Takeaway: Tending to your spirituality is an essential part of self-care. But sometimes, it can be difficult to know exactly how to take care of yourself spiritually. That’s why I created this comprehensive guide filled with spiritual self-care ideas. You’ll leave with plenty of inspiration for how to tune into your spiritual needs.
First off, let me say this: I completely understand how challenging it can be to find time for basic self-care in our busy lives. With the never-ending to-do lists, work commitments, family responsibilities, and the constant hustle and bustle of daily life, it's pretty obvious why self-care often takes a back seat. And when it comes to spiritual self-care, it can feel even trickier and somewhat elusive at first.
Embarking on a spiritual self-care journey can seem strange or unfamiliar because it's a path less traveled. In a world that often prioritizes tangible achievements and external validations, the idea of nurturing your spiritual self might seem intangible or abstract. It's perfectly normal to feel a bit out of your comfort zone when delving into this realm. I often hear folks say things like, "I know I should meditate," or "I've been wanting to prioritize my spiritual growth, but I never seem to get to it."
If you've been craving a deeper connection to your spirit or soul essence, but struggle with finding direction or commitment, don't worry. In this blog, we'll delve into various spiritual self-care ideas and practices that can help you feel more confident in approaching your self-care journey.
Something important to note before we jump in: It's crucial to understand that spiritual self-care is not about perfection; it's about growth and learning. It's about nurturing your connection to yourself and embracing the process of self-discovery. We'll discuss how to find time for self-care in your daily life, how to cultivate mindfulness, and how to connect with like-minded individuals who can support you on your journey. So, let's embark on this adventure together, and remember, it's okay to start small and take it one step at a time ♥️
Understanding spiritual self-care
Before we jump into the self-care side, let's back up a bit and define spirituality so you have a deeper understanding of it and also what it feels like to be disconnected from your soul essence.
At its core, spirituality is feeling a connection to something greater than your human self, whether it's to the universe, nature, a higher power, the divine, or your soul essence. It involves exploring questions about the meaning and purpose of life, seeking inner peace, and striving for a sense of fulfillment and transcendence beyond the material world. Exploring your spirituality offers the potential to tap into a higher state of being, which includes seeing yourself and others with love, living with more self-trust and confidence, and becoming less entangled in drama and lower frequencies, such as hatred, unhelpful guilt, or depression.
While physical and mental health are often the focus of self-care discussions, it's equally important not to neglect your spiritual well-being. Spiritual self-care focuses on the relationship between your spirit, body, thoughts, and emotions. It's about connecting with your inner self and exploring the depths of your being. This journey doesn't necessarily involve religion or attending religious services, as it's more about exploring your own experience and understanding your connection to the world. The World Health Organization even emphasizes that providing spiritual care (for ourselves and others) is vital for enhancing quality of life.
Neglecting spiritual self-care and prioritizing our ego selves often results in feeling burnt out or empty, like we're missing something no matter what we do. Pursuing only material interests (such as only valuing money and what it can buy) or pushing yourself constantly to compete with others are not spiritual principles. Choosing what our personality values over what our spirit values can cause us to neglect our true essence.
In the absence of spiritual self-care activities, you may find yourself caught in the whirlwind of daily life, overwhelmed by stress, and lacking the inner peace that comes from nurturing your spirit. Without that connection, it can be challenging to find meaning and purpose in your existence, leaving you feeling adrift in a very ungrounded world.
Additionally, when you don't remember you're a soul throughout your day, you're missing a crucial piece of the self-love puzzle. This can leave you with a persistent sense of emptiness and disconnectedness.
When I was just beginning my spiritual journey, I felt a tender ache deep inside of me, and I often looked around wondering what I lacked in my life that could give me a feeling of satisfaction. It took years to recognize that it was my soul essence, calling me inward and home to myself so I could refill my cup, hear my true inner voice, and be led by it. If you feel this ache, it might be a gentle reminder to reconnect with your spiritual self and embark on a journey of self-discovery and spiritual growth.
Let's look at some of the benefits of nurturing your connection to your soul essence.
Why nurturing your spirituality is important
Nurturing your spirituality is, at its core, about creating the most loving and wonderful relationship possible with yourself. It's a journey of self-discovery where you recognize that you are not just a physical body, but a soul with infinite potential. This journey encourages you to make time to receive love, guidance, friendship, and creativity from your higher self, that pure and authentic aspect of who you are. When you embrace this relationship with your higher self, it transforms almost every aspect of your life.
As you deepen your connection with your higher self, the meaning you make of your experiences shifts. You begin to see challenges as opportunities for growth and learning, rather than as burdens to bear. Difficult situations no longer make you feel like a victim but become catalysts for personal evolution. With this newfound perspective, you approach life's twists and turns with resilience and grace, confident in your ability to navigate them.
Moreover, nurturing your spirituality allows you to cultivate a profound sense of self-compassion and love. You learn to see yourself with the same kindness and understanding that you extend to others. Harsh judgments and unnecessary blame dissolve, replaced by a deep sense of self-acceptance and neutrality. This inner love and gentleness ripple outward, affecting how you relate to others, and fostering empathy and compassion in your interactions.
Ultimately, through this transformative journey, you become the most authentic, loving, and empowered version of yourself, shining your light brightly and inspiring others to do the same.
Here are some benefits you might experience if you prioritize developing your spiritual connection to yourself and choose to see it as a powerful tool for transformation:
Greater Meaning and Purpose:
One of the most compelling reasons to prioritize spiritual self-care is the deep sense of meaning and purpose it can provide. Engaging in spiritual practices, whether through meditation, mindfulness, or self-reflection, allows you to connect with your inner self and explore profound questions about the purpose of your existence. This exploration can lead to a heightened sense of clarity and understanding of your life's purpose, offering you a compass to navigate the complexities of life with joy and confidence.
Emotional Energy and Relaxation:
Spiritual self-care can be a sanctuary of emotional energy and relaxation. Life often bombards us with stress, anxieties, and emotional challenges. By dedicating time to practices that nurture your spirit, you can find solace and recharge your emotional reserves. Techniques like meditation and deep breathing not only provide relaxation but also help you develop emotional resilience, allowing you to navigate life's ups and downs with greater ease.
Connection to Your Highest Self:
Nurturing your spirituality is like shining a light on your path to self-discovery. It enables you to connect with your highest self, the purest and most authentic version of who you are. When you align with your highest self, you experience a profound sense of confidence and authenticity. You become more in tune with your values and inner wisdom, making it easier to make choices that are aligned with your true desires.
Living in the Present Moment:
The practice of spiritual self-care often emphasizes the importance of being present in the moment. It encourages you to let go of worries about the past and fears about the future, allowing you to fully engage with the here and now. This presence not only reduces stress but also enhances your capacity to savor life's simple pleasures. As you become more attuned to the present moment, you'll find joy in the small things, from the beauty of nature to the warmth of a smile.
Joy and Ease:
Joy and ease are natural byproducts of a well-nurtured spiritual life. When you prioritize spiritual self-care, you tap into a source of inner joy that is not dependent on external circumstances. It's a profound and lasting sense of contentment that stems from being in alignment with your true self. This inner harmony brings ease into your life, as you navigate challenges with grace and an unwavering sense of joy.
Surrender and Letting Go:
Spirituality often involves the practice of surrender – letting go of the need to control every aspect of your life. This surrender is not a resignation but an act of trust in the larger flow of the universe. It allows you to release unnecessary burdens and anxieties, fostering a sense of lightness and freedom. When you embrace surrender as part of your spiritual self-care journey, you open the door to greater peace and serenity.
Sacred Connection:
Spiritual self-care introduces the concept of the sacred into your daily life. Whether through rituals, prayers, or moments of reflection, you create sacred spaces that remind you of your interconnectedness with all of existence. This sense of sacredness can bring depth and reverence to your experiences, infusing even the most mundane moments with profound significance.
How to take care of yourself spiritually: 8 tips to try today
Let's look at some spiritual self-care ideas and spiritual activities that you can try out for yourself:
1) Practice heart speak:
Grab a blanket, a pen and paper, and some alone time. Take 10 deep belly breaths, focusing on breathing in light through your cells. Image each atom in your body as a little sun, like millions of little lighthouses inside of you. And then, simply ask your heart these two questions:
1) What does my soul want me to know?
2) How can I stay connected to it?
Spend several minutes here practicing deep listening and trusting what you sense and see. Look for colors, words, symbols, and sounds. You might hear words that sound just like you. Give yourself permission to practice staying open even if you feel nervous or doubtful. And then, write down everything you experience, even if it's just feelings or sensations.
By practicing being connected to your soul essence through your heart space, you can begin to find gentle ways to see beyond your current reality and gain connection.
For years, whenever I struggled with empathizing too strongly with others, my soul would whisper in my heart, "Hold your frequency," which was an amazing practice for me to recognize when I was absorbing energy that wasn't mine. Your soul speaks through the heart, and becoming aware of your heart speak can be a loving way to open up this sacred connection.
2) Use divination tools:
I highly recommend exploring divination tools like tarot or oracle cards, crystals, and astrology to receive messages from your soul essence and align with your sacred self.
For example, for several years, I would draw a tarot card each morning and put it on a small table I used as an altar with candles and stones. I would ask what my soul wanted me to know for that day, and it became a beautiful way to gain new vocabulary. In a way, my soul essence became a sweet spiritual advisor that I checked in with each morning.
3) Learn energy healing:
Developing your energy healing abilities to release and replenish your energy field is very important. By learning about your energy field and how you are impacted by your surroundings, you can learn how to shift your frequency very quickly. This is important in our world where it can become easy to get bogged down with negative energy that we might experience from others and our environment. Sensitive and empathic people often take on energy that isn't theirs, so a spiritual health practice can be extremely empowering and inspiring.
4) Use music as a healing tool:
Listening to music tuned to a specific Hertz (HZ) is considered an aspect of sound wave therapy. This essentially means by listening to specific frequencies, your body and cells positively respond. Cultures all over the world have used drums, flutes, and other instruments tuned to specific frequencies as important ritual aspects and ways to access higher states of consciousness. There have even been studies that looked at how certain frequencies restore the body.
Music is an amazing way to offer healing to cells and open the heart space. Using healing tones offers your soul a sacred opportunity to connect with you while supporting your physical, mental, and emotional bodies. To learn more, check out more information on Solfeggio tracks.
5) Practice daily alignment with your higher self:
When life feels difficult or overwhelming, simply pause in your day and express to your higher self, "Please help me see the higher meaning and purpose in my experience and help me rise to this frequency." Spiritual self-care can seem easy when we're happy, but when we are struggling, most of us forget to ask for help. Opening up your mind and expressing a desire to stay connected and supported by your soul essence can dramatically change how you think and feel. Often, just by expressing this sentiment, we can start to shift how we are experiencing our reality and come to a place of acceptance and openness rather than judgment and overwhelm.
6) Digital detox:
This is a hard one for most people, but reducing reliance on technology as a distraction will allow you to be more present with your true self. When we can't put our electronics down, this is a clear sign that we feel fear and anxiety about being present with ourselves, but it disguises itself in distraction.
We are often afraid to come into contact with our true selves because we are scared that we may feel inadequate or bigger feelings might start detoxing when we feel the loving embrace of our soul.
This is important to note: It's very normal to purge old feelings and ways of being when we come into contact with our soul. If you practice sitting quietly with yourself and you feel anxious, worried, or scared, this is perfectly normal. This happens naturally because our soul is made of love, and suffering begins to melt and transform when love begins to permeate it. We will often release old energies when we start swimming toward our soul, so embracing the detox as a positive thing is helpful.
7) Creative Expression:
I can't say this enough to adults: Engage in creative activities, go on nature drives, dance around your kitchen, and enjoy playful experiences that open your heart to joy. You can access your soul more easily through this frequency. Adults crave play and freedom, but they constantly struggle to permit themselves to make time for it.
When I began my spiritual health journey, I started to practice yoga, which helped me become more aware of how judgmental and competitive I was. It was great - and the perfect first step to helping me recognize how rigid I was and how I lacked authentic creativity. I was focused on an outcome instead of a process, which took all the fun out of it.
When we do silly things that are out of our ordinary routine, we open up our minds and hearts to play and joy, which are the easiest frequencies to access our soul on. And on a brain/sciency level, it helps us develop more neuroplasticity!
8) Intentionality:
When you start practicing spiritual self-care, it's important to state your intention and visualize how you want to feel when connected to your soul. Truly, you get to choose the type of connection and your spirit listens to your hopes. For instance, when I connect with my soul essence, I want to experience feelings of love, openness, non-judgment, and joy. By letting my soul know that these aspects are important to me, it helps her attune to me as well. When I tap into her, it feels like the best hug I've ever received. I feel safe and clear and I let go of the ridiculous pressure I put on myself to be or act in certain ways.
My advice for staying consistent in your spiritual self-care
Consistency in self-care is a cornerstone of personal growth and nurturing your spirituality. Much like working out at the gym to build physical strength, developing a deep and meaningful relationship with your soul essence through self-care practice requires regular attention and commitment.
Think of it as exercising a new muscle, your connection to your higher power. At first, it may feel challenging and unfamiliar, but as you dedicate time to spiritual self-care activities consistently, you're essentially strengthening this vital bond. Just as consistent exercise leads to increased physical stamina and resilience, regular spiritual self-care allows you to tap into inner strength, resilience, and a deeper sense of well-being.
Consistency in spiritual self-care practices helps you stay grounded and aligned with your soul essence. It provides a stable foundation for navigating life's ups and downs with grace and confidence. When you invest time regularly, you create a harmonious rhythm that allows your spiritual growth to flourish, and your connection to your higher self becomes more profound.
In essence, consistency in spiritual self-care is an act of self-love and devotion to your growth and well-being. It is a reminder that your relationship with your soul essence is a journey worth nurturing, just like the commitment you make to exercise regularly for a healthier body. By dedicating time consistently, you fortify the connection to your higher power and empower yourself to lead a more purposeful and fulfilling life.
Get support tending to your spiritual wellness
If you feel inspired to develop a spiritual self-care practice but aren't sure where to start, I've got you covered! I help people all over the world build a connection with their soul essence and maintain it through attuned practices and energy healing. Learn more about spiritual life coaching here.