Growing Your Spiritual Practice

The number one question I hear from clients starting out on their spiritual journey is “How can I learn to become more intuitive and grow my spirituality?” My experience is that the best way to do this is find a practice you can do daily and consistently, over time, that allows you to learn new information and reinforce what you have already studied. For Tarot students, this can mean a brief meditation and pulling one card a day, studying it well, but not being so overwhelmed with study that you are inclined to skip a day. Practices shift, intensify, and wane at various times in our lives. The intensity of great study will come when you have the focus and ability to do so, but you can get a lot of of even 10 to 15 minutes a day of devoted spiritual time. Ideally, more time is helpful, but that is not something everyone can achieve at all points in their lives. The basic theory is that consistent practice sets up a pattern in your brain that allows you to focus on spiritual things intensely and without distraction. The devotion to your practice helps you develop. You will need to learn how to “go into the zone” in a way that is manageable and not out of control as you experience processing so many more levels of awareness. The consistency stabilizes you and your energy as shift your paradigm of reality and process more information and gain heightened emotional sensitivity. There are often growth spurts and setbacks along a spiritual path like any learning curve, this is ok, keep going…

Breathing, Connecting, Centering…

Breathing is so important to our balance physically and spiritually. I can not over stress the importance of awareness of your breath when doing spiritual work or trying to ground and center after using a lot of spiritual energy. I had a wonderful pranayama teacher who insisted that all breathing techniques were useless we were able to breathe properly. I feel this is a strongly needed concept in spirituality today. Are we really breathing properly and do we know what that means? There are many methods of breathing but the initial stage is the most important because it allows you to deeply connect and go further from that point. I focus on my breathing even when not doing spiritual work or exercises. We are always using our spiritual energy in some form and can use the assistance of breathing awareness at various points throughout the day to balance our energy. Before getting into more advanced techniques, spend a few minutes becoming aware of your breath on all levels. Notice how you feel. Practice this awareness over time…

As Above, So Below

This phrase represents the meaning of the connecting and reflecting aspect of reality. There is a resonance between the higher worlds, and the physical plane. They mirror one another like our world mirrors the universe. When you meditate you want to be aware of this so that you know that these worlds impact one another. There are many people who feel you should work on your outer world to change your inner world, and vice versa. I feel it is actually best to use both methods. Feel the connection between your ability to impact things from each plane so that you are familiar with the energy of working in each energetically. It is really important to have a sense of wholeness and not fracturing the spirit when doing spiritual growth. Many spiritual people struggle with staying grounded. This often happens when we develop spiritually, but should not be a long lasting pattern. Just being aware of the breath can put the higher plane and the earth realm in harmony.

Earth Energy

The earth has it’s own magnetic energy and vibration which interacts and harmonizes with our own. There are some simple ways to connect and “ground.”

Being outdoors and connecting with nature is one of the easiest, but not always the most accessible. Walking barefoot is also a great way to ground with earth energy.

Mediation is another powerful way to center yourself and connect with the earth energy.  Breathing is also a very strong and quick way to bring your awareness to your body and your physical plane of existence. Physical exercise increases this sense of grounding and being in your body as well.

Crystals are very helpful at helping you ground because of their unique energetic impact on us. Minerals are the oldest known life form and have a very subtle but powerful way to impact our body, mind, and spirit. Using them on your third eye or using a crystal grid around you to meditate can dramatically increase your intuitive abilities. I think they work very strongly when placed on the third eye after doing intense spiritual work.

If you need to ground quickly to center, hold something cold, focus on your breathing, and let any feelings you have move through you and flow.

Having plants and elements from the earth in your home is another way to center to your energy.

 

 

Clearing Space

When clearing space you need to remember to clear the perimeter of your home. Many people ignore the outside areas of their home when doing house blessings or clearings. The land around your home is also important to bless and clear because it sets a spiritual boundary that is in tune with the physical one.

My favorite tools are salt, sage, and good intentions. You can do the energy clearing yourself but I recommend this only if you feel confident you can stand strong against any negative energy you may encounter in your home. If you have a severe energy issue or a haunting causing noticeable distress,  I would advise using a spiritual professional in any discipline who has experience with previous blessings, ghosts, and other extreme energy clearing situations. If you are very fearful, it is also a good idea to have someone else do the blessing. I do believe the owner of the home or primary resident should be present during the clearing because their emotional link to the property adds energy to set the energetic boundary in the ethers. If you do not have access to sage, cedar or frankincense incense is a great second choice. If you have little kids, pets, or are generally concerned about fire risk, you can use a sage spray also. These are not quite as effective but, good enough if you focus your intention and use a little salt as well. Salt can be used around the entire perimeter of the property, all doorway thresholds, window panes, corners of each room, and any additional area you feel it needs to be there. Try to leave the salt at least a few hours after the clearing before cleaning.

If you use candles, use one black and one white, or you can use one of each on each room. Start the black candle a while BEFORE the white one.  Get the black candle burning out the negative energy before bringing in the light, creating space. There are various theories about windows open or closed during energy clearing work. My personal feeling is windows closed is best. Energy work is not an exact science and other energy can enter while you are clearing out. There are many who would disagree with this, but in my experience, especially after clearing highly haunted homes more than once, is that closed windows gives you a chance to really work in a focused way on clearing out the energy in the home without interference. If the sage becomes intolerable, however, of course open the windows. Or you can take a small break and then continue. Please be practical at all times.

I recommend starting your energy clearing when you have a generous amount of time. You do not want to be rushed when doing something this important. There may be things that take more time and energy than you anticipate in the process of the clearing. There are many times you may want to clear a certain area more than once during the same blessing as well.

If you want to time the clearing with the waning moon that is a nice idea to assist in removing negative energy and preparing for new beginnings.

 

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