Spend Your Free Time with Intention: 4 Ways to Find Serenity This Summer

It’s been six months since I had my son, and my life is about to ramp up big-time when my new book, Super Attractor, comes out in September.

So this summer I’m taking the opportunity for downtime! In this blog post (which I updated for summer 2019), I’m sharing some of the practices that I’m using to find summertime serenity.

4 ways to spend your free time mindfully

Check out this video, where I offer up some ways to find serenity this summer. Even with work and family obligations, it’s likely you’ll find yourself with at least a little more downtime than usual. Maybe you’re taking a vacation, or maybe you’re just leaving work a little early on Fridays.

Whatever you have available to you, I have some ways to spend your free time mindfully this summer. Check out the video I recorded a few summers ago, and keep reading to see the tips broken out in more detail.

1. Set the intention for summer serenity

No matter how much downtime you have this summer, I want to encourage you to use it wisely and intentionally. Spend your free time relaxing, having and deepening your stillness practice.

Bringing serenity into our summer is a choice we make, and it begins by setting the intention. When we make that intention, we actually start to show up for our desired outcome.

But if we don’t set the intention, we just won’t do it. We’ll just keep working hard, feeling stressed on vacation and spending our long weekends thinking about Monday. We won’t actually allow ourselves to slow down and practice stillness.

Tweet: Set your intention to step into serenity @gabbybernstein #spiritjunkie 

Slowing down and practicing serenity isn’t just some nice little luxury. It’s crucial for your nervous system, your happiness, your well-being and your relationships.

2. Be proactive about going outdoors

I live in the country most of the time, and I love to take walks through the woods and fields. Immersing yourself in nature is a fast way to feel more spiritually connected and serene. Simply sitting in your backyard or walking through your neighborhood is enough to reconnect.

If you’re in a city, make it a point to go to parks, visit the beach or take walks early in the day, before the streets get super hot and crowded.

Be intentional about going outdoors in whatever way feels good to you. It’s also awesome for your health! Research shows that spending time in nature reduces the risk of stress, type 2 diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure and more.

3. Strengthen your spiritual practice

The best thing you can do to access serenity is to strengthen your spiritual practice. Maybe you can go a little deeper with your meditation practice by committing to meditate daily or by exploring new kinds of meditation.

• If you’re new to meditation, start with my Beginner’s Guide to Meditation.
• This summer I’m practicing Kirtan Kriya, a simple Kundalini practice that balances your mood, improves your memory and strengthens your mental clarity. Try it out! If you like it, do it for the next 40 days for amazing benefits.
• Turn your walk into a meditative experience with this 6-minute guided walking meditation.

Summer is also a great time to start a journaling practice. Putting pen to paper is a powerful act. Give yourself the opportunity to create this habit and you’ll never look back. Check out my guidance on how to attract your desires through journaling!

Get my free guided meditations!

It’s my mission to make meditation accessible to everyone. That’s why I created a FREE album of 4 guided meditations. All you have to do is get comfortable, press play and follow my guidance.

Your free meditations include the Manifesting Meditation, Releasing Romantic Illusions Meditation, Body Love Meditation and Cord-Cutting Meditation. Click here for instant access!

4. Read the books you’ve been meaning to get to…

Summer is the perfect time to read those books that have been piling up on your nightstand or in your Amazon cart! You can check out some of my favorite spiritual books for ideas.

One perfect book for summer is Living in the Light, by Shakti Gawain. In the blog post linked above I share the beautiful story of how I came across this book.

Shakti had an incredible way of distilling complex spiritual ideas into very clear writing. In Living in the Light, she teaches us how to connect with our inner guide and bring awareness to every part of ourselves. What better way to spend your free time?

As I mentioned above, by the time fall hits I’ll have a new one for you. Super Attractor, my next book, will be published on September 24th. You can preorder the book now and get my FREE 2-hour Manifesting Jumpstart Workshop as a bonus gift!

If you want to improve your physical health and well-being, check out my roundup of 7 books that will help you heal your gut, eat without anxiety and feel great.

How do you find summer serenity?

Spirit Junkies, I want to hear from you! How do you spend your free time in the summer to make the most of the season? What do you want to commit to this summer to deepen your stillness practice and really chill out?