spiritual practice
The Spiritual Importance Of Self-Nurture
We live in a challenging world. As true as that may be, Spirit teaches us that there is much that can be done to rise above any challenge, to become empowered in the process, and thus to manifest a better future for ourselves. One of the keys to this is self-nurture.
Why should we nurture ourselves, and more importantly, how do we nurture ourselves?
Self-nurturing is often confused with self-indulgence. However, self-nurturing is not an act of selfishness or vanity. It is simply taking care of yourself, both spiritually and physically, to keep your mind, body, and soul strong and able to meet the challenges of everyday life.
As a result, you will be better equipped to meet the challenges of everyday life and to contribute more to society.
Here are some good ways to take better care of yourself.
Feed Your Senses
Make sure that what you see, hear, smell, taste, and touch each day is mostly positive, uplifting, and as nourishing as possible. True, this may not always be easy because we live in a noisy, troubled world. But it can be as simple as reading an uplifting book, listening to uplifting music of your choice, or watching a movie that you find particularly authentic and positive.
Finding Silver Linings On The Dark Days
The sky was dark this morning. Overcast, miserable, wet and windy. Not the best way to start any day.
To make matters worse, after several very busy days with readings, I had one of those rare “goose egg” days. Not a single client called me all day!
Halfway through my shift, I realized that my mind was starting to brew up all kinds of negative thoughts. Idle hands are indeed the devil’s workshop. Fortunately, I was able to nip it in the bud by the end of my shift. The last thing I needed in this miserable weather was to plunge myself into a pity party.
Instead, I gently coaxed myself back into a state of calm, centered inner peace and gratitude. After all, I have a lot to be thankful for in my life!
I also had to remind myself that I no longer have all my eggs in one basket. I have learned the hard way over the past few years to diversify my income, and I also have a nest egg in the bank for a rainy day.
Those of us who have been on a long and challenging journey to a better life realize that having a totally negative day is sometimes a necessary part of the process of self-improvement and greater fulfillment. If things were always easy and perfect, we would have no motivation to strive for anything better.
Spiritual Growth Without Judgment Or Guilt
I recently had a nasty fight with my ex-husband that was definitely not in line with the spiritual values and principles I teach my clients. Afterwards, I felt very defeated and disappointed in myself for not practicing what I preach.
But then Spirit whispered in my ear.
“It’s okay not to be perfect all the time. Sometimes you need to let the toxic air out of your human ego balloon.”
Upon further reflection, I was reminded that we are all spirit beings in human form, which automatically means we are limited and fallible. No one is perfect in this world.
After all, we have signed up for a very challenging physical adventure in this lifetime, which means we all have problems from time to time and we all make mistakes. That is how we learn and grow. In fact, one of the least spiritual things we can do is pretend we’re perfect.
Sometimes we need to let off steam by releasing pent-up negative energies that tend to build up in our auras as we navigate the ups and downs and many frustrations of our daily human existence. Yes, indeed, there are times when we need to go ahead and just beat the heck out of our ego piñata to get rid of some bad juju! When we release these unwanted energies, we detoxify our energy field to live a more abundant and fulfilling life.
Spiritual Self-Care Empowers The Empath
Because empaths spend a great deal of time experiencing the emotions and feelings of others in a very visceral way, spiritual self-care is especially important for us.
Work, family, friends, and intimate relationships, not to mention current world events, can take a toll on anyone, but they can be especially overwhelming for the empath. That’s why it’s important for empaths to be clear about which feelings and emotions are their own and which are coming from external sources.
Empaths are often compared to sponges, as they tend to ‘absorb’ all the energy and emotions around them. Sooner or later, the empath’s energy field becomes overwhelmed with energy imprints, residue, and attachments, and cannot absorb any more.
Instead of adopting a spiritual self-care routine to maintain their health and well-being, some empaths tend to engage in self-destructive behavior or self-medicate with food, alcohol, caffeine, or even drugs in an attempt to find relief. In the worst cases, this can result in a complete breakdown or worse.
It’s obviously wiser and much healthier for empaths to find a more constructive way to recharge their energy and center and ground themselves. Also, bad lifestyle habits will do nothing to shield your aura from outside energies.
Spiritual Techniques For Emotional Closure
Spirit has taught me, from a very young age, that gaining closure with a person (where necessary of course) is imperative so that we can move on with our lives in a positive way.
After all, we cannot possibly embrace our future wholeheartedly without having effectively dealt with our past. There are three types of closure:
1. Natural closure that comes with the passage of time.
2. Direct closure that we may have with the person or persons involved and where love is concerned.
3. Third party closure when we meet someone else.
All well and good, you may be thinking, but it takes time to get that natural closure. Maybe your ex (or whoever) won’t give you direct closure and you don’t want to have to wait until you meet someone else in order to get it! But you do need a degree of closure now.
Well, spirit recognizes this and offers the two following solutions which may be of benefit to all those who need to gain closure on someone and find forgiveness, and start afresh in the shortest possible time:
The Spiritual Symbolism Of The Circle
The circle has a profound and universal meaning in spirituality across cultures and belief systems. It symbolizes a variety of spiritual concepts and offers insights into the interconnectedness of life, the cyclical nature of existence, and the infinite potential for growth and transformation.
The circle represents unity and oneness. It is a symbol of completeness because it has neither beginning nor end. This circular continuity reflects the eternal nature of the soul and the interconnectedness of all living beings.
In Native American spirituality, for example, the medicine wheel represents balance and harmony between all aspects of life, including the physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual. Similarly, in Hinduism, the concept of samsara refers to the continuous cycle of birth, death and rebirth, with the circle symbolizing the eternal journey of the soul.
In Christianity the circle represents eternity and sacred union. It is referenced in the Bible as the shape of heaven, and as the beginning and ending of time. For Christian couples, the unending circle of a wedding ring is also the symbolic expression of their sacred, eternal union.
The Misguided Fear Of ‘Missing Out’
FOMO. The “fear of missing out.” The term is typically used when young people feel envious or sad because they haven’t been invited or can’t go to an event or outing that their friends are attending. For others it is a matter of feeling driven to attend absolutely everything, including the opening of an envelope.
This mindset is spiritually misguided. Firstly, if you think carefully about what you are worried about missing out on, you usually find that you are not missing out on that much after all.
Secondly, there are much more valuable things to invest your time and energy in, especially for a young person. For example, if we don’t invest in improving our well-being in body, mind and spirit early in life, we will miss out on many blessings of joy, fulfilment and abundance later in life.
Instead of trying to attend every event or doing everything and the kitchen sink to keep up with the Joneses, it makes much more sense to create a foundation of joy, inner peace and abundance for ourselves. It is a wellspring that will never run dry. This is what one should really be ‘afraid’ of missing out on.