Spiritual Wellness

When we talk about holistic wellness we often hear practitioners say or include a threefold notion of Wellness that includes mind, body and spirit. Although I find that mind and body are more cared for and understood than spirit.

Spirit or spiritual conversations are very taboo. People are in such a deep state of spiritual illness that even talking about spiritual topics is uncomfortable for many. Like talking about a gluten free diet to a carb addict. The suggestion doesn’t land well.

While the other two pillars of wellness have evolved considerably. Think about the physical body component of wellness and how much more we understand about healthy diet, immune responses and the gut biome just in the last generation. Urbanites frequent Kambucha bars, fermented food shops and trade bone broth recipes. Organic food is widely available and whether you’re vegan, gluten free, cleansing, fasting, paleo, or keto dieting – is something your friends ask about freely before bringing a potluck dish to your pool party.

Then think about spirit and realize that mindfulness and meditation are very new concepts in the Western world and likely also in other religious strong holds around the planet. Yoga has become mainstream and generally fills the space for “spirit” in a wellness practice maybe also combined with a short guided meditation. These concepts of contemplation barely break the surface of what it means to have a healthy spirit – it’s like we’re still talking about nutrition in terms of the food pyramid. Religion and reaction to religion still occupy our capacity for conversations about spirit. While some throw themselves into any and all spiritual practices – sound bath, yoga, Reiki, biodynamic cranial sacral, family constellation work, silent retreat, prayer circles, full moon gatherings, you name it, they are the few. And even then clear energy spaces, healthy energetic boundaries and the interlude between the spiritual realm and well being are not deeply acknowledged or understood, let alone freely discussed.

People are recognizing that children nowadays are more sensitive, maybe empathic. We hear terms like rainbow child or Indigo child. Moms look to essential oils to solve a host of problems and still some conversations about the spirit portion of wellness are considered “out there” or are met with skepticism. Until we normalize these conversation – we won’t be able to achieve real wellness. I can offer my kids boat loads of bone broth, veggies and other healthy super foods but if she has lost her appetite because of some crazy chaotic energy around her – she’s not going to eat. And then when her system crashes, she’ll crave sugar and the spiral will continue. Her energy immune system will be weakened and also possibly her physical immune system. She’ll get more bothered by the negative energy – have more side effects and behavior issues and possibly even physical illness will result.

We cannot treat mental illness and physical illness while ignoring spiritual wellness. If we want lasting wellness we have to look at the person holistically. We are spirits having a human (physical) experience. We cannot feed our children healthy meals, provide mental wellness through positive parenting practices or even medication and ignore the stones on their soul.

As diligent as I once was about organic food and healthy meals, no screen time (all very important), I’m now as diligent about sageing the house when we get an energy funk. As I prioritize this piece is our lifestyle – I see all else falls into place.

I use bees wax candles frequently to neutralize negative or toxic energy in a room. Camomile tea can calm the body of any empathic storage of other people’s energy. White Angelica essential oil protects the aura. I use essential oil rollers with a recipe of clearing oils to roll my kids wrists, third eye area, and back of their neck when we are in crowded places. If I don’t, all that wild energy can manifest in hyper behavior. And sage – sometimes there isn’t enough sage. I sage my house after an argument or bad dream. I sage after guests leave. Clutter and dust tend to hold negative energy or accumulate in negative energy areas – opening windows and diffusing Purification or Palo Santo oil in those places usually helps. Grounding is also super important as is attuning with nature. Salt water baths or ocean swims can do wonders for the spirit.

An ill spirit can look like a loss of appetite and under weight. It can also look like obesity with the body using fat storage as a boundary between itself and the toxic energy. Headaches are common for energy sensitive people. Also confusion and lack of clarity. When people get into heavy drinking or drugs for whatever reason and I believe many are self medicating for mental illness – then spiritual illness can occur. Clarity becomes lost. Confusion takes over and in some cases the spirit even leaves the body temporarily. Depression and long periods of sleep outside of normal night sleep can be associated with the spirit or soul’s desire to get away from a negative energy environment. Arguing and bad dreams can be the result of a space that is littered with fear based entities.

That old saying, “Cleanliness is next to Godliness“ is a truth I live by. Our spirit is elevated and well when our space is clear of debris.

There is so much more to creating a wellness plan that addresses the spirit and I hope we can have those conversations open and freely. Share our recipes to reverse soul crushing. Restorative meditation and anti-anxiety cures to un-crush the soul. Let’s evolve our understanding of what it means to have a well and healthy spirit beyond old religious paradigms.