Spiritual Tools/Practices

As I mentioned in my Healing Mind and Body post I don't believe it's "essential" that you have a spiritual practice but it can certainly help to have one. I'd had the idea to do this post for a while and then I read this article by Cindie Chavez which describes how I feel about it, sometimes spiritual practices vary. Check it out here: http://www.cindiechavez.com/ebb-flow-spiritual-practice/

I find that it's no good "forcing" myself to do something every day, I just do things when I feel like it. For example, a few months ago I got more into affirmations. But in the past month or so I've stopped using them as much. I thought it would be good to share some spiritual practices and tools that I use at various times. :)

Note: You might find it useful to refer to this post on the Law of Attraction aka LOA because I'm going to be referencing LOA: https://fallingpetalsuk.blogspot.com/2013/08/law-of-attraction.html

 

Update 14/2/22: I've been getting an antivirus warning for Suzanne Heyn's site for several months now. I did contact her about it and she thought it was ok, so it could just be my antivirus software. It could be because I needed to update to "https".

Affirmations

I briefly covered these in the basic LOA post (see above) but last September I did a more in depth post which you can read here: https://fallingpetalsuk.blogspot.com/2016/09/affirmations.html

Affirmations are a manifestation technique but they're also used for raising self esteem, loving yourself and healing. I haven't been that into them in the past but found them helpful a few months ago. I created a folder of affirmations and also wrote some down in notebooks. I haven't used them much lately but think it would be good to have another go, especially since I got Louise L. Hay's book You Can Heal Your Life for Christmas (I got it last year from the library and really liked it, so I wanted it to keep). I think she was one of the first people to use affirmations for healing.

The problem with affirmations is that if you don't actually believe them it's a bit of a struggle. E.g. if you're single and lonely it's a big jump to go from that to affirming, "I am in a wonderful relationship with a loving boyfriend" or "I have a great social life". So it might be better to say something like, "I am willing to experience a wonderful relationship with a loving boyfriend" or, "I am open to having a great social life". Kelsey Aida has a good post on this subject which inspired me: http://kelseyaida.com/theinspirationalblog/how-to-use-affirmations

And here's a post from Sarah Prout about affirmations: https://sarahprout.com/how-to-use-affirmations-to-heal-your-life

I'd also like to talk about affirmative prayer. I first came across this in Emmanuel Dagher's book Easy Breezy Miracle. I've had a go with it but haven't used it much. It's something that I'd like to explore further though. It's about stating your desires but also connecting with God/source etc. Here are a couple of links on affirmative prayer (they refer to God but you can also use the techniques and pray to the universe, source or your preference):

http://www.unity.org/prayer/what-affirmative-prayer

http://affirmativeprayerlibrary.blogspot.co.uk/




Energy clearing/healing

I've got more into this in the past year or so. There are many spiritual healers out there who can clear and heal blocks and limitations and balance energy. However I would suggest not rushing into anything and taking your time to decide what kind of healer you would like to see, and then choose the right one for you. I've seen psychics and had email readings but haven't had a personal energy healing session. I have used online resources though, like From Heartache to Joy which runs free teleseminar series.

I also belong to Emmanuel Dagher's newsletter and he has sent out free clearing audios. They use something called The Core Work. You can read more about it on his site: http://www.emmanueldagher.com/

I've found these helpful. Once you've downloaded the MP3s/audios and put them on your music player, you can listen as many times as you like, wherever you like. (I have a desktop computer so it's not the most relaxing place for me to listen to something like that).

Amy B. Sher has some good resources, many free. I linked to her site in my 2nd post on healing health anxiety. Visit Amy's website here: http://amybscher.com/


And Suzanne Heyn has a post on clearing the energy body: http://suzanneheyn.com/how-to-clear-the-energy-body-and-feel-more-joy/



Gratitude

You tend to come across gratitude a lot in spiritual and self help circles. You can use it for manifesting or just feeling better in general. I never really got into gratitude as a spiritual method/practice in the past until I did Celestine Chua's (from Personal Excellence) Gratitude Challenge in 2013. I got more into it after that. I've had a gratitude journal for the past few years. I aim to write in it daily but it's less often usually.

I prefer to just write a simple list of things I'm grateful for but you may prefer The Secret method of writing full sentences, for example:

I am so grateful for my lovely new car
I am so grateful that my dad had a great birthday

Just write whatever feels right to you. :)

I also have a monthly gratitude list on this blog which you find can under the label "Gratitude List". Here's January's post:  https://fallingpetalsuk.blogspot.com/2017/01/gratitude-list.html

There are a couple of other good techniques such as "Grateful For Now and Then, which I learnt from Boni Lonnsbury. You write 10 things you're grateful for now and then 10 things you'll be grateful for in the future. For more on this and manifesting in general visit Boni's site www.livealifeyoulove.com and read her book The Map.

One more cool technique is one I did recently while taking part in the Awakened Bliss Creator Challenge. It's where you write 5 past things you're grateful for, 5 present things and 5 future. I found that a good idea.

Here are a few links on gratitude:

https://www.livealifeyoulove.com/gratitude-technique/

https://www.goodvibeblog.com/become-an-appreciationist/

https://sarahprout.com/power-of-gratitude

https://suzanneheyn.com/gratitude-changed-my-life/



Journalling

Journalling is another helpful tool. I've loved writing since I was a little girl, I like to write stories. I've also had a diary since I was about 12 where I'd just write things I'd been up to. From my teen years I've had a journal as well where I write deeper, more personal things. I've found journalling really helpful to get my feelings out, especially since I have depression and anxiety. One of my favourite books is Emily of New Moon by L.M. Montgomery and in the story Emily likes to "write things out".

If you're interested in journalling you can read more at the links below:

http://www.alive.com/lifestyle/journalling/

http://tinybuddha.com/blog/10-journaling-tips-to-help-you-heal-grow-and-thrive/


Mantras

These are similar to affirmations but mantras are powerful words often in the ancient Indian language of Sanskrit. A couple of examples are "Om gum ganapataye namaha" which clears obstacles or
 "Sat nam" which translates as "truth identified" or "truth is your name". You can use mantras in meditation, yoga, for manifesting, or whenever you like.

For more on mantras read these articles:

http://www.chopra.com/articles/what-is-a-mantra

http://suzanneheyn.com/mantras-tools-to-calm-the-mind-and-release-anxiety/

http://www.mindbodygreen.com/0-8188/5-ancient-mantras-that-will-transform-your-life.html



Meditation

I've mentioned before that I'm not a fan of meditation! lol. If you're aren't either then you might like this post: https://fallingpetalsuk.blogspot.com/2015/02/alternatives-to-meditation.html


However I do sometimes do it, mainly when I'm working through a book/programme such as Gabrielle Bernstein's May Cause Miracles or Kyle Gray's Raise Your Vibration. I tend to get on better with guided meditations, either ones you read and then go through by yourself or audios. If you're a witch/Wiccan or follow a similar path then you might have also come across the term "pathworking". This is a form of meditation. You can read more about it here: http://dreaminghades.com/articles/pathworking/what-is-pathworking

Note: It's probably best to do this kind of thing (pathworking or any kind of deep meditation) under the guidance of an experienced witch/spiritual teacher as mentioned in the article.


Here are some useful links about meditation:

https://personalexcellence.co/blog/how-to-meditate/

https://gabbybernstein.com/beginners-guide-to-meditation/

https://suzanneheyn.com/how-to-meditate-find-inner-peace-and-purpose/*




Also check out Sarah Prout's post on creative ways to meditate: https://sarahprout.com/creative-ways-to-meditate

And in this Danielle LaPorte post she mentions both meditation and mantras: https://www.daniellelaporte.com/how-i-start-my-day/


*Suzanne has a Feelings Awareness meditation which is good for emotional healing. You can get it when you subscribe to her site. I've used it once or twice but plan to use it more regularly.




My spiritual practice

It varies but a consistent one is gratitude. Although I don't write in my Gratitude Journal every day, I try to write a few times a week. It might be less than that sometimes but I don't put pressure on myself.

Law of Attraction resources are a big part of my spiritual practice. I enjoy reading and re-reading LOA books and blogs. Two of my favourite books are Boni Lonnsburry's The Map and Melody Fletcher's Deliberate Receiving. (Melody also runs the website Melody Fletcher, formerly Deliberate Receiving). Some of my other favourite spiritual and LOA books are Gabrielle Bernstein's May Cause Miracles and The Universe Has Your Back, Raise Your Vibration by Kyle Gray, Emmanuel Dagher's Easy Breezy Miracle and The Power of Intention by Dr. Wayne Dyer.

I have an Intention Journal (suggested in The Map) and I return to it sometimes when I'm working on my manifesting and doing exercises. I sometimes re-read the Gabby and Emmanuel books and do the exercises. I'm planning to do the same with Kyle's book.

I've been interested in magic/Wicca since I was a teenager but in the past year or so I've been studying and practising it more. Since 2010 I've been celebrating the sabbats (festivals) which I write about on my other blog: The Seasonal Life. My favourite magic books are The Real Witches' Kitchen and The Real Witches' Handbook (both by Kate West) and The Green Wiccan Book of Shadows by Silja. Soraya's The Kitchen Witch is a good one as well. I also got Kitchen Witchcraft by Rachel Patterson for Christmas and I recently got two other books, Llewellyn's 2017 Sabbats Almanac and Magical Housekeeping by Tess Whitehurst.

More recent tools would be affirmations and audios. I like to listen to the audios on my iPod. I've done a Yoga Nidra one a few times (I downloaded it free from Claire Obeid's newsletter) but in the future I might make it a more regular thing.



Hope you've enjoyed the post. :) Do you have a spiritual practice or any favourite tools?


Photo: Copyright Moonsparkle 2016.