be-slice-o’-green-paradise.

And felt your tummy and enthusiasm sink and the frustration meter rise. For what you do, and do not see – out there. For what you feel, and do not feel – out there or *in here*.

It’s that familiar pang again. In your heart. That “I want something more”. The “I know there is more to this that that.“

I know that feeling – it’s a craving for something more in AND from your outdoor haven.  And I know the next thing you do is you swoosh those blinds back over the window in a feeling of disgust.

If you are not feeling the healing benefits of your outdoor haven, it’s because your space isn’t growing your happiness inside; it’s not growing your peace, health, inspiration like it can.

It’s not restorative. It’s just not that rejuvenating oasis – serenity now! – that your heart, head, soul yearn for – deeply. I wrote about why having a DND Zone is crucial. But what if you’re just getting started, right?3

If you’re not feeling the healing in your outdoor haven, your space may need a place-lift.

(This is Part 1 of a 3-part series – to clean, connect & find comfort naturally because your peace of mind depends on it. Cliff-notes version? Click here for Your 3 Cures Tip Sheet!) 

Cure 1: Clean for your sanity

Summer_Purple Salvia and Petunia

This is a Cure to Grow Peace to Lift Your Mind

I’m am not suggesting a sterile environ nor one of strict architectural allegiance. Any visitor to my own gardens knows that’s not how this Fairy Healing Garden Godmother rolls. Instead, I’m talking about helping your brain process better – easier – by cleaning out the space that surrounds your living and waking moments for flow and ease. Working with clients, this is the very first stop on the #thrivingoutsidehealinginside train. Let’s face it, a messy, cluttered, disjointed space causes undue stress and makes us feel confused, tired, guilty. 

Decluttering outside helps declutter inside. This is about creating tranquility, friend. And allowing Peace to flow inside and outside.  It’s said that the space around us is reflective of what’s going on inside of us, our unconsciousness and lives. By cleaning and releasing clutter for the intention of creating your serene green scene you’re more apt to better #mindthegardenofyourmind.

And you’ll find that you’re less preoccupied with all of *that* and more open to receiving the peace available right at your (bare) feet.

[bctt tweet=”Can’t follow the scene? Then your garden space ain’t got flow & your mind is aching for ease.”]

Action-taking Tips:

  • Put things away and donate the miscellaneous and extraneous.  Tidying is a practice in reverence – everything has its place, everything in its space – around you and inside you. And as a fav saying goes: My place is a reflection of my mind space. 
  • Make space for your greatness by clearing out debris. Then your brain doesn’t have to work as hard to make sense of the scene. As you likely know, we don’t perform, live, thrive at our best in a space that our brains can’t easily “read”.
  • Fix a singular, intimate view that’s been bugging you. Hire a pro to offer suggestions. (I can help you with that here.) 

It is much easier to experience the gift of Peace in the present moment when you, your brain and your eyes aren’t darting all around.

By clearing and cleaning, you’ll find your mind more at ease and able to soak in nature’s good vibrations. This cure alone – a more organized, flowing space – grows your sense of happiness and relaxation. For more inspired ideas on decluttering, check out Marie Kondo’s book: The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing.

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Cure #2 about soothing your senses is right over here. Come read on…

Meanwhile, I have something special for you… 

Get your 1-page Tip Sheet of my 3 Cures to Fix What’s Ailing Your Healing Outdoor Haven.

Click for 3 Cures Tip Sheet!

Need help in transforming your yard space from ugh to AHH! My Sanctuary Garden Design Consultation may just be the help you need

Are you a style-keen, nature-loving, holistically-inclined “soilsoulsister” (or brother) who wants to tune out stress & dis-ease & tune into your mind.body.spirit connection, thanks to your own slice of everyday, personal paradise? Plant-tas-tic! Sign up for news, resources, good shares and we’ll get on with your thriving outside & healing inside.

3 Cures for Greening Your Work-From-Home Blues ~ Part 3 with Tip Sheet!

(For part 2 of a 3-part series skip on over here. Would you like the cliff notes version? Click Here Your 3 Cures Tip Sheet!)
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3-cures-for-greening-your-work-from-home-blues

Cure 3: Green Screen it!

In Cure 1, I urged you to Lighten Up to make sure you reduce your chances for SADness. In Cure 2, I shared with you one of my fav ways to bring nature’s season right to our desktops to support the sacred work we do.  For Cure 3, I want you to imagine in your mind’s eye a happy place you’ve traveled to or have on your “I Am Manifesting This” list. Make it a healing, happy nature place ’cause we’re going for the gold $$$ here.

What does it look like? Tropical? Mountainous? Verdant fields of green?

Now drop down into your heart zone – you know, that place where the passion for the good work you do beats from… how does that dreamy scene make you feel? Zoom in on that feeling as deep as you can go. Zoom in on the details of natural elements that really stand out for you in that scene. Picture the details. Walk around in it. Give your imagination all the attention you can muster to fully experience that place.

What do you see? What do you feel?

My bet is that you feel pretty darn de-lish… and I’d put my money on it, honey, that you’re feeling a bit refreshed and motivated just thinking of it. Let’s call it what it is, focused positive attention.

Now imagine, what powerful things you accomplish with regularly focused attention brought to you by nature? Thanks to imagery that is both pretty and meaningful to you, great work is not far out of your reach, friend. It’s really within an arm’s reach.

This Cure Boosts Your Attention Span in a Matter of Seconds

 Rx: Turn your computer screen into a green dream scene.

  • Switch out your screensaver /wallpaper to a favorite view of that healing nature happy place that you dream of or reminds you of a favorite vacation. Then give yourself 40-second “green-microbreaks” to view taking in that #serenegreenscene throughout the day to restore from the tedium (and remind you of dreamier, *green-i-er* pastures).  
  • Need some wallpaper inspiration? Come on over & follow me on Instagram (I’m @AnnieRedBird). I post a #PositiveMomentaryDistraction pic every Monday just for the purpose of inspiring you to connect with nature’s beauty and benefits with nature doses that help #mindthegardenofyourmind, if even for a micro-second.

And you know who else uses her fav nature scene as her screen saver? Ms. Oprah! Yep, heard live on a Facebook Live, that my (yours too?) CEO hero, has a picture of those glorious Super Soul Sunday oaks as her screen saver.

Why? Because when Oprah is busy traveling (away from her #healinggardenhappyplace), that screen saver picture of her oak grove reminds her “that joy will come”.

If a joyous nature scene works for #Oprah’s screen; maybe viewing nature will work for you, CEO?

Science says:

Research found that office workers’ focus AND performance increased when they had a microbreak green viewing on their computer screen — just 40 seconds. This helped with task-interruptous and attention.  Set your timer and go on a little nature soul stroll with your eyes.

Your brain will thank you, especially as the day wears on and our attention wears down.

Bank Yourself Some Style Points:

This is a quick, fa-fa-free decor intervention of beauty + benefit. That screen takes up a lot of real estate in our immediate, arm’s reach, workspaces and sprucing it with a serene green scene changes your mood and instantly beautifies your office area. You can personalize your wallpaper for your season, your mood, your motivation.

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So which Cure is first on your list? Do you need to lighten up , spend a little shrine time or let your creative brain recharge on a sip of a green serene micro-scene? 

As CEO, it’s your #1 job to attend to your best nature on the inside, so that you may get on with the good work you do on the outside.

Did you find this Cure helpful? Pass it on! Inspired to make a beautiful and happy space for your workplace?

Get your 1-page Tip Sheet of my 3 Cures for Greening Your Workplace Blues to Boost Your Mind-Body-Soul Bottom Line.

Click for 3 Cures Tip Sheet!

And I’ll make that 1 click a 2-fer by tucking you safe and sound onto Red Bird’s update list where I share great resources and announcements with my VIPers. Fret not, if at any point you want to exit stage left and remove yourself, there’s a 1 click unsubscribe button at the bottom of every single email. Easy peasy.

Are you a style-keen, nature-loving, holistically-inclined “soilsoulsister“ (or brother) who wants to tune out stress & dis-ease & tune into your mind.body.spirit connection, thanks to your own slice of everyday, personal paradise? Plant-tas-tic! Sign up for news, resources, good shares and we’ll get on with thriving outside & healing inside.

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