HOL Ravenclaw

Going into the forest left you with more questions than answers. The stillness of it all was unsettling. Your thoughts are an organized mess, much like the forest before you. You wrack your brain, waiting for something to come to you as you stare down at your trusty notepad.

What you know so far is that there is something about the forest that needs dissecting, but you don’t know what it is quite yet or where this oddness is coming from.

You tap your pen on the table, trying to find a way to connect the dots. You sigh and shake your head, This case is scrambling my senses.

Task:
So far, things are feeling a bit jumbled up. Unscramble the following words:
1. guerfe
2. nalanuurat
3. sutbel
4. dumsge
5. iseugdis
6. smylobs
7. ropew
8. gandre
9. retioilzaan
10. fetsay
11. turren
12. pttorcnioeo
13. trceses
14. endidh
15. sioullin
Please send your solutions as a Private Message at the Roost to Katherine Laurier with the subject “Week Three - Task 07. - “All A Blur”. Each correct answer will give you one bean.

Alternatively, in at least 125 words, write about how you unwind, relax, and clear your mind during times of confusion.

This task is worth 15 beans/sapphires. You can earn an additional 10 bonus beans for completing all Week Three tasks by Friday, October 31st, at 11:59 PM (HOL time).

Upon completion of this task, an additional “task” in the form of a symbol or puzzle will be sent to you by me, Katherine Laurier, through Private Message within 24 hours. You can accomplish this as a means of earning more beans and sapphires, however this is not required for you to complete, just like any other “regular” task. Alternatives for the symbol/puzzle may be requested through the same Private Message. For more detailed information, feel free to check Information and Questions or ask me a question through PM!

During times of confusion, I unwind, relax, and clear my mind by sleeping if I am sufficiently tired or going for a walk in nature. Both help to relax my brain, calm my nerves, and soothe my senses.
I have also found that when a quicker alternative is required, floral teas such as that of lavender and chamomile can help in relaxation. Both are known to have excellent calming properties. Lavender is also understandably an ingredient in the Sleeping Draught of the wizarding world. Muggles manage to use the properties of lavender through lavender oils, perfumes, and extract, besides floral teas. I have found that anointing the nose and forehead with a few drops of lavender essential oil can have a profound calming effect on the nerves. Putting a few drops on the pillow also helps one sleep faster. The fragrance of lavender is a soothing and relaxing one. The purple flower by itself is also a treat to look at.
Another thing that also helps me is cleansing my place with sage and smudging the objects around me with its smoke. Sage is known to drive away evil spirits and cleanse negative energies. I have found it useful to clear my mind and calm me down by taking away my anxieties, worries, and fears.
Reiki healing can also help calm the mind.
Some sound frequencies also help relax, such as alpha waves which help us concentrate, and delta and theta frequencies which help us calm down and drift off to sleep.
Box breathing, meditation, and a virtual but guided body scan of oneself aimed at progressive muscle relaxation also helps one calm one's nerves.
I employ one or more of the above methods, depending upon availability, to soothe, relax, and clear my mind during times of confusion.

It depends on what is readily available when I need to unwind, relax, and clear my mind. My go-to will always be music, though I can occasionally get a little too engrossed in it and lose a large chunk of time listening to my favorite songs. If music isn't an option, I usually opt for mint-flavored gum, which has benefits. Still, I use it for something I can focus on, so I'm not focusing on anything unrelated to the tasks at hand, or if there's a negative aspect, then I try to use it to not focus on that. If it's something I can procrastinate a bit from, then I'd choose a prolonged activity, like maybe watching an episode of a show. If all else fails, breathing exercises have helped me previously.