Tag: balance

Super Blue Blood Moon Reflections

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Hello my gorgeous blogging community, how I’ve missed thee!!

I have had so many things pop up since the last full moon, and I’m so grateful to be able to write and share with you all again.

As many of you know, I have switched gears on my blog to writing only during/ after a full moon, so that I can keep my writing feeling inspired, rather than like a chore. My two day a week endeavor was starting to feel mundane, so I cut it down significantly.

But here’s what: we have a lot to discuss!!

I want to talk about a big topic this month, with many nuances beneath it. Let’s discuss ENERGY!

Since our last full moon, I’ve been making major energetic shifts within my business and personal life. I’ve been focusing on dating more, drinking less, expanding my business opportunities, and narrowing my focus to only entrepreneurs. WOWEE!

But let’s get to the nitty gritty of what all of this means:

I have decided to put myself FIRST.

2018 has been full of lessons already, but the key point is that I started with the intention of creating more space for my Craft and my mental well being, so that I could fully prosper as a powerful witch and help others do so in the process. And that is how every goal should start: with intention.

Now, my clients know this very well, but what comes next is the scary part.

Destruction.

A lot of negative habits had to be destroyed in the process, and I feel like many of them have come to a close with this Full Moon.

The theme of this Full Moon is a tying of loose ends. The feelings that were stirred up since the August 2017 solar eclipse have come to a sort of resolution, and for me that meant minor self sabotage in both my business and personal affairs. And while they exist on a much smaller scale than a few years ago, we can always stand to improve, right?

First off, I have erected FIRM boundaries in my business. For too long I have been lax with clients, and even potential clients, for fear of losing them, but it took a real kick in the pants to practice what I preach and set rules for how I run my biz. I applied how I use boundaries in my day to day relationships and put them to use at WW, and the results I have seen are AMAZING. I wrote out a Mission Statement and Business Commandments and keep them in my planner so they are at the forefront of my mind.

Second, I have been working hard on cutting down on drinking. I have always been a social butterfly, and going out and enjoying a drink has been a regular part of my life. But I’m finding that, more than it being enjoyable, it has become a chore and a form of self sabotage, and while it doesn’t look like what it used to, Shawn 2.0 just isn’t here for it. It’s going to be a journey, but my intention is behind mindfulness 100% in 2018.

I always find that being honest in your journey and focusing on what really needs healing is the only way to get lasting results. Cutting corners and racing to the finish line is never going to make you feel fulfilled at the end of the day. So I hope my transparency doesn’t scare you, but rather inspires you to be honest with what you TRULY need to work on. Cuz honey, there’s always something.

So since I’ve been traveling through my destruction stages (The Tower and The Devil have been Tarot stalking me) I have kept my sights on the light at the end of the tunnel. I’ve already seen fantastic bouts of abundance as I work honestly through my “up-leveling” and can’t wait to see what’s in store the next go-around! I have manifested a speaking opportunity on a Summit of over 1500 women, a feature in a print magazine, new sponsors for my podcast, AND MORE. These mindset shifts are so important, and it takes guidance to stay on top of them.

So I invite you dear, to ask yourself, what needs to be destroyed today? What are you unavailable for? How can you become a better you?

Remember that transformation is a necessary part of life, and to stay witchy ( *)

 

ThursdayThinks: Bringing Your Shadow to Light

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Shadow Work is work to be done in the murky depths of your soul, but one to be unjudged and untamed as you trudge through the trenches. It is very deep and emotional work, but once you get into it, you’ll see incredible results manifesting in your life!

Essentially, when you find certain behavior distasteful, it is because there is a piece of you that connects with it, and you’ve shunned it into your shadow. Disowning it. And at the most inopportune times, it will show up and wreak havoc.

So in order to tame the shame, we have to show our shadow some compassion. A way to recognize this is by doing the exercise below:

Watch a movie or TV show in which you absolutely hate a character and try to identify with them.

Sit with a piece of paper and make a log of every single behavior you have a reaction to, and try to dissect it.

Why does that face make you annoyed? Why does that response anger you? What is it inside you that reacts to their reaction?

Keep a log of this and try to identify with the negative, and when you’re done with the movie/ show, read your findings aloud. Reading aloud honors them and shows attention.

Read without judgement and acknowledge that this is a part of you.

Then, if you feel so inspired, start an inner dialogue, devoid of judgement, as to when these were cast to the shadows. Understanding your shadow is the best way to heal it.

Happy hunting, and stay witchy ( *)

A Simple Alignment Meditation

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Alright, so you’ve been feeling out of whack. You blame it on alignment. So now what?

A really simple way to wake up your chakras is by meditation and focusing on each center of energy. Remember, energy healing is a very careful practice, so if your misalignment comes from a trauma that has affected your feeling of safety, this meditation may not entirely work for you. It can’t hurt though, so feel free to give it a whirl!

Starting by completely lying down, hands by your side, in what Yogis call “corpse pose.” Center yourself and get to a place of relaxation and peace. Clear your mind and try to let your thoughts drift away.

Then, once you feel centered, bring your attention to each chakra, starting from your crown moving all the way down to your root. There are seven (crown, third eye, throat, heart, solar plexus, sacral, and root.) Be sure to be patient with each, and envision the energy as a ball of light in their specified color.

Take your time to notice what the ball of energy looks like. Are there some that are brighter than others? If so, focus your attention on those that are more dim, and try to work with them until their light becomes vibrant. Focus on them and breathe energy deeply into the power center.

Once you have all of your chakras emitting about the same amount of energy, picture all seven lighting up on your body at once. Feel exactly what it is like to be in alignment, and  breathe steadily, but powerfully, in and out.

When you are ready, flutter open your eyes. You should feel more energized after this meditation to go about your day.

After your meditation, take note of which chakras seemed to be more difficult to work with. Is your heart not cooperating? Is your sacral sleeping? Take note of what needs work and do specific meditations and crystal work to help bring these chakras out of a dormant state. Get meditating and stay witchy ( *)

Finding Harmony Between Instinct and Ego

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Inner turmoil begins and ends with imbalance. When your intuition says one thing, but your impulses scream another, we find ourselves stuck in the crossfire, and quite often, take a bullet.

This eclipse season has been a time for great reflection and transformation. But, it is a lot of energy to deal with if you aren’t in the correct headspace to do so. So, how do we channel it and figure out what needs work in our lives?

Well, when we are constantly running into situations that end up in hurt, be it friendships, relationships, or work, it’s usually because of a miscommunication between the ego and our instincts. Our ego wants us to fulfill our desires quickly and without strategy, and our intuition is built into us as a means of survival.

When you get into a relationship or new job without careful consultation of your intuition, there’s a HUGE chance that you missed some red flags. And when those red flags turn into flame throwers, it’s time to take responsibility for the things that we’ve overlooked.

Take the High Priestess as your spirit guide. Consult with your gut before you move ahead with matters of the heart OR your pocket. Your gut is not your anxiety. It’s not your heart. It’s not your ego. It is the thing that tells you to look past a shiny facade. Take full account of what you’re actually seeing and TRUST it. If you get an icky feeling about a person or opportunity, but you hush it away because you think you know better, I’m telling you right now that you don’t.

Temperance is key in these matters. Balance between your ego and your intuition. Your ego WANTS the best for you. It wants your wishes fulfilled and to see you soar. But, like a kid in a candy store, will over look the end result of getting sick from shoveling down sweets. Your intuition KNOWS what will keep you safe, and the harmony between the two will send you vibrating higher than you’ve ever imagined. Stay balanced, and stay witchy ( *)

 

Teaching Others How To Treat You (Personal Responsibility)

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All too often we find ourselves being treated the same way by different people and we’re left scratching our heads as to why this keeps happening to us. Well, as the Justice card implies cause and effect and accountability, it shows us that we need to take responsibility for how we TEACH others to treat us.

Well what the hell does that mean? This is the question I asked myself in the beginning of my recovery. Because I had no idea what that looked like and that I just found out it existed, I time and time again found myself in unhealthy relationships. Which brings me to the cyclical nature of boundaries and values. If you can not name your core values, you can not have clear boundaries. If you do not have clear boundaries, people will go too far with you because you haven’t created a mental sanctuary of protection. And when you get hurt because of that, you lose further site of your values. This is why boundaries are so important.

I talk about this subject at length because not so long ago I had no boundaries and my life was pretty fucked up. But when I got the help and did the work, my boundaries started coming out of the ground, and my relationships of all kinds were strengthened. If you are like I was and have no idea what this looks like, let me offer up some clear cut instructions:

Step one: find a list of core values online. Write down the ones that stick out to you on a piece of paper and keep whittling that list down until you get to about 10 core values. This seems like an extremely daunting task because all of these values are super great, but this is a personalized list to find out what means the most to YOU. You’re looking for priorities, not abundance.

Step two: cut that damn list in half. Again, we’re looking for values with utmost priority in your life. This is tough, but use your intuition. Your gut will lead you to what is important.

Step three: look at the complete opposite of your value (aka your threat.) See what will come in opposition of your value and make a pact with yourself to not allow it in your life. This takes practice but this is how you create a solid and valuable life. You don’t deserve to tolerate someone or something that completely bowls over your values.

Step four: realize that you just created a boundary. Yup folks, that’s right. The ability to protect your value is the creation of a boundary. So congratulations!

Let me give you an example of what that looks like.

My top five values are authenticity, balance, courage, friendships, and self respect. From the balance area, I’ve created a boundary in which I will not over exert myself by working over 40 hours a week. I need my me time and so I have created a situation in which I am respected by my employer. If I feel like I can’t be myself around someone (authenticity,) I choose to not be around that person when I have the choice. And most importantly, if someone does not respect me, I stand up for myself because I do not deserve ill treatment. This includes shutting down my inner critic. All of these acts take courage, and a strong tribe to support you.

Through all of these examples I’ve tried to paint the picture of exactly what the boundaries/ values relationship looks like because I sure as hell had no clue when I first started my recovery. I am a visual learner, and having been stuck in a black hole of depression and martyrdom, I couldn’t see outside of myself far enough to know what a healthy relationship looked like. So don’t wait around for change. Grab a pen and get proactive. There are plenty of lists online so you don’t have to think up a value out of thin air. Get some values, create some boundaries, and stay witchy ( *)

Creativity is Healing

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Symbolizing creativity while letting your emotions shine through, the Ace of Cups has water over flowing with spiritual awakenings.

Being creative is an important part of every persons life. Whether you think you are traditionally creative or not, you possess the ability to have creative expression.

I, for one, have always been creative. As a child, I played piano for 10 years, guitar for 4, wrote music, sang, wrote stories, painted, drew, and invented made up companies and toys. My childhood was full of creation, but after a 4 year long stint with drug addiction, followed by trying to get my shit together (pretty unsuccessfully,) I lost a lot of my creative practice.

When I lived in LA, I at least sang frequently. Karaoke nights were a big thing for me and my friends. Driving in the car I would belt out my favorite songs, stuck in traffic with the windows rolled down. But moving to New York halted a lot of that. You can’t really sing out loud on the train, unless you want people to think you’re crazy.

Meeting a creative pause did a lot to me, though I didn’t know it. When you feel unfulfilled, you can’t exactly pinpoint what is missing until you find it again. Writing this blog has helped me fill in some gaps that were missing for a while.

Thankfully though, this year has been truly enlightening. I have implemented a lot more hobbies so I don’t feel like I’m wasting away in the hustle. I’m currently sewing pillows. I’m creating jewelry again. And I make a point to sing out loud whenever possible.

You see, you don’t have to have a good voice, dance well, paint well, or whatever to be creative. If you are type A and work in a corporate environment, innovating new procedures can be a form or creativity. Coloring is a form of being creative. Watching new movies and reading books can serve as a creative outlet. These things are important, and they not only can heal you when you are down, but can unlock so many hidden gems inside you.

Harnessing your inner creative bad bitch will provide your life with balance. No one should live a life without the beauty of creative expression. So turn on iTunes and dance like no one is watching. Get creative, stay creative, and stay witchy ( *)

Crying is Therapeutic

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When this card is reversed, it signifies the releasing of pain. And what better way to do that than have a good, old fashioned cry fest?

For many of us, we see tears as a sign of weakness. We spent the better part of our lives trying to mask any emotion that would trigger crying. We feel embarrassed when we cry. But why is that? Why do we steer clear of a natural response to pain?

In my opinion, the bravest thing a person can do is to feel their emotions truly. Rather than shove them deep down into the depths of their soul and try to hide them forever, or mask them with alcohol or any sort of addiction, to be able to feel your feelings in a raw way is an amazing thing. To step up and face these emotions with courage and acceptance is heroic, and we have the opportunity to do this every day.

I have definitely felt the repercussions of masking and hiding my feelings. It doesn’t work. Those feelings are tricky little bastards and they will manifest in many ways. Be it eating disorders, addictions, reckless behavior, or just plain snapping at people you are close to. If you don’t deal with your feelings, they’ll find a way to cry for help. Not until you learn how to address your emotions will you truly find balance.

And honestly, what feels better than having a good cry? Sometimes I feel like I need a purge of emotions so I play some sad songs or turn on a sad movie and just ball my eyes out. Its healthy. And although you may need to freeze some spoons to avoid puffy eyes, your emotional burden will be lightened.

So go on Netflix, watch The Notebook (I’m only half kidding) and have a cry fest. Stay true and stay witchy ( *)