Speaker 1: 0:06

Greetings, my friend, and welcome back. It's good to be back here with you. All week long we've had a great time just discussing ways in which we can empower ourselves around, taking action on Tuesday or winning it all on Wednesday, trusting ourselves on Thursday. Yesterday, friday, we tackled how do you finish strong? Oh, my goodness, it's been so wonderful to talk with you and to get your feedback all week.

Speaker 1: 0:36

I'm pumped up for today's session on self-care. So we are in Self-Care Saturday where we explore ways to nurture our minds, our bodies and our spirits. So today we're taking a cosmic drive, if you will. We're going to take a more cosmic perspective on self-care. We've done this in the past. You know, I kind of like to sometimes dabble in the astrophysical Venture into the vastness, if you will, of the universe, to discover how principles of yeah, astrophysics can illuminate our inner world. And I'm by no means an astrophysicist, but some of these principles make so much sense to me that I want to share them with you today.

Speaker 1: 1:34

Think about the stars. They're constantly burning, radiating, putting out energy. Yet they also exist in this very delicate balance. Too much outward force and the stars explode. Too much inward pressure and they collapse, just like us, these stars that we admire, need to find the same. You're going to love this sweet spot, that equilibrium between activity and rest, between giving and receiving. Yes, that's what Self-Care Saturday is about finding balance. So we often hear about the importance of mindfulness and meditation. But let's look at it through the lens of astrophysics today.

Speaker 1: 2:37

Consider the concept of entropy. I know I'm taking you back to high school science right, your physics class or chemistry. This concept of entropy, the tendency of systems to move towards disorder, that's all it means. When you hear the word entropy, just as a refresher for you, entropy means randomness, the tendency of a system to move towards disorder. And our minds? Well, let me speak for me. My mind can become chaotic, it can become cluttered, just sort of littered with worries and anxieties. It can have maximum entropy, okay.

Speaker 1: 3:16

Self-care, self-care, in a way, is our attempt to counteract that entropy that we sometimes have to create pockets of order and peace within ourselves, have to create pockets of order and peace within ourselves. It's about finding our own gravitational pull, our center of calm in the midst of all the craziness, the swirling chaos of our daily lives, all of the madness that seems to be around us more and more every day, sadness that seems to be around us more and more every day. Now let's look at the wisdom of those who have gazed upon the stars. Do you know Dr Mae Jemison? She was the first African American woman to travel to space. Did you know that? And she said the universe is vast and we are a small part of it, but we're connected to it. We're not separate from it. That connection is profound. Just as the universe is constantly expanding and evolving, so are we and self-care it's about nurturing that growth. It's about allowing ourselves the space no pun intended there Allowing ourselves the space to learn, to heal, to become the best versions of ourselves. That's what self-care is about. It's not just about lighting candles and aromatherapy that's very important, but giving ourselves the space to be, to heal, to catch up with ourselves, that's self-care too.

Speaker 1: 5:13

As we think about history I know we talked about her earlier this week, madam CJ Walker, but she makes sense to discuss again here in self-care, because she built that hair care empire as an African-American female. She built a really huge hair care empire from the ground up and she faced immense challenges. She handled discrimination and opposition, yet she understood the importance of self-care, not just for herself but for her community. She created jobs, she empowered women and she gave back generously. Her self-care wasn't just about personal indulgence. It was about creating a ripple effect of well-being Stemming from her own self-care to begin with.

Speaker 1: 6:09

So how do you find your cosmic energy calm? On Self-Care Saturday? It's not just about escaping the world. It's actually about finding your place within it. It's about recognizing that you are a part of something much larger than yourself, my friend, that you're connected to the universe in ways we're only beginning to understand. Some people put it this way they say that we're not in the universe. The universe is in us.

Speaker 1: 6:46

So here's your challenge this week I want you to spend some time in nature, gaze up at the stars, connect with the vastness around you, observe a tree or a plant as if you've seen it for the first time. Connect to the trees as if they were your lungs, helping you breathe, and remember that self-care isn't selfish. It's essential. You've got to pour into you. It's about nurturing your inner universe so that you can shine brightly in the world. All right now. Thank you so much for joining me here on Self-Care Saturday. I hope you enjoyed this episode and if you know someone who needs a reminder to take care of their own cosmic self. Let your bright star shine for them and let's create a universe of well-being, of love and connection, one star at a time. Okay, now this is Dr Derek Sweet. Thank you so much for listening. If you'd like more, please don't hesitate to contact me on Instagram, on TikTok, on LinkedIn and on YouTube. I'm also on X2. Take care you.