#boundaries, Consciousness, Healing, Mental health, personal development

Room to Grow, Intentionally Setting Energetic Boundaries

The past two weeks have been energetically exhausting for this sensitive soul. The upgrades of light pouring upon Earth have made me feel less grounded and a bit out of sorts. Add to that a change to my routines as I train for an upcoming triathlon in August. Listening to my body, tapping in, it’s clear I need to reconnect with myself and set some energetic boundaries. Being intentional with where, with whom and how I spend my precious energy is key to maintaining inner peace and balance. Becoming more mindful of my consumption and looking for leaks, suring up my reserves and internal resources.

I love how synchronicity plays a role in my day to day life. My dear soul sister, Chrissy Marie, who facilitates the most gorgeous breathwork ceremonies twice a month with her membership group called Voyagers and hosts a podcast called “The Art of Aliveness” spoke with the same truth I was hearing from my higher self during meditations on her latest episode. I listened to it (link below) on a long bike ride/swim training session last Sunday on how important energetic boundaries are and I found myself saying YES out loud many times. The bombardment of news is everywhere and social media is constantly begging us for our attention. The human body wasn’t designed to withstand the interference technology brings to us everyday all day and our nervous systems are paying the price. To me, this noise is absolutely everywhere once I leave the quiet confines of my bedroom. I don’t have a television in my room, in fact my dear readers, I loathe television and haven’t watched it for years now. Being around one feels like static in my brain, like someone put a screw driver in the fan of my mind’s flow. Instead, I prefer to stream shows and movies on my phone or computer. My partner and I went out for lunch last week and I was startled to see a television in the bathroom stall playing the movie “Star Wars” of all things while I went in to wash my hands. We just can’t seem to get away from all the chatter, there’s even a word for it now. The interest of all the companies out there vying for our data, money and precious attention has created what’s known as an “attention economy”.

In light of all this I’ve decided to get back to basics and keep life simple. Do you even remember life my dear readers before cell phones? Yesterday I shut mine off for ten hours and it was amazingly peaceful. Chrissy echoed everything I needed to hear to give me the push to do something I’ve been contemplating for months. Since my last social media vacation in April, I have been yearning to take another one. This one will be longer and allow me to completely rejuvenate, regroup and unwind from all the noise. Plus, this upcoming race is extremely important to me. The last one I competed in ten years ago was during the lowest point of my life. I was going through a difficult divorce, battling severe mental health issues and working myself to the bone with three jobs. I was also not fueling my body properly, over doing exercise and abusing alcohol like it was water. It was a dark time indeed. One that taught me so much and began to rewire my brain to choose a more connected mind, body and soul in the months and years that followed. Just three months after that race, I attempted suicide for the first time. Thus began the quest to uncover my soul and life’s purpose. This time around, absolutely everything is different. I intend to honor myself by establishing better and more efficient ways of cultivating, nourishing and expelling my precious energy. Nothing and no one can hold me back or down, distracting me from my goals while I continue to peel the layers of me. Transformation is uncomfortable at times and I need to show myself grace.

Can’t Hold Us
Macklemore & Ryan Lewis

On this Independence weekend celebrating America’s freedom, I declare my freedom from technology and endless notifications as I detach with love to care for myself and my inner landscape.

I decide where my attention and energy goes, nothing holds me

My dear readers, this will be my last post for awhile. I need to refuel my creative juices, relax in nature and soak up the Sun without intruption. As an empath, I have found it highly imperative that I pay careful attention to my body and how I feel. The Summertime is the best time to take a technology vacation, reminiscent of our childhood breaks from school when Summer vacations allowed us time to swim, laugh and grow! Remember how it felt when you would see your friends on the first day of the new school year and everyone looked a bit different, altered and more mature? The boys that were your same height all of a sudden grew inches as if overnight? That’s what this break will allow for. Time to spread my wings, fly higher and dream more.

I leave you with this poem and a meditation I recorded a few months ago. Take care of your soul and connect with your truth. Say NO without apologies when you don’t have the internal resources to spend. We all need to slow down more often, not speed up as our world would have us believe. We have so much power my dear readers. The power of choice and how we want our transformational glory to shine. Here’s to continued shedding of layers upon layers, always changing and growing with conscious flow. Looking deep within to cultivate and nourish the magic that awaits just below the surface. This is your life, make the most of the precious time we are allotted here. In light and in shadow, always with love ❤ Namaste 🙏

Taking care of my precious energy

Listen to Prayer for my Soul.aac by Maria Teresa Pratico on #SoundCloud
https://soundcloud.app.goo.gl/ewkHX

If you’re interested in a shamanic healing session, tarot card reading, my recorded meditations and other ritualistic services I provide or to purchase any of my 5 books of poetry please click the link below or click the Services tab in the menu on my website.
For a personalized autographed copy of any of my books, please send me an email and use my PayPal account for payment.
Maria@emotionalmusings.com
https://linktr.ee/Emotionalmusings
paypal.me/tinyd9

Consciousness, Healing, Health, personal development

My Soul’s Journey, Part 3

I put the finishing touches on my latest book, “My Soul’s Journey” over the weekend and tomorrow, June 1st, I will hit the publish button releasing my 5th collection of poetry to the world! I’m so elated by what this book has taught me, both in writing the poems contained in it and putting it all together in book form. This is my greatest labor of love to date. I started sharing my writing publicly on this platform in October of 2018 and published my 1st book of poetry entitled “Emotional Musings” in January of 2019. It fills me with such joy to see the progression of the many messages I channel and how much they have helped me to heal. The more I heal, the more of myself I reveal.

Heart wide open

My journey of healing proves that love heals and that stress and fear drains our life force energy causing stress and illness. Since I have been practicing the art of shamanism, meditating, following a pescatarian diet, moving my body regularly while expressing myself creatively on a daily basis for two years now I can appreciate the major shift in wellness to my mind, body and soul’s health. Taking this holistic approach has freed me from old programming, conditioning and toxic energy. I am so grateful to have made connections with the people who have inspired these changes. Remembering my own Divine essence and my purpose in this life gets me up in the morning with a smile on my face and allows me to rest my head in peace by days end. I believe it is our basic nature to be loving, peaceful, balanced and harmonious. Unlearning the negative and toxic layers of fear, pain and suffering is the essence of our soul’s journey here.

My latest painting is a visual of my soul’s journey
Never let go of wonder and awe, surrender to it

This week I laced up my tap shoes and created  two videos of myself making noise with my feet. After I come back from a long run to the park where I sit and meditate in nature, I love putting on music that makes me feel alive. By doing this I connect to my inner child and can express what I’m feeling inside.

Get up and dance
Dancing raises my vibe and fuels the love superpowers I  share with my clients, what do you do to raise your vibe?

The day after the powerful full moon in Gemini and lunar eclipse in Sagittarius, I performed at my first poetry slam since pre pandemic days. The last one I attended was in Dallas in February of 2020. Boy, does that feel like a lifetime ago! The MC for the might announced to the crowd that I was delivered to them directly from Jesus because my name is Maria Teresa. I often get compared to Mother Teresa and the archangels which is such an incredible honor. I was the first poet to take the stage, performing “If I Were”, “Daddy” and “Look Closer” which will all be featured in the book. Here’s a short clip from the slam…..

“If I Were”

My mission here is to spread love, pure and simple. We are all made from love. Love is the only thing that is real my dear readers. Love yourself, fill your cup and drink it all in. There can never be too much love! May we all share love with one another. I believe love is the one thing that will save our world. I love each and everyone of you.

Love’s arrival is always on time

If you’re interested in a shamanic healing session, tarot card reading, my recorded meditations and other ritualistic services I provide or to purchase any of my 4 books of poetry please click the link below or click the Services tab in the menu on my website.
For a personalized autographed copy of any of my books, please send me an email and use my PayPal account for payment.
Maria@emotionalmusings.com
https://linktr.ee/Emotionalmusings
paypal.me/tinyd9

In light and in shadow, always with love. Namaste.

Healing, Mental health

May is for mental health, celebrating the many colors of my soul

Hello my dear readers, I’m back from my social media detox and vacation stays in North Carolina and Rhode Island. Ahhhhh, I feel so absolutely rejuvenated and refreshed! I had a real adventure while experiencing many hiccups and unexpected detours along the way. Life continues to delight and surprise me as I can hear the Universe whisper, “surrender my child, allow the flow”. These messages color my soul, the shades and hues are both vibrant at times and muted I others. The ongoing process of allowing myself to learn from my mistakes, when things don’t go as planned or fall apart completely teaches me to stay curious and open. Smooth waters never make a skilled sailor of any of us my dears.

Over these past two weeks I kept myself in nature’s glory, sunshibe and rain, in the moment and observed with all my senses what life was presenting me. This post is a celebration of how far I have traveled in one year since moving back to my parent’s home in South Florida and learning the art of shamanism. My hope is that my adventures awaken the colors of your own soul, ignite your passion inviting you to explore your own unique path. We are all here for a purpose and I’m continuing to uncover the depths of mine my dear readers through writing poetry, music and dance while enjoying the great outdoors! This is how I honor my soul’s aliveness!

Why do we tell others not to cry? It’s something that has always fascinated me. When my boys were young, I encouraged them to cry while their father had a tendency to shame them by telling them “don’t be a baby”. That statement really frustrates me! Crying is a signal from our body’s keen alert system to release energy. If we block, hide or suppress this important urge we are only hurting ourselves further. I intend to start a movement with the poem “Go ahead, please cry” and teach others with the poem “Hurting people hurt people”. We all deserve love, it starts from within. Once we can learn to love ourselves, heal our own wounds, we can share and give love to others. You can heal your life in this way my dear readers, I am living proof of that!

Home in my soul
Colors of my Soul
Home aura vibes
Drum solo take 1
Drum solo take 2
Be free, skip rocks with me
Blue hues of my soul
Flow like water
Drums on the rocks

May is mental health awareness month and I’m offering free consultations to anyone who’s interested in my healing services. I have a list of them in the menu here and I also provide home cleansing ritual kits complete with herbs to burn and crystals to set in the four corners of your house. Let’s practice self care, not just when we’re stressed but when we feel at our best so that our body intuitively knows how to regulate itself. We hold ancient wisdom inside our souls, follow the breadcrumbs by listening to your own body and discover your wellness.

If you’re interested in a shamanic healing session, tarot card reading, my recorded meditations or to purchase any of my 4 books of poetry please click the link below or click the Services tab in the menu.
For a personalized autographed copy of any of my books, please send me an email and use my PayPal account for payment.
Maria@emotionalmusings.com
https://linktr.ee/Emotionalmusings
paypal.me/tinyd9

In light and in shadow, always with love. Namaste.

Healing, Inner child, personal development, relationships

I love smiling, smiling’s my favorite

This line from the movie “Elf” suits me perfectly. Lately, I can feel myself smiling more often just because it feels good to activate the tiny molecules in the brain that are designed to fend off stress. These molecules, called neuropeptides, facilitate communication between neurons in the brain. Also, when I’m smiling, my brain is releasing dopamine, endorphins and serotonin aka the happy hormones. Spending time out in nature whether walking, running or riding my bike, dancing, listening to music, laughing with friends and family, writing poetry and practicing the art of shamanism is how I heal. Expressing myself in these ways makes me smile!

I was guided recently to rewatch one of my favorite movies, “The Wiz”. This movie is a reflection of how life has felt for me growing up, afraid to be who I am. Learning to express myself by believing that I am worthy and good enough are core wounds from childhood traumas both big T and little t. Three songs on the movie’s soundtrack really spoke to my soul and I would like to share two of them through their lyrics and one video that I urge you my dear readers to watch because I want you to tap into the emotion of Dorothy played by the legendary Diana Ross.

Can I Go On?
Sang by Diana Ross

Lose it?
Lose it?
I don’t even know the first thing
About what they’re feeling
What am I afraid of?
Don’t know what I’m made of
Can I go on
Not knowing?

Feeling?
Feeling?
Something tells me
That it’s more than I can deal with
Though I never knew the song
Some words still catch on
Like caring and sharing
Being together no matter

Can I go on
Not knowing?
Don’t know what I’m made of
Why am I afraid of feeling?
Feeling?
If I dare to take a chance
Would someone lead me?

Believe in Yourself
Sang by Lena Horne

If you believe within your heart you’ll know
That no one can change
The path that you must go
Believe what you feel
And know you’re rights because
The time will come around
When you’ll say it’s yours

Believe that you can go home
Believe you can float on air
Yes, click your heels three times
If you believe
Oh, then you’ll be there
That’s why I want you to
Believe in yourself, yes

Right from the start
You got to believe, believe in the magic
Right there in your heart
Go ahead believe all these things
Not because I told you to, no

Believe in yourself, oohh yes
Believe in yourself
Believe in yourself, as I believe in you

Yes indeed, home is within ourselves, in our own hearts.Currently my dear readers, the cosmic planetary alignment is ripe for healing childhood wounds while Venus is conjunct to the Sun. We are being asked to acknowledge and release these past wounds, to close these old chapters once and for all. The objective is to feel comfortable in our own skin. This is soul integration my dears, shadow work that calls the truth in recognizing all aspects of ourselves that furthering the creation of our whole soul self. These are the poems that I have wrote while reflecting on my own truths, using self love as a healing salve through artistic expression.

I take virtual dance classes from time to time with my fellow sister in dance and soul Sophia Sabino creating founder of SopHIIT, a fusion of dance and fitness. I urge you to follow her on Instagram and take her classes. Last Sunday we did a routine to “Fix You” sang by Sam Smith. She suggested we think about the song in the vein of self healing, my favorite topic. So often we feel we need to change or fix the ones we love when really it is us who needs our own attention. This is what our soul is projecting outwards and serves a great lesson. I ask you my dear readers, when you feel triggered to do this, turn the question inwards and ask yourself, “what am I seeing in this person that needs healing within me”? I believe if we follow these breadcrumbs we are led to our own soul and can further the healing process of accepting ourselves fully, loving ourselves without judgement and feeling inner peace and contentment. Let me know how the healing process is progressing for you in the comments below.

“Fix You” sang by Sam Smith

We are in a New Moon phase in Aries my dear readers. This is forcing change, much needed changes upon us. I’ve noticed many of my fellow bloggers are stepping back from writing to take time for themselves, reassessing where their energy is best served. I too will be doing this as I travel in these last two weeks of April. First, a chance for a reconnection with my former partner to North Carolina and then to visit my boys and dear friends in R. I. As I prepare for these adventures my heart chakra is expanding, my solar plexus is healing within these most important relationships with people I love dearly. I am incredibly grateful for these opportunities. This is the crystal healing grid I constructed last weekend to orchestrate healing both myself and my relationships. The song is “Ave Maria” sang by the incomparable Josh Groban.

New Moon intention setting with crystal grid for healing

If you’re interested in a shamanic healing session, tarot card reading, my recorded meditations or to purchase any of my 4 books of poetry please click the link below or click the Services tab in the menu.
For a personalized autographed copy of any of my books, please send me an email and use my PayPal account for payment.
Maria@emotionalmusings.com
https://linktr.ee/Emotionalmusings
paypal.me/tinyd9

In light and in shadow, always with love. Namaste.

Healing, Mental health, Spirituality

The pursuit of happiness

There are so many analogies that come to mind when I think of the phrase, “the pursuit of happiness”. Our culture breeds this idea that it’s a thing to find that we somehow lost, an item to buy, a type of thing to possess that is outside of ourselves or that another person will be the magic ingredient to solve all of our worries and problems. I believe through the consumerism and entertainment culture we have screaming at us 24/7 that we’re programmed to believe we aren’t happy. What does it mean to be happy?

My dear readers, I believe happiness is 100% an inside job and the truth is that we aren’t going to feel perpetual happiness 100% of the time. Being human means that we have a wide array of feelings and emotions that alert us to what our body needs in each moment. Attending to each is sometimes a challenge, especially in our fast paced society yet taking the time to truly do so has amazing and priceless benefits.

We are coming up on a year since the beginning of the pandemic that changed our entire world. I’m incredibly grateful for the extended time and opportunity to work on myself and heal. Feeling is so very healing yet we must allow ourselves to truly feel all of it, the complete human experience doesn’t come with just the good vibes my dears. Since my Dad has passed and I have been separated from my partner, I am realizing more and more how precious we are to one another. My partner serves as the most clear of mirrors and our connection allows me to see myself fully. Lately, some hard truths rose to the surface that my ego needed to hear but didn’t enjoy hearing. I’ve changed every aspect of my life for the betterment of my own soul. Awesome for me yet he admitted to not knowing who I am anymore, that he needs to get to know and fall in love with me again. I must allow him time and space in which to do this. We are each others one true love and through acceptance of one another, I believe our love will get us through.

Life is like a freshly squeezed glass of orange juice with the juiciest bits all mixed in, not merely on top but sprinkled in throughout. We must dig deep at times to feel the most of what life is teaching us. Using the juice analogy, each container tells us to shake before we pour so we get the best of its offering into each glass. Life shakes us up repeatedly and at times it’s easy to feel all mixed up. The truth is happiness is always available should we choose to feel it. However it’s perfectly normal to not feel happy all the damn time!! Being…..just being, tapping into my skills of observation allows me to investigate all of my feelings through all of my senses. For a women who feels deeply and is acutely sensitive this can be extremely challenging. I sometimes wish I had an off switch and could just feel and process me, not everyone else around me. As an open psychic channel, my soul asked to be reincarnated this way yet it’s hard explaining this fact to others unless they have experience with it.

From the inception of this blog, Emotional Musings has served as a testimony to what life is like for me in recovery from life long dissociation and trauma. I’m an empath, an open psychic channel, a trauma survivor, a suicide survivor, a divorced mother diagnosed with CPTSD who searched for answers to find peace and healing to discover that all of my sensibilities allow me to follow my soul’s purpose and path to becoming a master shaman. God set me with all the sense settings on high and He gifted me with being able to write poems that can articulate the abundance of feelings I feel all the time.

These are my latest lessons in life that are expressed through poetry. This last full moon was a big one for me in terms of looking within the shadows to release what no longer was serving me. Healing hurts my dears and this past week I have felt every feeling and emotion there is. I’m exhausted, elated, sad, grateful and yes, happy. I’m happy to be alive and experience all of life in the skin I’m in! Tomorrow I am going to experience float therapy which I have read rave reviews about. I already know that this therapeutic experience will rejuvenate and refresh my spirit returning me to a place of balance and harmony.

Thank you so much @myjourney_sda for allowing me to share my testimony of survival to “Triumphing over Trauma”. We are all in this together, sharing our journey, challenges and gifts. We rise as one. Much love to you all ❤

Stay true to YOU
“Love is the Medicine”

In light and in shadow, always with love. If you’re interested in a shamanic healing session, tarot card reading, my recorded meditations or to purchase any of my 4 books of poetry please click the link below or click the Services tab in the menu.
For a personalized autographed copy please send me an email and use my PayPal account for payment. Maria@emotionalmusings.com
https://linktr.ee/Ladysag77
paypal.me/tinyd9