25-172 Calming Yourself

Calming Yourself

Our focus this week: “Serenity”.

Today’s MotD: Calming Yourself. Some of us may get pulled into drama or crisis not because we love chaos — but because our nervous systems have gotten used to it. It can feel more familiar than peace. Thus we’re encouraged to find simple techniques we can use to quickly calm ourselves. That way when we catch ourselves in drama mode, we’ll have a selection of “tools” to bring us back to serenity.

I asked ChatGPT to make a list of simple yet effective calming techniques. Here’s its response:

Here are some simple ways to experiment with calming our systems, especially when we feel hooked into old patterns of crisis. These are gentle nudges toward peace — not forced stillness, but honest moments of regulation, where we remember we’re part of something larger, and that safety can be quiet too.

Everyday Calming Techniques

1. Hand on Heart + Deep Breath
   • Place your hand on your heart and take 3 slow breaths. This simple gesture signals safety to your body and reconnects you with yourself.
2. Name What’s Happening
   • Silently say, “This is a moment of intensity” or “I’m being pulled into drama.” Naming it can help create distance between you and the storm.
3. 5-4-3-2-1 Grounding Technique
   • Name 5 things you can see, 4 you can touch, 3 you can hear, 2 you can smell, and 1 you can taste. Instant re-orientation to the present.
4. Cold Water Reset
   • Splash cold water on your face, hold a cold compress to your chest, or rinse your wrists under cold water to regulate your vagus nerve.
5. Butterfly Hug
   • Cross your arms over your chest and tap gently on each shoulder, alternating sides. This EMDR-based method is soothing and self-regulating.
6. Single Word Mantra
   • Choose a calming word like peace, release, or soften, and repeat it slowly with each breath.
7. Sip Something Warm (Consciously)
   • Tea, broth, or warm lemon water — sip slowly and bring full attention to the warmth and flavor. A grounding ritual in disguise.
8. 10-Second Exhale
   • Inhale for 4, exhale for 10. Long exhalations activate the parasympathetic nervous system (the rest-and-digest response).
9. Barefoot on the Earth
   • Stand or sit with your bare feet on grass, dirt, or sand. Let the earth help discharge static emotional buildup.
10. Visualize a Peaceful Scene
    • Close your eyes and imagine a peaceful place — real or imagined. Add sensory details. Stay there for 1–2 minutes.
11. Pet an Animal (or Imagine One)
    • Stroking a pet (or even visualizing it if none are around) lowers cortisol and releases oxytocin — the bonding hormone.
12. Pause + Ask: “What am I avoiding by chasing chaos?”
    • Sometimes the calm feels threatening because it exposes what’s underneath. Gently asking this can shift your awareness.
13. Coloring a Mandala
    • (Of course!) Let your hands and breath sync up in rhythm. This is especially powerful for people who process through visual/spatial energy.
14. Stretch Like a Cat
    • Let your body move intuitively — yawn, reach, roll your shoulders. Movement that isn’t goal-oriented is deeply regulating.
15. Look at Something Beautiful
    • A flower. A tree. A piece of art. Let your eyes rest on it and let it soften your nervous system.

Needless to say, I highly recommend number 13! However for those times when we’re away from our coloring supplies, then these other techniques can work just as well.

How about you ? How do you calm yourself when you find yourself in drama mode ? What techniques works best for you ? Are you open to trying any of the ones listed above ?

BTW…Here’s the before…the front and back view of today’s puzzle piece and the pretty ceramic box that holds all my numbers from which I randomly choose each day’s puzzle piece number:

Peace & Blessings,

Maureen
The Mandala Lady

Creating Mandalas 🔆 Awakening Inner Harmony

ABOUT THE 2025 Mandalas of the Day

Throughout the year, I’ll be building one large (48”x48”) Tibetan-styled Mandala one piece at a time…one puzzle piece at a time, that is. The mandala design and the reversed puzzle side were printed on artist-quality watercolor paper. The forward facing puzzle side was printed on a 48”x48” wood panel.

Each day, at random, I’ll be painting in watercolors one of the 365 watercolor puzzle pieces, that by the end of the year will become Archangel Mandala #4. Read more about the Archangel Series. The word/message for each piece will be inspired by Melody Beattie’s book “52 Weeks of Conscious Contact”.

Ultimately, the message of this mandala is about how we are all uniquely part of the one.