JapaneseYear: 2020 Rat, Month: August 8 Monkey, Season: Fall, Year Number: 4, Month Number: 3
August Summary: Recycle, Child like fun, connect with family and close friends
- Find inspiring things before you look at logical ideas. You still need to look at matters rationally but do so while also embracing your innovative mind.
- Find fun things to do with your family and or close friends(whom you can be true you with), stay connect with them.
- It is very easy to be task oriented, or focused on reaching your goals, and then once achieved, to immediately moving onto the next goal.
Remember to pause and reflect on whether you are being present, have awareness of what you have now, and are sharing with others.
In general, task achievers not easily find fulfillment without spending time to reflect on their feelings and others; reviewing the process with self and others. The best thing you can do, is to share your mind and process with others. - Find joy in the sense of touch, using hands to nourish your soul. Perhaps giving yourself a massage, or practice hand reflexology with your partner or family?
- Jigsaw puzzle will be fun activity individually and with friends.
- This month will be a manifestation of how you spent the last 7 months. Be grateful where you are, because that’s who you are.
- Your body will make it obvious whether you take care yourself. For example, if you feel extremely fatigued, then you may not have taken good care of yourself in the last 7 months (maybe catering to others too much over self-care). So, make sure to take the time now to do as your body asks. There is not magic cure, you just have to do the work.
Conversely, if you are feeling energetic, then you are likely taking good care of yourself.
- Do you have anything you don’t need and can be recycled, donated, etc.? Be creative and exchange with others.
For yourself:
This month try to think with a child’s lens, specifically in how they expressed themselves when they felt success. Usually with pure joy, “I did it!!”
Similarly when children aren’t mindful and forgot to slow down to take care of themselves when they needed to they may all of a sudden feel tired or fatigued (usually it’s visibly obvious), and you have to encourage them to take a nap or a break, take care of themselves. Or maybe they took a nap and feel great, and ready to go! These signs will also appear throughout our body this month. So, check in with yourself, and make sure to take care of yourself as needed.
Starting your day with words of affirmation, complimenting yourself. Then end of your day reflecting on your daily accomplishments (with joy like the child mindset mentioned above). Being only critical of yourself will not be sustainable long term.
Be creative and let your imagination roam. Like when we were children, let your creativity take over without the fear of failure.
When trying to find a way forward:
- First, find joy in letting the creative process take its course. By embracing imagination and creativity you take advantage of unlimited potential.
- Then switch lenses and take a look at it objectively, with a realistic viewpoint. Finding innovative yet realistic ways to make it come to life.
- Sometimes this process may be most effective when you incorporate the sense of touch, movement and tangibility to the process.
If you have hard time to look through both lenses equally, then ask for help when you WANT.
If you can’t meet in person, make time to connect online via zoom, facetime, etc. where you can be face to face. Shower each other in compliments and appreciation.
The sense of touch, especially through your hands play a big part this month. It may be a great time to do a body scan and use your hands to work out any kinks through self-massage or helping others via reflexology.
With Others:
August is still a time to reconnect and revitalize your relationships with those closest to you. Specifically, take time to share compliments and express gratitude to the relationships with a more parent/child lens. Try to bring the focus first to fun things, then tasks and goal. Pure fun can lead to achieving goals with joy, and also you be courage enough to speak rational thing.
We are all such unique beings and like to be loved and accepted as who we are, without comparison or judgement.
To incorporate the sense of touch here, writing handwritten letters or cards to express how much you had a fun in past is a fantastic way to share your joy and gratitude when reconnecting with others.
2020 Year Reminder:
Zodiac: Rat 4
Year of rat is represented by the season of seeding, caution, unseen problems, distress, worries, sorrows, high family value, holes, and water.
When in balance, the number Four represents being grounded, stability, realistic, family, nourishing relationships with those close to you.
If out of balance, 2020 can feel a bit dreamy, unrealistic, jealous of what we don’t have.
Be mindful of your thoughts, your thoughts will easily manifest throughout your physical body. So, aim for positive thoughts and feelings, your body will thank you.
To find balance, find time to create a logical action plan to shape your dreams into realistic goals, and then into action.