Category: Soul + Grace + Comfort

6 Inspiring, Soulful and Uplifting blogs and websites

Finding good sources of inspiration and soulful nuggets of wisdom is an important part of my daily life. Surrounding yourself with things that uplift you is a wonderful way to keep a positive outlook and a balanced perspective of life. So I thought I’d share some of the blogs and websites that bring me insight and inspiration.

uplift

The Freedom Experiment – Marthe Hagen, the author of this blog is a Norwegian Life Coach who writes about life, dreams and making them a reality. I love the honesty and creativity of her writing. Her words have a way of rescuing you from low moments.

Wild Sister – I enjoy waking up to the Wild Sister newsletter on Monday mornings. It just sets me up for an amazing start to the week.  I love Jen Saunders’ writing, as well as the blog posts and articles she shares from other fascinating and inspiring women in the Wild Sister community.

Presence Online Magazine – Presence Online is one of my favourite online spiritual resources, which is why I contribute articles to them. Presence is a fresh spiritual and transformational magazine with articles from a community of wonderful lightworkers.

Tiny Buddha – This blog is packed with articles and personal stories about happiness, motivation, mindfulness and all sorts. Here, people from all walks of life share their experiences and how they learnt to apply simple wisdom in various life situations. Tiny Buddha has emerged as a leading resource for peace and happiness, with more than 41 million views to date.

DailyOM – Whether you sign up for their daily email, daily horoscope, sign up for one of their e-courses or visit their gift shop, you are bound to find something worthwhile to nurture the mind, body and spirit.

Sue Levy – Sue is a South Africa based Inspirational Speaker and blogger. In her blog, Just Pursue It, she shares her passion for inspiring women and her own life stories as part of her inspirational advice.

A Greater Life Vision Beyond Your Circumstances

greater self

I came across this quote on twitter the other morning:

“God’s plans for your life far exceed the circumstances of your day.” ~ Louie Giglio

The truth of this quote resonated with me. When we face challenging circumstances that evoke harsh inner voices of self-doubt, criticism and fear or when the circumstances of the day stir up strong emotions of anger or pain – then you don’t always remember who you truly are, let alone the divine plans that the Universe is carving out with your soul.

So how do you move from you move away from your small/negative thoughts and reconnect with the bigger vision and purpose of your life? I ask myself this question each time I face a challenge. Sometimes I’d swear that I develop amnesia in the midst of certain emotional crises or life changes. For a moment, or even day, an invisible bump on the head seems to knock the spiritual sense out of me. As a consequence, I stumble into the darkness, becoming completely overwhelmed by thoughts and the emotions triggered by the situation.

Then I remember to centre myself. The moment I connect with that space of inner peace, calm befalls me. Pieces of the big picture are put into context. Instantly, I regain my memory and I understand that my Higher Self – the Divine spark within me – has already lived through this experience. I become aware that the light of love did not create this overwhelming experience. Giving power to fear-based and negative thoughts did.

Experience has shown me that the only way out of my challenge is to work through it, one loving breath at a time to create a shift. So in a moment of stillness, I breathe in and out, releasing my fears and my attachment to the egos voice, and choosing love instead. By surrendering in this way, something powerful takes place. Taking your faith away from your fear-based and negative thoughts and putting it back into love and light allows your Higher Self and Divine Spirit to flow in and show you the way forward.

By inviting Spirit into these moments, you become cognizant of the fact that you are also learning something valuable through these trials. That something is often preparing you to play the part of the ultimate role that you’re destined to embody. It is the role of your magnificent and best self. This is part of the greater vision for  your life.

Surviving your Darkest Moments – 5 Ways to Raise Your Vibration and Connect with Your Spirit When Times Are Tough

How do you get through the darkest moments of your life? 

The moments when your heart is breaking, hope is shattered and every part of your being is aching. The moments when you’d swear the Universe has abandoned you and that the light at the end of the tunnel is nowhere in sight.

Do you know the kind of moments I am talking about?

The ones where not matter how much everyone around you tells you to be positive, that everything is working out for the best and to keep calling on Heaven for help – you just can’t hear the guidance, feel the love or see a way out….

Have you been in this place?

Whether through a breakdown because of a job that you hate, the tragic loss of love one, the end of a long-term relationship, or whatever the nature of the persona crisis is – How did you get through it?

Most people have been there at one point or another – experienced a dark night of the soul. I certainly have had my fair share of dark spells. A particular experience that comes to mind is when I went through rough patch about a year ago. I was becoming increasing unhappy at my last job and when a personal crisis was added to the mix, I felt was though I was suffocating. I didn’t know how I was going to get through each day. I was confused and naturally, since I dropped into my ego and fixated on everything that was going wrong, I wasn’t hearing messages from guides/angels very clearly.The world becomes a pretty lonely place when that happens.

When I reached my breaking point, I realized that I needed to find a way to disassociate from the drama. So I devised a personal survival plan which involved spending time each day connecting with my spirit, surrounding myself with things that made my heart beat faster and making more time to do things that brought me joy.
I thought I’d share some of my lessons. Here five things that helped me get through it all:

1. Surrender, Release and Breathe
Surrendering is a humbling experience. In moments when you feel stuck or when you have little control over what is happening, then it’s probably the best thing that you can do for yourself. Surrender your situation to the Universe and trust that all is working out for your highest good. Each time I felt overwhelmed, I would take a deep breath and surrender whatever I was feeling or experiencing to God. This forced me to stay present and live from one breath to the next.

2. Writing to Heal
Writing is therapeutic. It is a good way to reflect on your thoughts and purge your emotions. I began doing the 3 Morning Pages exercise from The Artist Way as part of my survival plan. I woke up 15 minutes earlier each morning to journal. It was the most cathartic process. I felt so much lighter and ready to start the day after doing the morning pages. Some days I purged. Surprisingly, although I waited for storms to populate the pages – gusts of emotion, clouds of anger and rain showers of tears and hurt, these storms were few. My journal pages often reflected light back at me. My inner guidance surfaced like a bright moon in the dark sky. Spirit revealed both hidden aspects of my soul and what was important.

3. Spiritual Practice Routine 
Our meditation and spiritual practices usually get disrupted when times are tough. Yet, this is when we need to stick with them the most. Having a meditation routine keeps you grounded in your centre and connected to the Divine. Make time to meditate, clear your chakras, do yoga, journal, read inspiring or insightful passages or whatever else helps you find peace, even if it is only for 10 minutes. If things are overwhelming work, then it might be worthwhile to take a 5 minutes or so during a break to escape to a quite place and centre yourself.

4. Candles, Colour and Crystals
Lighting candles has a calming effect. The energy of the little flames is comforting somehow. During a particularly challenging time a year ago, every day when I got home from work, I lit some candles and my aromatherapy oil burner, took out my watercolours and painted mandalas. I would get lost in the colours as I painted. I did this everyday for a 2 week period and looked forward to getting home each day. Working with colours, especially through art therapy, is a wonderful way to raise your vibration. The light yellows, pinks and warm oranges are uplifting, while the greens and blues are soothing. I also carried Rose quartz around with me and would rub my fingers over it and focus on my breathing whenever I felt out of sorts. Crystal energy is powerfully healing.

5. Spend time in Nature
Spending time in nature is an easy way to raise your vibration and reconnect with your spirit. Nature is therefore a powerful tool that can help us heal, not just physically, but also mentally, emotionally and spiritually. Spend time in nature as often as you can. Go out and get some sun, spend time in the garden or try spending an afternoon at a lake or dam just watching life go by. Go on nature hikes, forest walks, wild life safaris or go bird watching. Take walks on the beach. When we are grounded in nature, it becomes easier for us to connect with our Angels and our Spirit Guides so that we are better able to receive messages and guidance.

Above all, it is also important to remind yourself that you are a perfect, whole and complete child of God. All is already taken. Focus on energy of Love and allow it to expand and flow to all of the areas of your life that need healing.