spiritual self-care
New Year, New Habits, And A New You!
Many people make resolutions every year that are never kept. They make a sincere effort for a month or so, and then it just slips here and there until whatever they decided to do just falls by the wayside. This is normal, and you should never beat yourself up if you make a resolution or promise and don’t follow through. Growth is a process, not a straight line.
When I decide to do something, the first thing I do is meditate on it. I ask my guides and angels, “Is this right for me? Will this improve my life? If I don’t do this, will it hurt me or someone else? If the answers are yes, yes, and no, then I know it’s the right thing for me to do.
I do not reserve this for New Year’s resolutions. I do this throughout the year whenever I feel spiritual growth within myself or experience something that sparks change, whether positive or negative. A new year can begin any day you decide to change some aspect of your life. It doesn’t have to be January 1st; it can be any day.
Personally, I make a new “resolution” each month. At the end of each month, I reflect and ask myself if I’ve accomplished what I set out to do. If not, I set it aside and move on to something new. Eventually, I return to the unfulfilled goal, knowing that the timing wasn’t right. I don’t beat myself up about unfinished goals; instead, I send them love and leave them for later.
My most important resolution is to get closer to Spirit. I strive to understand what Spirit has in store for me and to guide me to become the best version of myself from the inside out. The outward appearance can be dressed up or down, but the true self must be healed, clear, and joyful. That joy doesn’t come from another person or thing – it comes from loving myself as it should be for you. Love yourself as you are in this moment, and nurture the new version of yourself with daily love, meditation, and surrender to your higher self.
End Your Day With A Restorative Evening Ritual
How we end our days is just as important as how we begin them. Yet this time of the day is often overlooked as an opportunity to promote our personal and spiritual well-being.
Especially when navigating stressful situations or busy schedules, being intentional about how we transition into rest can significantly improve the quality and restorative nature of our downtime.
Creating a simple, personalized nighttime routine allows us to check in with ourselves and make sure we’re taking care of our mind, body, and spirit. It helps relieve the stress of the day and sets the tone for a restful night’s sleep.
There are countless ways to create an evening ritual or routine that resonates with your spirit. The important thing is that your practice feels authentic and meets your needs. It only takes a few simple steps to create a daily practice that helps us release the stress of the day.
Whatever practice you choose, make sure it works with your schedule and is relaxing, rather than feeling like it creates more daily tasks to complete.
Choose activities that help you relax and that you look forward to. Whether it’s journaling, listening to soothing music, or lighting a candle, choose activities that help you intentionally transition from the busyness of the day to the calm of the night.
Many people complain that they don’t have enough time in their day. For them, a daily spiritual routine is a frivolous luxury they cannot afford to waste time on, yet these same people often spend hours each night binge-watching television or endlessly scrolling through their phones. This modern paradox highlights how easily we prioritize mindless distractions over meaningful self-care. By consciously reclaiming even a fraction of this time, we can nurture our spiritual well-being every evening in a way that renews our body, mind, and spirit far more effectively.
Spiritual Self-Care For The Sensitive Soul
For those of us who are highly sensitive, including psychics, mediums, healers, and empaths, practicing consistent spiritual self-care is essential to maintaining our overall well-being.
If you identify with this group and neglect the daily maintenance of your energetic health and spiritual hygiene, you leave yourself vulnerable. This can manifest as emotional, mental, and even physical health problems. The good news? You can safeguard your well-being with a dedicated spiritual self-care routine.
Spiritual self-care is about nurturing your inner being and maintaining healthy energy flow and balance. It includes practices that support your spiritual well-being and ensure that you stay grounded, centered, and connected to your higher self and the universe.
Regular spiritual self-care is also a matter of health. Research strongly supports the positive effects of spirituality on our overall health. Studies show that spiritually active people tend to live longer and enjoy better mental and physical health. For example, spirituality has been shown to correlate with a reduced risk of Alzheimer’s disease and cognitive decline.
Spirituality is associated with better mental health, including lower levels of depression and anxiety. Studies show that spiritual activities promote positive emotions such as hope, forgiveness, and gratitude, which contribute to resilience to stress and emotional challenges. It also promotes healthier lifestyles, including reduced substance use and better stress management.
Seeing The Spiritual Essence In Others
My world was turned upside down when my father was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. For seven agonizing months in 2005, I became his caregiver, managing the extreme emotional and physical toll of his illness.
Even the hospice staff, experienced in end-of-life care, commented at the time that my father was not an easy patient to care for. Their observation confirmed my own feelings on the matter and highlighted the unique challenges of the difficult karmic relationship I had with my father.
Throughout this stressful time, I held out hope for a miracle. I felt compelled to seek guidance, but unfortunately Spirit revealed a timeline of six to twelve months. This devastated me at the time, but I’ve since come to accept that arrivals and departures are part of every soul’s journey. Spirit was simply confirming a poignant truth: at some point we are all called home to the spirit realm.
Despite his resistance to any form of treatment, my father allowed a trusted colleague of mine, a master in his healing modality, to visit our home weekly for body alignment sessions. These sessions became a turning point — not only for my father, but for me as well.
During their second session, my healer friend shared an observation that struck a deep chord. He sensed an immense amount of bitterness and resentment in my father, energies he had perceived without any prior knowledge of my father’s emotional state or life history. He then offered me a piece of wisdom that changed the way I viewed not only my father, but all of my relationships: “Try to see only the true spiritual essence that is your father.”
The Common Cold As A Spiritual Detox
It is quite common for people going through a period of spiritual growth or awakening to experience physical symptoms and illnesses such as colds, flu, or other infections.
Experiencing a nasty cold during your spiritual awakening is not only annoying, but also seems out of place and counterintuitive, especially when you’re supposed to be focusing on expanding your awareness, aligning your energy, and strengthening your connection to spirit and the divine.
However, it is important to know that the onset of physical symptoms, such as a cold or flu, usually has a profound spiritual significance. Although it may seem like an inconvenient interruption or a stroke of bad luck, this type of physical setback is often an essential part of our spiritual journey, as it is a sign that we are releasing old, toxic energies in order to heal and make room for new insights and energy.
I remember a pivotal moment in my own spiritual journey when I came down with a terrible cold. At the time, I was deeply immersed in exploring my Akashic Record and uncovering truths about certain past life traumas – particularly memories of being persecuted as a witch in a past life. This process brought up a flood of intense soul memories and ancient psychic wounds that had been waiting to be processed for several centuries!
One morning, after a particularly intense Akashic meditation the night before, I awoke with a scratchy throat, stuffy nose, body aches, and overwhelming fatigue. Frustrated, I wondered why I was getting sick now, just as I was breaking through to a deeper level of awareness and karmic healing. But as I surrendered to my body’s need for rest and recovery, I soon began to see the deeper purpose of my illness.
The Self-Affirming Power Of Saying No
Are you the kind of person who has a hard time saying “no,” even when your heart isn’t in it?
Maybe you’re afraid of disappointing others, afraid they’ll distance themselves, or afraid they’ll stop liking you if you say no. Maybe your introverted side just wants to be liked and accepted by everyone, so you agree to things – even if it drains you.
I’ve experienced this myself and seen it happen to many people who come to me and ask, “How can I say no without feeling guilty?” or “If I don’t say yes, will I lose my connection with this person?
Saying “yes” out of fear, guilt, or obligation may be the easy way out in many situations, but it usually comes at a high cost to your personal and spiritual well-being.
Let’s acknowledge something important: You are enough just the way you are, and you are worthy of peace, joy and happiness. If someone truly values you, they’ll respect your boundaries, even if it means saying “no” once in a while.
On the other hand, if people cut you off because you set boundaries, they may not have been the healthiest presence in your life to begin with. True friends and meaningful relationships will respect your choices and understand your reasons without demanding constant explanations.
Over time, I’ve seen the toll that over-commitment takes. People who constantly say “yes” often end up feeling drained, overwhelmed, or even resentful. Some develop physical and mental health problems because they feel trapped by the constant need to please others. In some cases, burnout and depression set in, all because saying no felt like an impossible task.
How To Deal With Negativity And Toxic Drama
Many people today feel overwhelmed, angry, frustrated, fearful. This is especially evident online in the social media landscape. Unfortunately, too often this leads to attacks on others, including innocent people and companies.
It can be challenging to know how best to deal with all this toxic negativity. I believe it’s best to approach this issue spiritually, from a metaphysical or energetic standpoint.
Energy, whether positive or negative, grows when we feed it. Consider a plant: in order to thrive, it needs water, sunlight, and nutrients from the earth. If neglected, it will wither. The same principle applies to our interactions with the world around us: by paying attention to something, we feed it with our energy.
This is crucial to remember when dealing with any kind of negativity, both online and in person. To thrive energetically, we must be selective about who and what we pay attention to.
Huna, an ancient Hawaiian spiritual tradition, teaches that energy flows where attention goes. Every time we choose where to direct our energy, we’re making an active choice about what we want to grow in our lives. When we respond to negativity – whether with anger, defensiveness, or frustration – we end up reinforcing the very things we want to avoid. To maintain peace and harmony, huna advises focusing on positive intentions and constructive energy.
By giving toxic energy thieves our attention, we allow their negaivity to take root in our hearts and minds. Feeding negativity or drama only strengthens it, which ultimately affects our own well-being. When we consciously choose to withdraw our energy from negative influences and redirect it to uplifting and positive areas, we create an environment where peace and growth can flourish.