Spending time outdoors in a park, gardening, enjoying a picnic, or forest bathing improves our moods and mental health. But when we can’t go outdoors and connect to nature to feel better, especially now in the winter, we can try to bring a little bit of Mother Nature into our homes.

Interacting with nature can help us recover faster from mental fatigue and stressful situations and make us calmer and less prone to ruminating on negative thoughts.

If having nature close to us can be so beneficial and give us a reason to feel grateful and lift our mood, bringing nature indoors might be worth our time. Below you will find some suggestions for inviting nature into your home.

Houseplants and Herbs Indoors

You might already enjoy growing and caring for houseplants in your home, but if you don’t, know that they can help you cope with the winter blues. Growing plants and herbs indoors or purchasing them for decorative purposes can benefit your mental health just as much as going for a walk outside.

When you direct your attention to your houseplants, your overstimulated brain will get a well-deserved respite. Researchers have shown that even looking at pictures of natural scenes can be similarly restorative for the brain as admiring and interacting with nature and vegetation.

Besides, taking care of your houseplants or growing herbs indoors will improve your mental health by giving you joy and satisfaction. You’ll have to learn how often to water them and whether they like full sun exposure or not. You’ll also need patience for the plants to grow, but the process can be rewarding and alleviate anxiety and depression.

Plants that are easy to keep alive and are great to have indoors:

• ZZ plant
• Snake Plant – also great for air quality
• Spider Plant
• Aloe vera
• Red Aglaonema
• Prayer Plant

Herbs that you can grow indoors to improve your mood and can also use for cooking:

• Mint
• Basil
• Rosemary
• Oregano
• Thyme

Crystals and Geodes for Your Home

A simpler way of enjoying nature’s gift indoors and feeling connected and happier is to bring crystals and geodes into your house. They are fascinating stones formed by Mother Nature and can be aesthetically pleasing to have around your house.

But besides their beauty and esthetic appeal, crystals and geodes are believed to carry healing energies that can bring positive vibrations into your space. Their power can be harnessed for various purposes, but we recommend you welcome the following crystals into your home for better moods and mental well-being.

• Amethyst – is a natural tranquilizer that will soothe the nerves, bring peaceful and calming energies, and helps deal with insomnia if placed in the bedroom;
• Rose Quartz – encourages self-love and compassion, which is excellent for improving our relationship with ourselves and feeling more accepting of our flaws and weak points;

• Cherry Creek Jasper – is a grounding and protective crystal that stabilizes our emotions and strengthens our connection with nature;
• Red Jasper – supports healthy self-esteem and confidence and improves our balance and trust in our intuition and wisdom;
• Amber – is made from fossilized tree resin and is believed to purify and cleanse our environment from negative energies. It’s also said to reduce anxiety and lift depression;

Million Years Old Fossils

Whether you have a passion for collecting fossils or other intriguing objects or not, fossils can bring so much novelty and uniqueness into one’s home. Fossils are the remains or impressions of million years old living organisms in a petrified form.

They are usually formed from hard plant and animal parts (wood, shells, bones) and are associated with deep spiritual meanings. Fossils are associated with the earth element and can bring stability in our space, harmonize feelings and encourage growth and development.

Their raw beauty and natural energy are perfect if you want to invite nature indoors. Our favorite fossils carrying ancient energy and healing vibrations are the following:

• Ammonites – their spiral is a symbol of evolution and spiritual transformation. Ammonite fossils are said to promote longevity and energize the life force in one’s body;

• Trilobites – are remains of marine organisms that lived approximately 500-600 million years ago. Trilobite fossils support the connection with the energies of Mother Earth and improve our ability to cope with stressful situations;
• Stromatolites – are fossilized layered deposits of algae. They come in various colors, such as white, yellow, brown, reddish-brown, beige, and grey. Stromatolites are believed to assist in emotional healing processes and bring nourishing and rejuvenating energies.

The Sound of Nature

If for some reason, you don’t wish to or can’t bring any elements from nature indoors, you can still enjoy nature by listening to its sounds. You can find many recorded sounds from nature online that you can listen to for relaxation, stress reduction, tension relief in the body and calming the mind.

Experiment and see what sounds bring you tranquility. You can listen to natural sounds such as forest rains, waterfalls, the wind blowing, birds singing, or other noises made by animals living in nature. This will also help you reconnect to your senses and hear what your body has to say.

We are so assaulted by the multitude of sounds and stimuli from the urban environment we might live in, social media, and work environment that we don’t even realize anymore how stressed and loaded we are.

Care for or Adopt a Pet

Furry friends can help us feel less lonely, more cheerful, and joyous and can improve the overall quality of our lives. Dogs will make sure you get your daily walks and love you unconditionally, while cats are more low-maintenance, independent pets but equally cute and loving.

If you think you could not adapt to living with a pet or can’t afford to adopt, you may still benefit from interacting with adorable animals by occasionally caring for a friend’s pet or visiting a farm or pet cafe.

And in case you are allergic to a pet’s fur, know that you may still find some alternatives to this. For example, you can have a Goldfish pet in your home to care for and watch it swimming in its tank. Multiple studies have shown that keeping a fish aquarium at home is associated with relaxation, reduced blood pressure, increased tolerance to pain, and entertainment.

Let’s Have a Conversation:

How do you connect to nature indoors? What habits lift your mood efficiently? Have you tried caring for a houseplant or pet? How about taking a few minutes daily to admire elements from nature such as crystals and fossils? What other natural elements do you have indoors?

Jewellery, in all its forms tells the story of our life. Whether we choose a necklace or a bracelet, they all tell people more about who we are, and they remind us of places and people, events and special things.

Extending that idea, and compensating the fact that as we get older our memories sometimes need jogging, my jewellery now has a hidden agenda.

Replace Lists with Beauty

I am taking a health coaching course and learned that aide-mémoires, which are used to remind one to change one’s habits, are called anchors. I now have an anchor on my wrist which often gets in the way and so keeps jogging my memory about things I have chosen to change.

It is a beautiful crystal and a private signal for me and me alone. Ingrained habits plus a sieve-like memory need positive anchors. They are important, for if you don’t change the process you will never change the outcome.

The Trick Is in the Trinket

The Catholic church has used this jewellery system for years in the form of a rosary. If I want to remember a series of things when I go shopping, I use a beautiful rosary-type bracelet with lots of different coloured beads.

Each colour is assigned to a different category: blue for washing products, yellow for fruit and green for vegetables. I can check each category and remember what I need. No more leaving the list on the side in the kitchen!

Choose a Beautiful Object

If I have a friend in need, I light a candle in the kitchen. I choose one of the lovely scented ones that lasts for hours which keeps me in mind of that person.

Flights of Dietary Fancy

On my food cupboard I have stuck a stunning butterfly which reminds me that there are some foods I am not eating at the moment – either to lose weight or reduce allergies.

There is nothing more irritating than setting course and then forgetting, in the melee of everyday life, that a food is not on the list. As we get older, quite a few of us have sensitivities we never experienced earlier in life or weight gain that is new to us.

One Foot Firmly on the Ground

A beautiful ornament placed in a certain position can act as a reminder. As a Bowen practitioner, it was important that I leave the room after each part of the treatment.

Running a busy school surgery as medical matron, I once forgot one of the gardeners I was treating and luckily, he slept for the hour in which I forgot about him. After that, I made it a practice to always place a large wooden cat on my diary in the office whenever I was treating a patient!

Let’s Have a Conversation:

I would love to know about your aide-mémoires, your hidden agendas and how you use objects d’art to enrich your life. We can make every situation beautiful to enrich the soul, even the mundane shopping list! Please share below!

Heather Gay’s Pink Jumpsuit & Clutch

Real Housewives of Salt Lake City Season 3 Episode 11

Going into this episode of the Real Housewives of Salt Lake City, I can barely remember who is fighting with who! And then, just when I thought it couldn’t get more confusing, all of the ladies put blonde wigs on for a super random Marilyn Monroe party! I could barely tell who was who, but you’d better believe I’d recognize Heather Gay’s pink terry clutch anywhere. And while you won’t be getting your hands on her jumpsuit, if you love the bag, you can get that shipped to you Express, just in time for Christmas.

The Realest Housewife,

Big Blonde Hair

Click Here to Shop her Bottega Veneta Clutch in Pink or Purple

Click Here for a Fab Amazon Style Stealer

Click Here to See her Express Jumpsuit

Originally posted at: Heather Gay’s Pink Jumpsuit & Clutch

Heather Gay’s Pink Jumpsuit & Clutch

Real Housewives of Salt Lake City Season 3 Episode 11

Going into this episode of the Real Housewives of Salt Lake City, I can barely remember who is fighting with who! And then, just when I thought it couldn’t get more confusing, all of the ladies put blonde wigs on for a super random Marilyn Monroe party! I could barely tell who was who, but you’d better believe I’d recognize Heather Gay’s pink terry clutch anywhere. And while you won’t be getting your hands on her jumpsuit, if you love the bag, you can get that shipped to you Express, just in time for Christmas.

The Realest Housewife,

Big Blonde Hair

Click Here to Shop her Bottega Veneta Clutch in Pink or Purple

Click Here for a Fab Amazon Style Stealer

Click Here to See her Express Jumpsuit

Originally posted at: Heather Gay’s Pink Jumpsuit & Clutch

As a dating coach, I frequently hear this question: “Andrea, why am I still single? I’m successful, have plenty of friends, a solid social life and interests, and when I put my mind to something, I generally accomplish it.”

So, what is the real reason? Actually, despite all of the above, my answer based on 25 years of experience might sound a bit harsh. But – it’s YOU! You are keeping yourself single. Yep, it’s all you. It’s not the universe, it’s not the lack of single men out there, it’s not your age, it’s not where you live.

I know we all like easy excuses, but I prefer to be direct (graciously!) because I want you to find a loving, fun, happy relationship.

So, here are the top 5 reasons why, in my experience, single people remain single even though they don’t want to be so:

You Don’t Work at It
Yep, work. You’re probably successful in your professional life but that didn’t come from wishing it so. You worked. You had a plan. You knew where you wanted to end up and had a strategy. Perhaps a mentor. It wasn’t luck, right?

Why should dating be any different? Well, it isn’t. If you don’t put in the work, you won’t get the results.

Stuck in Your Comfort Zone
You have a routine, a lovely home, you walk your dog daily, have wine parties with your friends, etc. But, essentially, you are doing the same old, same old. You are stuck and don’t even realize it.

When was the last time you went out to do something new?

No Plan, All Procrastination

Many people think, “Next year I’ll meet someone. I’ll make it my New Year’s resolution.” And we all know how those go! Most are broken the first 10 days of January.

You need accountability and maybe a cheerleader (who isn’t a friend) to break this rut you are in. Think about it: When you pay a golf or tennis pro for lessons, you show up. When you do private Pilates or Yoga, you show up. Why? Because you’ve invested money. You took the step to better your game or health.

I ask the question again: How is dating different?

A relatively new client, Melissa, signed up with me a month ago. She’s 66, pretty, divorced for the last five years, her kids are at college, and she’s super skeptical. Her excuses?

• “Men want to date younger.” Ok, 20% do, according to Pew Research, but that leaves 80% in the game.
• “I want to meet someone organically.” What the heck does that mean? The produce aisle? Walking the dog? Playing tennis with your girlfriends?

I get monthly research from a top-notch research firm that tracks all sorts of industries. My report yesterday said that 52,876 singles in the 50–70-year-old age category signed up for online dating LAST WEEK on ONE DAY on one site alone! Do you know what those numbers do in December and January? They rise exponentially! Yep, normal people like you and me.

Back to Melissa for a second. In the past month, she’s gone on six first dates; five of which were right up her alley. She’s been on three second dates and having a blast.

Unrealistic Expectations

He must be 5’9”, slim, no baggage, athletic, well-traveled, etc. etc. etc. Ok, get over your expectations. We all have baggage, though I like to call it Life Experience. Don’t make lists of wishes. Instead, go straight back to the most important factors in a relationship: Chemistry, Communication and Common Values. So, what if he’s 5’7” and skis and you golf? Do you really want a mirror image of yourself? You’ll be bored to death.

Fear of the Unknown

Unfortunately, many are afraid of internet dating or just getting back out there in general. I have the cure – practice. If you’re suffering from insecurity about dating or just general nerves or angst, get help. My cure? 5 dates in the first few weeks will restore your faith in the dating world and make it much less acscary.

And dare I say fun? Because I hear that all the time!

Please help us improve Sixty and Me by filling out our short annual survey!

Let’s Have a Conversation:

What’s holding you back from dating? Why do you think you are still single? Are you listening to single girlfriends instead of diving into dating? What would give you the most confidence to date again?