Soulful Self-Care: Simple Ways to Care for Yourself Spiritually
Happy new week, dear friend!
Hope the weekend was a restful and nourishing one, considering that our topic last week was physical self-care. This week, I want to look at spiritual self-care. This is actually the one I prioritise as number one when it comes to self-care and this is just my personal preference because I see my connection to a higher source God as that which gives me my life force.
Spiritual self-care is the practice of connecting with something greater than ourselves, be it God, the Source, the Universe, Allah, or Buddha. This is normally done through faith, nature, personal values or a sense of purpose. For me, this connection does not only bring a deeper sense of peace, an understanding of circumstances and fulfilment to my life, but it also transforms my outlook on life, especially in situations I have no control over.
Over the years, I have experimented with a lot of rituals and though not all resonated with me there were some that stuck with me and I would like to share some of these in this article as an inspiration.
Finding moments of stillness
Like many of you, my days are filled with so many things that I jump from one thing to the other without a break. Using my mornings and transportation times as well as evenings before bedtime to find stillness, the quiet even if for a few minutes a day to focus on my breathing or do some deep breathing. This practice in particular helps to settle my nerves and gives me a calming effect thereby reducing stress levels.
Practicing gratitude
It's my all-time favourite, no matter where and when. There’s a saying that a grateful heart does not have time to be negative because it is impossible to focus on being thankful and being negative at the same time. I do get worried and anxious from time to time, and even when nothing major has happened, I find the basics to move me and my low energy to a place of good.
Practising gratitude for me comes in all forms, from using my journal, texting someone, saying it out loud or sending thoughts. The benefits of practising gratitude have been seen to go beyond changing one's mood. It also helps with sleep, being content in life and other physical health benefits.
When I practise gratitude I am reminded that I have never been left wanting no matter how things are or appear or end up unfolding. This gives me the assurance that everything works out so well, in the end.
Practicing self-compassion
Sometimes our biggest spiritual challenge is learning to be kind to ourselves because of past experiences and traumas however, mastering this makes a lot of difference in how we thrive and allow people to treat us. Being kind to myself is one other practice that draws me very close to my higher power.
Knowing that with all my flaws, I am still the only individual with my exact DNA in a population of over 7 billion in the world and also that I am fearfully and wonderfully created allows me the grace to be gentle with myself.
It helps me see challenges as opportunities for growth rather than criticisms and when you learn to accept you and your limitations you open up for learning and growth. Trust me there are enough people out there criticising you you don’t need to be one of them for yourself.
Connecting with nature
I used to question why people talked so much about spending so much time in nature but as I started living in an apartment complex with little to no nature around, I understood what the talk was about. There is indeed something powerful about connecting with nature and being in it has been known to have healing powers.
I have enjoyed and still enjoy long walks in the woods and especially, wailing barefooted for a bit to feel the grass or soil, stopping to touch trees or feel leaves. The impactful thing for me being in nature has been the ability to come back to basics as in my childhood when I could play with the soil and plants without care, which gives a feeling of freedom.
Reflective journaling
The last of the rituals I have developed over the years, which I want to share, is - reflective journaling. This form of journaling is a free text style, when I take a situation I am having difficulty with, I ask myself some questions and journal my way through. This practice helps me “off-load” my worries onto a piece of paper and also helps me see things from different angles.
An interesting thing for me with this form of journaling is I have connected these different perspectives to having conversations with my future and higher self, as such, the different suggestions I get whilst writing through the issues become different approaches from a better-knowing source - my future self or my higher self.
These practices have and still work for me, and I am grateful to have them as part of my daily and “as-needed” toolbox. Spiritual self-care can be a challenge because it’s not as tangible as physical self-care, but I believe without taking care of my spirituality, I would be lost and without substance and so live a shell of a life.
Without knowing where you are at in life with taking care of yourself spiritually, I would like to encourage that as we start the new week, you take some time to reflect on where this lies for you in your self-care practices.
Like all other forms of self-care, it’s a matter of trying to find what resonates with you. I hope these examples inspire you to find or fine-tune your thing that connects you to a greater power or purpose.
Have a great week ahead.
Love & light
Sheila Daisy