Connection Medicine
Friends are cute. But soul connections, those are sacred. Meditation Teacher, Meg Sweeten, weighs in on the importance of seeing & witnessing others as a means of building meaningful community. Go find yourself an anam cara (soul friend) & experience the healing power of human connection for yourself.
I love to spend time alone. That might seem like a bizarre admission for the start of an article on connection but stay with me.
I love to spend time alone to watercolor or read a new book. I love to spend time alone to journal and rehash my problems while dreaming up new desires. I enjoy an occasional meal alone, catching a movie by myself, or traveling solo.
And yet, no matter how much I love to spend time alone, I always eventually crave connection. I want to yip yap about the things I’ve experienced. I want to know if I’m the only one to feel that way or if you’ve felt it too.
Because let’s be honest, the journal doesn’t talk back when I need another opinion. Immediately after I finish a book, I instantly want to tell everyone about it. I crave to be witnessed and hear “oh wow, you did that?” when I finish a watercolor. And who doesn’t love to take a break from thinking about their own life and drama to hear their friends’ latest stories, struggles, and joys.
Connection is our natural state. You will find plenty of evidence of this from the popular recovery quote “The opposite of addiction is not sobriety, it’s human connection.” all the way to the ancient Celtic traditions, when it was essential to have an anam cara, which is soul friend in Gaelic. St. Brigid said "…anyone without a soul friend is like a body without a head”.
I’ve built a business, The Soul Cabin, based on gathering anam cara’s from all around the world. Satisfying the underlining craving of us wanting not only more connection, but meaningful ones. A place to be seen, witnessed, and heard in a sacred community.
The research shows social connections can lower anxiety and depression, help regulate emotions, and can lead to higher self-esteem and empathy. All these combined can improve your immune system.
Even without the data, we all collectively experienced a dramatic change in our social interactions the past year and a half through a global pandemic. We all felt first-hand how important connection and friendships are for our overall well-being and how unnatural being in quarantine for an extended period of time feels.
So yes, enjoy some time alone, and then go find your peoples, your soul friends. Make it a mix of online and in person. Whatever you are into, there is a community for it. If not, start one! Share all the experiences you are having and take the time to cultivate meaningful friendships. Because what I know for sure is, we need connection… and I would love to be your anam cara.
Visit: thesoulcabin.com to check out Meg’s latest offerings
Follow: @thesoulcabin on Instagram to stay connected
