The relentless hum of modern life often compels us to measure our worth by our output, our busyness. My own journey as a conscious entrepreneur frequently brings this tension into sharp focus. This past week, for instance, was designated as a period of essential rest—an assignment that proved surprisingly challenging, given the deeply ingrained belief system that equates productivity with constant motion. While I cherish moments of absolute stillness, there are days when an undeniable restlessness creeps in, prompting a need for activity to shift attention from the mind’s ceaseless chatter. Throughout my earlier years, productivity was singularly measured by the sheer volume of work produced. I vividly recall my time in government fleet management, where the intense workload often demanded late nights, leaving no room for respite. This relentless pace eventually culminated in debilitating illness, a stark lesson in the necessity of pause.
My Spirit Guide, Amy North, has continuously illuminated the crucial importance of rest. As she conveyed through a trusted channel, “I cannot emphasise enough how crucial this is to success.”
Amy North: The Cruciality of Rest for Success and Flow
“People can get very caught up in the importance of work, often measuring their self-worth by how much they have produced, how hard they have worked. While working is vital, forming a core part of your incarnated purpose, it is equally important that one takes a rest. There must be a conscious pause between periods of work, allowing for crucial reflection.
What happens if you neglect to take a break? Inevitably, you burn out, rendering any further production impossible, particularly for creative individuals whose work relies on sustained energetic flow. The only way to maintain this flow is by intuitively knowing when to pause, rest, and reflect. Only then will you become sufficiently recharged to effectively handle your workload.
This understanding is paramount for Lightworkers and Empaths, for you are not only drained by your professional activities but also by the pervasive energies of others, by all the connections you process. Even when you are not actively working, you are still subtly absorbing and being drained. The antidote to this energetic depletion is to seek time in nature or engage in any pursuit that intentionally slows you down and cultivates inner calm. Meditation is incredibly beneficial. For me, it is gardening; I must have my hands in the earth to truly connect. I also find profound connection in walking barefoot on wet grass, a sensation I know many Lightworkers resonate with deeply.”
Opening the Channel: Rest as Communication
“When you actively pause and reflect, you simultaneously open a clear channel for your Spirit Guide to communicate with you. You have no idea how challenging it is for us to connect when our incarnates are constantly ‘on the go’; we simply can’t get a word in edgewise! Moreover, perpetual busyness depletes your emotional state, making it harder for you to hear us. If stress, anxiety, depression, and other overwhelming emotions create loud static in your mind, our voices can easily be lost.
I truly love walking barefoot in the grass! Yes, incarnates will indeed get sick if they consistently fail to take this time to pause and reflect. It is something needed daily. And weekly, there should be at least one day completely dedicated to unwinding, entirely free from work-related thoughts or activities. I am immensely proud of your practice of designating a Sabbath day, Steven. Ideally, you should strive for two such days, but one completely free day is an excellent beginning!
Yes, you can absolutely overwhelm yourselves! And yes, even we, on this side of the veil, can experience overwhelm, for free will and cosmic dynamics impact all. When life presents itself with numerous challenges, incarnates often fail to perceive the deeper purpose of the experience. They frequently resort to fear-based patterns to manage the event, but the truth always circles back to the necessity of setting clear boundaries. This is especially vital when you are self-employed and act as your own boss. Without boundaries, the tendency is to overwork, take on too many commitments, or expend energy in misaligned directions. Many Lightworkers are self-employed, and the natural inclination is to always be open and available to help. However, you must establish clear, designated hours for when you are available, and once those hours conclude, you are unequivocally ‘off the clock,’ just as with any other job.
It is perfectly acceptable to have weekends, to take holidays, and to dedicate time in the evenings or mornings solely to yourself. In fact, it is imperative. Pause so that you can reflect, because without this crucial practice, you will remain unaware of what you have learned, how you have grown, and you will inevitably repeat the same lessons, again and again, for no productive reason. The alternative to reflection is to simply let go completely, allowing for absolute silence, however you achieve that. This deep surrender is even more profound, making conscious reflection almost like second nature.”
Steven's Embodied Wisdom: A Personal Journey to Sabbath
My own experience working in government cemented the undeniable necessity of pause and relaxation. After dedicating years to a job, consistently working extremely long hours—from 7 AM to 6 PM every weekday, often spilling into weekends with no tangible rewards—I learned that there was no justification for investing more time in a job than in my own well-being and in connecting with loved ones. The only time I truly had to myself was during those sporadic moments when I engaged in my part-time business, working on someone else’s computer system over the weekend.
This pattern of relentless activity wasn’t new. In my late teens, I concurrently held a full-time job during the day, worked part-time nights four days a week, studied Electronics at TAFE on Monday evenings, and played sport on Sundays. There was literally no time for myself as I worked myself to the bone, driven by a need to constantly stay busy. I vividly recall a particular Sunday during a softball game when onlookers watched my face grow progressively paler. By the game’s end, I was so depleted that I needed assistance driving home, succumbing to a debilitating fever. At that stage of my life, I had no concept of pause or relaxation. It was only in adulthood, after unwittingly repeating this exhausting pattern, that the profound importance of self-care and designated downtime truly resonated.
I cannot encourage people enough to consciously dedicate moments to themselves—to simply sit in nature and daydream, meditate, listen to music, or engage in any pursuit that nurtures their being. I’ve often light-heartedly called this “time wasting,” but it is precisely the opposite: it is vital nourishment for the body, mind, and soul.
For those in partnerships, individual downtime is equally vital to the health of the marriage. Sharing time together, perhaps by collectively engaging in shared ‘daydreaming,’ allows for the mutual exploration and appreciation of peace and serenity.
Redefining Productivity: Beyond Outdated Beliefs
As someone who is self-employed, the common perception often dictates that one must “work to the bone” to earn income. This is an outdated belief system. My personal schedule now reflects a conscious commitment to balance; I do not make client bookings any earlier than 11 AM. This allows me dedicated time in the morning—to simply ‘stuff around,’ sleep in, or just relax—without succumbing to the stress and rush often associated with a traditional 5 AM wake-up and the commute to a full-time job.
My firm belief is that if we neglect to pause and reflect, if we fail to take the necessary time to embrace reflection, we will remain trapped in a self-perpetuating loop until we eventually learn the lesson. This inevitably leads to compounding frustration and, ultimately, severe illness.
Amy’s wisdom powerfully reaffirms this: “Yes, it is about knowing when to give yourself breaks, knowing your optimal work time, and utilising that time. It’s about consciously winding down your day, allowing for rest, rather than working until you drop or overbooking yourself. That is one of the main reasons people get sick: too much action and not enough relaxation. One must actively step out of the mindset that relaxation is lazy or only for slackers. No, relaxation is for individuals who care enough about themselves and their incarnation to want to achieve the best results, to live longer and happier lives—nothing more, nothing less.”
