Remaining Aware & Spiritually Attuned + How to Protect Yourself from Unwanted Energies

Modern life is so busy. It seems that finding any kind of balance between the mental, physical, emotional and spiritual parts of our being has become a sort of art-form and dance, as we juggle and stumble through our daily obligations, taking care of necessities, running errands, parenting, doing chores, and somehow trying to remember, that through it all, we are still spiritual beings working for a much broader purpose.

When we feel we are not in balance, even if just in one aspect, it can leave us feeling inadequate in many ways... drained, depressed, uneasy and anxious...

How are we to remain aware and spiritually attuned?

I have mentioned it before to friends of mine who have asked this very question. 

My answer is simple. 

Although I do not support religion in general, it has come to my understanding, through the growth of my own spiritual path, that in order for me to find the most balance in my life, I must practice my path "religiously" (or, with discipline).

 Discipline with my practice; Patience with myself

Discipline is my simple answer. 

Patience is my second answer when you ask how to remain disciplined. 

Like I said, it is a dance! 

Life has not always been this balanced in all areas of my life....

It has taken a lot of time to get where I am today, living the lifestyle I longed to live for so long. 

Here are some ways I 'keep the magic alive' in my day-to-day.

I hope it can help inspire you at the very least!

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My mornings usually begin with a kiss goodbye from my husband as he leans over our sleeping toddler who lies between us all night, before he leaves to go to work. It truly is a beautiful moment, and I try not to take it for granted. 

This is Magick.

I stretch, clumsily find my robe and warm, fuzzy footies and find my way to the coffee pot. (I strictly believe that brain cells do not officially fire off and begin functionally properly until that first sip of coffee).

As I turn to leave the kitchen, there sits my living room altar. It has not always been there....

But one day, I slowly accumulated a bunch of candles atop one piece of wooden furniture that, up to that point, had been used as a catch-all for the household. 

My crystals soon needed more space to be out in the open, so some were also placed there.

Soon, my tarot cards found a home there as well, as running up to my bedroom altar to grab them while my baby took naps in the same room, became too much of a risk of waking him, as it began happening more often when friends started coming by for more readings. 

So then came an altar cloth, as I always lay my cards out on a cloth.

That was sort of the birth of my living room altar, which is now adorned with a conch shell, other shells and stones, crystals and more of my sacred, "witchy" items. 

Now that I have one, it has become the center of my spiritual growth.

It is always in front of me, and so my spiritual path is always at the forefront of my brain and my thoughts. 

This, I have found essential to my discipline.

Here is what it looks like, although this particular picture is missing several of my witchy items, as they were in use elsewhere at the time, or were being stored away from curious little toddler hands.

(our little boy loves to throw objects around the house that should never be thrown....lol)

An "altar" is a space that is kept sacred, for the purpose of giving focus to one's spiritual practice, usually adorned with items of meaning for magickal purpose and focus.

 Such as, items relevant to the elements of earth, gods & goddesses, as well as colors, candles, incenses & herbs that align with particular magickal energies needed for a particular time of the Wheel of the Year, for a  specific rite or spell being peformed, or for general purpose for opening the spiritual awareness of the practitioner during prayer, meditation, or deep thought. 

An altar can either be elaborate or simple. There is no wrong way to build your altar, although there are several examples of them all over the internet and detailed descriptions of layouts that can be found as well, that can help inspire you and get you started. Soon, I will blog on how to create your altar, as well as how to bless it and keep it sacred; just wanted to give a general description here for better understanding. 

After sipping coffee, I place a pillow down on the floor to kneel on, light some candles, light my incense and swirl it around my altar & myself (usually patchouli or sandalwood; just a personal choice), handle my crystals.. hold them against the glow of my candles and take a brief moment to admire their beauty. I touch the soil in my potted plant, sprinkle the dust left on my hands over my candles, fold my hands, close my eyes, and relish the silence. The children are still asleep, and the only sounds I hear are the sound of my own breath and the beat of my own heart. 

This is Magick. 

It's amazing how, when the world around you is still dark and dormant, the sounds of your very existence are more prevalent, and you can truly find feelings of love and gratitude coming to life inside of you, just by simply recognizing the moment, and knowing the true immensity of your being. It is said that, during the darkness of the night and early morning hours, we are closest to the spiritual world; the worlds are more closely aligned and open to one another, as the wavelengths of life and activity are essentially much slower than the busy energies of daytime. 

While sitting, I intentionally visualize a steam of white light from my root chakra (the base of my spine), reaching down into the earth... Through the floor, and through the ground beneath my home. And from the earth, I ask that her divine, powerful energy to be sent through me, via the white light, up through my spine, and branching out into my entire building until my entire body is full of this powerful, protective energy. The light expands, and forms a protective, white globe three feet above my head, and three feet below my body, encompassing my entire being in a protective barrier. 

This is Magick. 

My eyes open and I usually look up to see myself in my antique mirror hanging above my altar. I remember how I looked before... just waking up, stumbling with my pillow, eyes barely open or lively, rolling my eyes at myself as I dropped the matches or lighter for the second or third time... You know the look. 

But after my simple moment of reverence... After lighting each candle carefully and thoughtfully, waiving my fingers through their flames; after swirling the incense all around me and in the air and admiring the smoke as it dances before setting it down; after feeling my crystals, my water from my chalice, the soil from my plant between my fingers, and grounding myself to the earth as I closed my eyes in meditation... 

~My face is lifted, my eyes are sparkling with life, my core feels balanced and my aura is all but glowing~

This is Magick.

As a Witch, but also as a "sensitive" to the energies around me in general, I find it necessary and helpful to build up a healthy field of protective energy within my own energy field on a daily basis. 

This is something that has been practiced by shamans, witches, spiritual workers, etc. for centuries.

Another great way to build a protective energy around you is to bathe with

Rune Engraved Magickal Soaps

 that are created with magickal intent.

You can make some yourself (that's for another post).

Or, you can buy them.

We make some that you can find by visiting my

 Magickal Witchy Shop. 

My shop is still just a baby, so bare with me and its growth. :)

At this time, after smiling at myself for what I know I have just accomplished,  I either draw some tarot cards (as many as I feel the need for), or I simply stand, bow in Namaste and continue on to the kitchen to turn on some smooth-morning jazz, while I dance around and begin making breakfast and lunches for my little living creations that will wake soon. 

This is Magick. 

My moment has be had; I feel spiritually/elementally attuned, emotionally and physically balanced, and mentally strong & confident to start my day, and all I had to do to achieve all of this was to make myself have enough discipline to get up just a little earlier so that this could all be possible. And, if I'm lucky, I will have another, or a few more chances throughout the day to return to my very-conveniently-placed-altar, and enjoy more moments similar to how I started my day.

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I'm never perfect at following such a routine. Some mornings, there is no way I can pull this off. So this is where PATIENCE comes in. 

Know you are not perfect, and also know that life, the very simple essence of living, is magick all in itself. 

My advice is to try something similar to this routine at least a few times a week, until.. before you know it, you will not be able to start your day (or even function properly) without finding your balance first thing in the morning. This is what has worked for me. 

But what about the days that this advice simply is not possible or realistic??

For me, this is how it goes.... 

Some days I sleep too long. We stayed up watching "Atlantis", or "The 100"... or some other show we watch religiously each night on Netflix, and my body simply will not move when my alarm goes off.

When I finally jump up and realize the sun has already risen, I rush down (did I forget my robe and footies?? I'm SO cold!!!), and immediately find our cat snuggled next to the heater. She looks so warm and cozy.... So I stand there for a moment with my feet tucked under her oh-so-warm body and she begins to purr and stretch. 

I smile.

She's just this little living being, breathing and purring and is so happy to see me.

We got her when my husband and I first got together.

Oh how I love this little creature.

This is Magick.

After only about 45 seconds of having a moment with my cat, I quickly realize just how hungry I am.

So I make lunches & breakfast for everyone, and just end up eating the scraps, like the crust from the sandwiches, peels of apples.... You know.

Oh man how I wish I got up early enough to nourish myself first. And have I even had coffee yet??

But then I hear this softest, most sweetest sound on the baby monitor. It is our baby boy.. He has rolled over, face against the monitor and his every breath is like the whisper of angels to my ears. 

I smile.

He is so sweet and loving. He is my everything.

How lucky we are to have him....

This is Magick. 

Halfway through and not anywhere near finished with my current task, my baby boy whimpers in the  monitor, babbling as he does when he first awakes, and his older sister is fumbling around the bathroom, and is saying something... but it is all just mumbles in the monitor.

When I get up the stairs, 

I find them both in my bed, and she is comforting her baby brother as he wakes.... 

I smile. 

This is Magick.

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The moments in which we can find beauty in the mundane or daily routines of our lives, are all Magick.

My hopes is to encourage the thought that, 

if we try hard, every day (religiously) to not take one moment for granted, it is in these small and fleeting moments that we can find the broader purpose, and the real reasons we do all the things that we do.

So I didn't thank the Gods and Goddesses, or great spirits while in deep meditation in front of my altar every day this week... That does not make me any less aware, or attuned.
I was still sure to relish the Magick of each moment as often as possible.

The rest of the day follows.... 

 I notice the birds landing in our garden as I shuffle the kids out of the door to go to school, 

The ducks that waddle along the road on the way to the store,

The ravens that like to perch on the tops of the light poles in the parking lots,

The sudden pick up of the wind and swirl of the leaves as I pass the lake,

The giggle of my children on any given day,

and all the moments that make me smile.

These are moments filled with Magick.

We just have to be the ones to recognize it.

Once you do, and with discipline & patience with yourself,

~*~ You, too, can know balance ~*~

Do you have any techniques that work for you?

I would love to read about them!

With Love, 

MoonsWay )O(