Positive Reflections on the Year gone by 2024(+Free Printable)

On December 14, 2024 By Zeenat Merchant Syal-Counseling Psychologist|Spiritual CounselorIn Emotions, Heal Your Soul Column, healing, Mind, Mind-Mental Health, Positive Self Reflection3 Comments

“We do not learn from experience. We learn from reflecting on experience.” ~ John Dewey

This is the last month of the year 2024, and for many, it can feel like a dark and quiet time. End of the year energy is usually very deep and that is understandable as we are all in this reflective space.

And that is why it becomes the perfect time for deep healing reflection.

I usually use this month to go deep into a reflective state, almost like a year end ritual that nurtures my heart and soul positively.

Rather than be in a state of angst and panic for the year ending, and the inner critic screaming of all the things I could not accomplish this year, I prefer this calmer way. That’s why I call it a positive reflection on the year gone by. Because honestly, by default we go into a negative state…which ultimately is not healing or productive.

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Why We Need FEAR to Move Forward

On October 7, 2024October 24, 2024 By Zeenat Merchant Syal-Counseling Psychologist|Spiritual CounselorIn Emotions, healing, Mind, Mind-Mental Health, Positive Self Reflection, spiritual healing4 Comments

“I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it.”~ Nelson Mandela

Did I ever tell you how I learned to swim when I was 13 years old?! My dad, kept trying to teach me to swim. I loved the pool and wanted to swim as well, but I just could not get myself to the deep side of the pool. I feared, if I cant feel the floor of the pool under my feet I would drown. That fear held me back and simultaneously upset me as well. By then my dad had taught me all the styles of swimming, the front stroke, back stroke, doggy paddle etc but all in the shallow end.

One fine day, when everyone else was jumping off the dive board happily and I was still in the shallow end feeling down, my dad called me outside the pool to hand me something. As soon as I walked towards him, he said “Hey baby, see you on the other side and keep paddling”…laughingly…and then SPLASH he pushed me in the deep end. I kid you not, I went right down the pool to touch my feet in the deepest end and pushed myself back up and kept paddling like my freaking life depended on it!!

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How to Build Deeper Human Connections(at any age)

On September 25, 2024 By Zeenat Merchant Syal-Counseling Psychologist|Spiritual CounselorIn Emotions, healing, Mind, Mind-Mental Health, Positive Self Reflection6 Comments

“The meeting of two personalities is like the contact of two chemical substances: if there is any reaction, both are transformed.” ~ Carl Jung

In our age of uber connectivity human connection is not such a common phenomenon. We see lots of people but find our little cucoons to hide in. We don’t realize we’re craving a deeper connection with others until we actually find it. That is because deep human connections are Healing!

After publishing last weeks article where I shared my thoughts on how we have become so independent and how it is actually depressing us…my inbox was flooded with emails. All from beautiful souls of all age groups and demographics who felt the same way and were curious to learn how to build deeper human connections. Because it IS hard to do so. I get it. We all struggle with this.

Cultural norms come in the way and make it hard to connect with other humans – we’re supposed to talk about the weather, sports, the news, but not our deepest struggles. We’re supposed to say cool or funny things, but not share our greatest hopes for our lives or the person we want to become.

It’s hard BUT…

It’s hard, but… human connection is one of the most powerful healing forces available to us. We don’t realize we thirst for it, but we do, and the thirst is deep and very very real. When I find real human connection, it nourishes my soul, changes me, moves me to tears.