Your Spiritual Practice Doesn’t Have To Be Perfect To Be Powerful

I have a lot of spiritual bloggers and really inspiring woo-woo women I follow online. And, I’m sure it’s completely inaccurate, but I always imagine them as these totally together, super powerful women who have it all figured out when it comes to their spiritual lives.

I’m convinced they wake up at something ridiculous, like, 4am to meditate. Of course they have a perfectly serene morning ritual to start their day. They light candles for every full moon and know the exact right thing to say while lighting said candles. I’m just certain they’re these sublime, tranquil, totally blissed-out spiritual badasses.

I don’t want to paint an inaccurate picture of myself, so I want to make it very, very clear … I am not one of these people.

You guys –

I don’t have an altar. I don’t meditate daily. I don’t own any crystals. I only recently bought myself a special ritual candle that I intend to go on my altar, (as soon as I have one.) I don’t light my candle on the full moon. (I don’t even take a moment to see every full moon.) And, I definitely do not do these perfect rituals at each and every solstice and equinox.

Oye, what kind of proper, spiritual person am I?!!

I think the answer to that, probably, is … one of the most common types of spiritual people out there.

I totally aspire to have this super meaningful spiritual practice. I enthusiastically check the “spiritual, but not religious” box on any questionnaire. (That’s not actually a thing. But if it were, I’d totally check it. In pen. With an exclamation mark!) I yearn for a satisfying spiritual practice.

And this is precisely why I’m here. This is why I created The Seasonal Soul.

Number 1) to hold myself accountable.

Each and every sacred seasonal day that passes by (the solstices and the equinoxes), I want to acknowledge and celebrate. Seriously, for years, I’ve had on my To Do List, “Plan solstice (or equinox) ritual/activity”, as each of these days approaches. Sometimes I’ve followed through. But, too often, I don’t. Or, I haven’t … until now.

Because number 2) I created The Seasonal Soul to force myself to practice acknowledging these sacred seasonal days. To learn simple ways to incorporate their magic into my life and to share everything I learn with you. Because if you’re here, if you’re reading this right now, I know you’re yearning for an approachable spiritual practice too.

So, in the spirit of not wanting to paint an inaccurate picture of my spiritual life, I thought it was important to share a recap of the sweet autumn equinox ritual I did do this year …

I did this ritual. It was really simple, really easy, and it didn’t take too much time.

Since I don’t have a proper altar, prior to performing this short ritual I gathered a few of my favorite, empowering things. It was nice to have a little space to focus my attention, but I also don’t think this is totally necessary. You can sit cross-legged on your bedroom floor and create the same kind of sacred space for yourself.

I was drawn to this ritual in particular because of its simplicity. And, a big part of that was the plain language of the ritual’s words.

Because, let’s be honest, it feels fricking awkward speaking a lot of the ritual text that’s out there. I mean no disrespect, but I just can’t bring myself to say things like, “Mote it be.” I just don’t speak like that. It’s just not me.

It’s super important that the words spoken during a ritual feel honest and authentic for me. And what feels genuine is different for everyone. I recommend with this, and any ritual you come across, you take the general ideas of the text, and make the words your own. If you can really connect with the words you’re speaking, it will give your ritual a lot more power.

For this ritual I really liked these words:

“With deep respect and great gratitude, I invoke the presence and the power of love and light to be here and support me as I release what’s been holding me back and preventing me from creating the life I am meant to live. I call upon the Divine to witness and protect this sacred space so that I can so I can finally be empowered to let go of these things that no longer serve me.”

After creating some sacred space, the ritual involved writing down what I was ready to let go of (those negative voices in my head that create doubt and fear). Then, burn that paper to really release those things from inside me.

I immediately realized, “Wait. I can’t just burn this straight in my bathroom sink.” (Which was my original intention.) “It might leave a mark, stain my sink, make a big mess, etc. etc.” (Ritual novice, I tell ya.)

So, mid-ritual I ran downstairs to grab a pot. And, not surprisingly in my house, the pot I wanted to use was still dirty from a stew I made two nights before. It still had gunks of stew stuck on it and everything. Gross.

But, I didn’t have time to wash it, I was still in the Sacred Space I created. So I just grabbed the pot, chicken stew chunks and all, and carried on. Chuckling to myself about my dirty ritual pan. Classic.

See, things don’t have to be perfect. They can be awkward and a little haphazard. (Or, a lot haphazard, as it turns out …)

Because, as I discovered, paper burns a much taller flame than you expect.

I think its really, really wise to do any burning rituals outside. I did not. I still tried to burn my paper in the bathroom sink. I thought I was being clever (and safe) by burning my paper in the pot, instead of straight in my bathroom sink. But, it was immediately clear how one could accidentally catch their house on fire doing a burning ritual. Oye.

It definitely didn’t feel like the smartest moment in my life. But, that’s what I’m here for. To learn. And then to share it with you.

(First lesson learned: Seriously! … Do your burning rituals outside.)

Despite all the clunkiness of this ritual, it was a complete and total win that I did a simple ritual to observe the autumn equinox. I definitely felt connected to the power of autumn, to the energy of letting go, of shedding those things that no longer serve me­. Just like the trees, who gracefully release their leaves in order to evolve and grow.

Despite my mistakes, it really did feel very powerful to say I’m letting go of my old ways of thinking that I know are holding me back. And that, seriously, I am so. over. I immediately felt lighter and super empowered.

And that is the whole point here­–to tap into the energy of the seasons, and the strength within our selves, to feel super empowered to be the person who we are meant to be. To clear away the old stuff, the layers and the old ways of thinking and all the crap, that gets in the way of being our true, authentic selves.

And it doesn’t have to be perfect.

We don’t have to have these amazing morning rituals that we perform everyday. We don’t have to be these perfect, tranquil, serene spiritual people. We can be messy. We can be imperfect. We can perform our equinox rituals with a dirty frickin’ pot. (Outside, of course.)

We just have to show up. We just have to take the time, once in awhile, to connect with the Divine. To sit in some sacred space and be really present with ourselves. And we can use the energy and the power of each season to help us do that.

And we’ll just keep plugging away on this Seasonal Spiritual journey.❤

xoxo
erin

(PS – It’s not too late to do this Letting Go ritual. You don’t have to do it only on the Autumn Equinox. It’s a great ritual to do any time you have something you want to let go of. If you haven’t already, try it …)

AND! If you haven’t already, make sure you sign up for The Seasonal Souletter. Twice a month I’ll send you an email full of wonderful, simple ways to connect with the energy of the season in order to evolve your soul and grow.