Any time of year, but sometimes especially the holidays, can be filled with emotions – and not always the kind that brings warm fuzzies into your heart.

Friday I attended a holiday concert and was surprised when the entertainers talked, not just about the joy of the season, but the wide range of emotions that holidays bring to our hearts.  The emotions are all wrapped into one emotional roller coaster – everything from the pleasures of spending time with family to the frustrations of dysfunction in our home. Or happy gift-giving to financial woes. Delight and laughter to loneliness and sadness.

So how do we handle the ups and downs of this demanding time of year or any stressful time?

  1. Become involved in a community place of worship – yes, you read that right! Several studies, according to the University of Minnesota,  have linked religious practices to fostering health and well-being. Participating in public worship services offer several benefits. Researchers are unclear if it has to do with connecting to a Higher Power, the power associated with belonging to a like-minded group, the positive emotions experienced or all of the above. The Huff Post reports,  according to Scott Schieman, a professor of sociology at the University of Toronto, “Regular and frequent religious attendance does seem to be one of the significant predictors of less stress and more life satisfaction.”
  2. Meditate and pray – even 5 minutes a day can make a difference. However, prayer and meditation in busy stressful times have been proven by several studies to make a positive difference both physically and mentally. I prefer to combine my meditation and prayer time with gentle stretching, aka yoga, holding each pose/stretch for 60 seconds during which time I breathe deeply while praying and meditating.
  3. Read spiritual devotions and scriptures daily – filling your mind daily is much like eating daily. Don’t starve your mind of nourishing thoughts and encouragement.
  4. Journal – again, not much time needed here – just 5 minutes. Journal on five topics, one approximately for one minute each. The categories are as follows: 1. Feelings you noticed throughout the day; 2. A list of things you are grateful for; 3. Three things that went well during the day and why; 4. Three in-tune connections you experienced throughout the day, and finally; 5. a few affirmations and visualizations to prepare your mind for positivity, (example: “I am loving, lovable, and loved”).
  5. Practice forgiveness – holding grudges is like carrying around much unnecessary luggage – and without wheels! One of my favorite quotes by Paul Boese says it best, “Forgiveness does not change the past, but it does enlarge the future.” This isn’t always easy which is why it is important to share with a caring person what you perceived to have lost and how you were hurt. And if you are the offender  it’s important to mend your wrongdoing and the hole it may have torn in your relationships with yourself, with God and with others.

So this holiday season or any season, give yourself a gift that keeps on giving – take care of your spiritual health with simple yet powerful practices that will stabilize and brighten your world.