Recently, I was having a conversation with a friend about our self-care wellness practices. You know the things we do for ourselves that feed and lift our spirits? Lately, I’ve become so interested in how other people tend to themselves when life throws them a curveball. And maybe that’s because I feel like my own go to routines have become old and quite frankly, aren’t doing the trick anymore.
And this is when I had a clear “a-ha” moment about wellness practices. We have to keep changing them up so that we may continue to be inspired, filled up, and ultimately healed. How boring would life become if we were to eat the same food day after day without any changes? I once tried a diet that required eating the same three meals a day every week for a month. I lasted three days.
Now some practices we partake in daily certainly serve us well and most definitely do not get boring. When you thrive in your practice or if you’re working to get better at one, that is awesome. My daughter is a musician who sits at the piano every single day, no matter what kind of mood she’s in because in addition to feeding her soul, it is her dream that music becomes her career. I get this and I support this.
For myself, I feel like I’ve landed in some kind of empty space. I’m trying so hard to tap in and find what it is that I need because I feel a void. What’s proving difficult is that I’m listening, but I’m not hearing anything. Has that ever happened for you? It’s like my own wisdom well has dried up. And I understand that this may just be a temporary dry spell like similar to writer’s block. This dry spell sure can lend to feeling less than whole.
So I have a practice that helps me tap in and access the place that I have a hard time reaching when everything else fails me. I take out a deck of oracle cards for some guidance. Now, there are many ways to use oracle cards and every deck is different. I am attracted to one word, action based decks. I have some that I’ve bought, some that I’ve made, and some that friends have gifted me.
I do love to light candles and incense when I’m getting ready to work with my cards. Most often, I sit at my writing desk in my room. I light a bit of palo santo wood and smoke the cards to clear their energy. I then begin to shuffle with a question in mind which is usually: what message do I need to hear today?
These action based cards have given me guidance like: dance, pray, meditate, walk, share, magic, peace, spin, love, kiss, greet, create, and ease. After I pull a card, I open my journal and begin to write. I try to associate the word with a memory, and if one comes up, I write it out. And this will usually lead to an idea for a project or something to do that day. Or maybe it will lead to nothing at all, and if that’s the case, I just try to remain open and act out the word or wait for the message.
The cards can also be used as prompts when I have nothing. This doesn’t happen often. I know there is a well of wisdom that lives deep inside of me. But some days, I need a little bit of help to access all that I know, all of the answers, or my sweet spot. These are the days that I pull out the cards.
About the Author: Bella Cirovic
Bella Cirovic is a photographer and writer who lives with her husband and daughter in the suburbs outside of NYC. She writes on the subjects of self care, body love and nourishment, crystals, essential oils, and family life. Catch up with Bella at her blog: She Told Stories