Start Within, And You Won't Go Without.

No one likes to talk about how inner work and self healing can be the absolute hardest. It's not work we normally like to share either. I do my best shadow work with fire. Actually, I do all of my best spirit work with fire. Nothing feels better to me, and helps me concentrate more than a nice warm flame burning in the middle of my work space.

Find what works best for you, or what you work best with, and roll with it.

The elements are always a good start to beginning inner work. Surround yourself in them. Allow yourself to become comfortable in the senses of the Earth. Listening to myself and getting to know myself helped me the most in the beginning of my self care journey. I stopped doing things in light of others.

That doesn't mean I stopped being kind to people, or helping people out, but I stopped doing things that weren't good for me, just because they were good for someone else. I stopped making decisions for myself that did not ultimately end with a result that made me happy. I stopped worrying about what others thought about my decisions for myself along the way and doing what I knew was best for me.

I stopped letting others hold me back.

The more vigorous part of it was, I stopped holding myself back. I started pushing myself forward. I started stepping out and trying things I had never done before. I started telling myself that sometimes we choose to do small things that we don't want to do to get bigger results that we DO want. That part was the hardest part for me, self motivation. I visited Destin, Florida about three years ago and this guy said to me, "You'll never learn to drive in a parked car.", and that always stuck with me.

You won't learn to drive in a parked car... Like, what?!

Absolutely. Correct. Brilliant. Agreed.

When I think back to that visit, I feel like what that man said was the very key to inner work, healing, shadow work, etc. Weather he knew it or not, or thought so or not. The conversation of working on yourself from within quickly jumped into a motivational speech from this gentleman, which was highly needed at the time, especially from a stranger.

Balancing oneself is the best way I've found for myself to tune into the world around me. I choose to balance myself through light yoga and meditation. I have even found that the gym is not only great for my body, but its helping me to focus, and gain patience. Which I often have a problem with both. In return, that really aides in the meditation and yoga. It also helps me throughout the day too, as it almost feels like a "release" for me.

For someone else, that release may very well be painting, or skateboarding. Maybe you draw or play a sport. Knitting and crafting, gardening, swimming, traveling, reading. You could use any hobby or activity that helps you "release" through the delves of your inner work. I would highly recommend it.

I don't like to promise things most of the time, but I feel like I could promise anyone that if you start within yourself, start with your own needs, and the things YOU like, explore the secrets you've kept to yourself, inner work becomes so much easier. Not only because you took time to get to know you, but because you've already made it through half of the hardest part at that point.

Start within and you won't go without.

Start below the surface, end up above.