When I asked my guides which topic people needed to hear about, I heard ‘self-care.’ At first, I rolled my eyes and was like, oh geez, not another self-care article! I feel like that’s such a burned-out topic these days since it’s everywhere. But my guides said I needed to talk specifically about ‘spiritual self-care.’ My ears perked up! I thought, ok, this is good stuff. Tell me more!
What Does Self-Care Mean from a Spiritual Perspective?
Caring for and loving your soul. It’s paying attention to and caring for something that you may not be in touch with every minute of the day. Many of us become aware of our physical bodies when we are hungry or have pain or have to use the restroom. We become aware of our mental bodies when we experience stress or confusion or misunderstanding. We experience our emotional bodies when we get our feelings hurt or see a cute commercial. But we also have our spiritual bodies that need to be fed and tended to just like the other bodies. This is your innermost body, so whatever you do to nurture this body reflects outward all the way to your entire aura.
Spending time listening to your heart and intuition radiates love from your spirit out into your physical body and then your emotional body and then your mental body. Spirit is within you and all around you. It is what connects us to the Earth, to each other, and the world around us. As within and so without. Each body affects each other, so it’s important to care for all your bodies to sustain balance and homeostasis. Many people only pay attention to their physical bodies but many times our physical ailments are a direct result of an imbalance in one of our other bodies. Therefore, to feel healthy and balanced, we need to work out our bodies from the inside out.
What Are Some Ways You Can Practice Spiritual Self-Care?
All of this made total sense to me when I heard it! As I’m writing this, I’m thinking of my own life and asking myself, am I paying enough attention to my spiritual body throughout each day? What are some easy ways I can easily check-in and see what my spirit needs?
Love Yourself. This sounds easier said than done sometimes. I know for me at one point in my life that was really difficult for me to say, much less believe. But just start with taking time each day to look at yourself in the mirror and say, ‘I love you.’ That’s it. Just that simple act can connect you with your heart and True Self. The more you say it, the more you will start to truly believe it and see yourself as Source sees you. This is the magic of affirmations!
Meditate. This allows you to connect with your spirit and say hello! Meditation is a time to see what your spirit needs and wants. This can mean just taking 5 minutes a day to sit in silence or listening to calming, soothing music. It’s allowing your thoughts to just float away. It’s allowing you to clear the noise and clutter in your mind to open yourself up to hearing your inner voice. Practice asking yourself in meditation: What does my Inner Light need today? And then just see what comes in. You may have an instant thought pop in your head or just an instant knowing. You may hear something or smell something. You may feel emotion well up inside of you. Pay attention to all of your senses. And if nothing comes through then that may be your answer!
Find Time for Joy. It’s so important to make room every day for laughter and smiles and happiness. Figure out what brings you joy. It can be as simple as sitting on your front porch after a long day to watch the sunset or taking a bike ride through your neighborhood, allowing the sun to warm your face and the wind to blow your hair. Maybe watching your child play brings you joy. Whatever it is, do it! Make time for this. This is so important. My guides wanted me to really punctuate this point. It’s just as important as brushing your teeth!
Find Your Tribe. Community is so important for our existence as human beings. We crave relationship and understanding. We need support and love and comfort. People inspire us, motivate us to be better humans, and give us strength and courage. It’s important to be able to give as well. Giving is a fundamental human emotion. When we give and serve others, that inner spark lights up. That feeling you get when you help someone is a direct connection to your Inner Light. Reach out and connect with someone important to you every day, whether that is a mom, a friend, someone in a support group, a spouse, or even an animal!
Spend Time in Nature. Nature is Divine creation. Sometimes just sitting outside and noticing all the wonders of this beautiful Earth can help you connect spiritually. Sometimes the leaves on the trees just look especially green. Sometimes the colors of a sunset or sunrise take my breath away. Sometimes the clouds remind me of things, which can be a sign from my guides and angels. Just being in the moment and noticing all the beauty that surrounds you can not only help you connect spiritually but also helps your physical body to relax, your mind to calm down, and your emotions to lift up.
Clear Your Energy Field. Our energy fields, or auras, that surround and move within our physical bodies can get stuck and blocked with gunk. We interact with other people every day and can pick up their energies and vibrations. Many times, we may be feeling certain emotions but don’t understand where they are coming from. This is the perfect indication that emotion or feeling is not yours. You could have picked it up from someone else. This is why it’s a good idea to start clearing your energy field daily. I will be going into this in further detail in future blogs, but for now, just simply ask God/the Divine/Source/True Self/Inner Light or whichever higher power you believe in to clear your energy field of any emotions or experiences that are not yours. You can enhance this experience by closing your eyes and imagining white light from Source washing and cleansing your entire body and auric field. Other easy ways to clear your energy include wafting the smoke from burning sage all around you or using a selenite crystal wand.
Why Should You Care About Practicing Spiritual Self-Care?
Self-care begins with your Inner Light. Taking the time to care for and activate your spirituality in turn helps care for all your other bodies. Connecting with your light allows you to tune in to the needs of all your other bodies. For example, through meditation or spending time in nature, you may notice you need to rest your physical body more. When your physical body is rested, then your mind functions better, which in turn helps keep your emotions in check. But you were able to tap into this awareness because you were initially caring for your spiritual body.
I realized this the other day. I was running around all week trying to cram in a million things before going camping that weekend. Once we finally left, all I did was worry. Are the kitties ok? Is the house ok? Did we turn everything off? Did we forget anything? My mind and body were exhausted which started stirring up all these unnecessary emotions of worry and fear. Once I finally reached nature and allowed myself the time and space to reconnect back with my spirit and the Earth, I instantly calmed down and didn’t worry about a thing. I knew everything was going to be just fine and that all was well. I was able to relax and enjoy my weekend.
Spiritual Self-Care is Holistic Self-Care
The term self-care gets thrown around a lot these days, but true self-care goes much deeper than just your physical body. So, the next time you want to take a bath to practice self-care, set some intentions around practice holistic self-care. Focus on caring for all your bodies. Let the warmth of the water soothe and relax your physical body, but maybe you add some bath salts with essential oils, such as Rose or Frankincense, to help you connect to your emotions and spirituality as well. Maybe take that time to focus on your breathing or listen to a guided meditation. Amplify your self-care ritual by thinking about it from the inside out. Ask yourself, how can I make this self-care activity a holistic healing experience?
It takes a conscious effort to care for your entire being – mind, body, and spirit. But everything starts within you - within your spirit. If you just practice one self-care exercise a day, make it one that nurtures your spirit, because when you take care of your soul, it takes care of everything else.
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