#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

Spirituality

Rainbow clouds

Hello my dears 😁 this post comes to you from my very big heart in hope’s of reaching you all while you’re keeping yourselves cool, calm and collected in the midst of where our world finds itself today🌎 I for one have really locked into all the blessings this release of time has provided me here at home. Being free to connect deeper with my soul through meditation, sound healing, dance, yoga and writing of course has allowed all the high and low feelings to flow on through! Today I awoke with such an overall feeling of gratitude for what I do have in my life today.

Life presents us with many choices and as I heal from the trauma I once endured, I can clearly see more and more what my soul’s mission here truly is. A dear friend of mine, Lindsey Luna (aka @soul.healing.with.luna on Instagram) once told me my heart is like a vortex, I love in a big way and on bold level. Through my writing, a friendly smile and a listening ear I am here to help others. This same woman helped me heal and continues to help me on both an energetic level as well as the soul sister she is which suits my mind, body and spirit in the best way! I have decided to learn how to become a Shamanic healer under her apprenticeship by learning the art of shamanism in order to help other people retrieve their souls.

I pay close attention to what our great Universe has been nudging me towards and what God puts on my heart. In this past month, I have connected on a much deeper level with who I am inside and gained a lot of clarity on a higher consciousness level. Writing this makes me feel like getting up and twirling around with glee💃 My heart feels so much peace, happiness, joy and contentment and I didn’t get this way from anything external, it came from feeding my soul internally. It takes my breath away sometimes, the utter beauty I am so blessed to see now having obtained this kind of balance and alignment.

Of course there are others around me who have loved and believed in me when I didn’t love or believe in myself. They know who they are because I am not shy about expressing my love and gratitude directly to them. My dear readers, I am a living example of what you put into life is exactly what you get out of it. Allow the life you lead in this outer physical world to be a reflection of the life you create inside, your inner world. The people we draw into our lives are a mirror for us to learn from. God sets out to teach us through others.

This virus has created immense suffering but it has also created a ton of hope and possibility for a better tomorrow. Look for it because it is there in abundance, feed your mind with goodness and for goodness sake turn off the damn news! It’s only meant to distract from the beauty of life. We have survived before the 24 news cycle was invented and we will ALL be better off from moving away from it. I firmly believe in nourishing your body, mind and spirit with nutrient dense material. Pay close attention to just what you are feeding yourselves my dear ones.

When the weather cooperates, I like to do my daily reading, journaling and meditation outdoors. As I finished my meditation on Sunday (I had to look at the calendar to remember what day it is😉) and opened my eyes, I caught a glimpse of the clouds above me, some call them iridescent but I call them rainbow clouds. A sign from the heavens, the Universe telling me we are all going to be alright. A clear sign to hold onto faith and hope.  For those interested, here’s Google’s definition:
Cloud iridescence or irisation is a colorful optical phenomenon that occurs in a cloud and appears in the general proximity of the Sun or Moon. The colors resemble those seen in soap bubbles and oil on a water surface. It is a type of photometeor.

My creativity is blooming and blossoming! I spent time taking in God’s beauty and this gift as I choose to see it. I was raised Catholic but don’t practice any organized religion or belong to any church. Instead I have my own rituals and practices that keep my spiritually fit. On Easter Sunday I sent out a message of hope, faith along with lots of love to the ones near to me. I choose to mark that day as a rebirth and a renewal every year. I recorded this short video too.

Afterwards, I wrote this poem. I couldn’t decide which color format to go with so here are both🌈

Rainbow clouds
Rainbow clouds 🌈

I took part in a deep breathing ceremony last evening hosted by a dear friend and healer, Chrissy Marie (aka @comealivewithchrissymarie on Instagram) Oh boy did she deliver exactly what I needed through her magic and guidance. I had an outer body experience that delivered the healing my body was craving on a whole other level! I highly recommend connecting with your breath my dears. As Chrissy reminded us at the start of the ceremony, breath is the first and most important conduit, a river if you will delivering life force energy. Stop holding yours and take a nice long deep one😊

I can’t speak more highly of these two wonderfully powerful, magical and compassionate women! They have each introduced different aspects of selfcare and healing in a holistic way into my world that has impacted my wellbeing and helped raise my vibration! If anybody has questions, comments or wants to be introduced to their services, please leave me a comment or send me an email❤

For more of my poetry, check out my book of poetry, “Emotional Musings” available on Amazon

Spirituality

Lately

It’s been a rough week for me my dear readers. Obviously with what’s going on in our world and being an intuitive empath, I have been picking up on all the feelings and emotional energy of others. The following are a few quick videos of me and lastly a poem I just finished. My hope for us all.

Outside thoughts 🍃

Feelin more like myself. Taking each day as it comes. This morning as I sat in meditation, I started sobbing. Not necessarily tears of sadness or joy just a release, a  non judgemental one that took days to flow through me. It’s important to allow whatever is coming up….be it energetically, emotionally, physically or spiritually…..resist the urge to shut it down, numb out or dissociate from it. It’s all normal right now y’all. We are ALL TOGETHER AS A WORLD experiencing major life changes.

I love you all and am sending out the purest of loving intentions from my ❤ to your ❤


Brighter than yesterday 🌞

This is my latest mantra for peace, health and unity for all of us right now. For our world🌎❤🦋🙏😊✌

I hope 🙏

As always, much love❤🌎✌

Spirituality

A little bit of sunshine

Hey y’all!! I returned back here to Texas from Florida late Sunday night. I gave myself permission to rest and do nothing yesterday which is a real challenge for me having the amount of energy I do 😜 The weather cooperated however and was quite dreary with rain, inviting me to lay under the covers, snuggle with my partner while we watched movies🎬 one of my favorite down time activities.

To do list

The clouds parted and the sun was shining bright today here my dear readers! YAY, I am a huge sun lover 😉 I must express how welcoming this felt here since Dallas has been under rain storms for over two weeks now 🌞 I made my daily morning shake using these supplements. Took my vitamins, put on my work out clothes and headed into my backyard😎

Plant based protein & maca powder
Supergreens for superior health

First I read my daily affirmations, repeating them once over with my eyes closed. Then I read a page under today’s date in Mark Nepo’s “Book of Awakening” which focused on growing even in darkness. Ah Mr. Nepo, how your words hit so close to home today. I would be lying if I said that the current state of our world hasn’t gotten me rattled and worried. As an intuitive empath, the energy swirling around me affects me differently throughout the day. I am doing my best, my damndest to allow my emotions to flow through without getting stuck on the fear or sadness too much. My anxiety is amped up however, I do have CPTSD and it feels more intense lately in a new way my dear readers.

I spent three hours out there in solitude and it felt wonderful❤ I balanced my chakras using my crystal set too. Putting all of my energy into keeping my thoughts light and positive. Here’s a little video I took afterwards featuring my latest mantra🧘‍♀️

As Above So Below

I am centered. I am balanced. I am encased in white light. I radiate love from the inside out. I am alright🥰

Until next time…..peace, love & light ✌❤🌠

Spirituality

Thoughts on happiness

My dear reader’s I have been having noticing a reoccurring confirmation from friends, mentors along with the messages I receive from the Universe regarding how to obtain lasting happiness. It boils down to this….. it’s definitely an inside job! Nothing external, meaning outside oneself, can make you happy and keep you that way. Boy oh boy has this been a tough lesson to learn for me. There are so many mixed messages out there especially when you are bombarded with advertising promising you that this product or that program will give you all you ever dreamed of along with happiness. It takes going beneath the surface of everything in our society to get the real answer on this one my dears🤔

I firmly believe that a connection to both a higher power, whatever you choose to call that, I chose to call it God and a deep connection with yourself is needed for inner peace and happiness. I myself disconnected from myself many years ago due to trauma and the increasing fear it inflicted upon my life. Over the years, I abandoned belief, trust and love of myself. When I was sexually molested as a child, I internalized that pain and blamed myself. I never told anybody about it so that wound just grew and grew😪

The beliefs I had then were screaming at me everytime something challenging came up like, “you’re not good enough, you don’t deserve that” and “you’re a failure so stop trying.” Either of these beliefs can be destructive to one’s self esteem but both of them wrecked havoc and destroyed my aspirations and dreams. Not to mention the times in my life when I have succumbed to a case of the “fuck its” and chose to be completely self destructive going scorched Earth with my life by quitting everything and everybody with no explanations and running away. I’ve done that too many times during my 42 years that I care to recall here🙄

I tell you dear readers all of this to be able to exclaim that those darker days are officially over! I have faced the pit of my issues, healing from sexual abuse over these past 10 months. I have been able to establish my management position at an amazing boutique downtown. I am about to self publish my second book of poetry. I have gone back into the dance studio and am loving class again. I have attended 2 poetry slams so far this year. I have an interview article coming out soon highlighting my writing career here in Dallas. These are my external accomplishments and achievements but what means more to me on an intimately personal and much deeper level is the acceptance of myself and living authentically every damn day with no apologies. I now know true inner peace😊

My perspective

It’s a major shift of perspective for me to realize that only I can advance or derail my success in life. The main ingredient for this depends on your level of self love. Since June, I have been treating myself a whole heck of a lot better. I’m my own best friend and caregiver. It will still be a work in progress but the internal dialogue with myself, the many parts of me that clammer for attention like my inner child which is still wounded at times, my ego (thinking mind), my instinctive personality (INFJ) and then my intuition which is my highest self’s voice and my soul has reached a point where I can recognize each of these bits of Maria so that I can make decisions based upon my best interests. This is a humungous difference from the previous years of my adulthood! I can honestly say the more I pause to decide how to respond to life’s ebbs and flows, the more I can differentiate between the many facets of me!

For the past two days, I have had the pleasure of being off work and enjoying some much needed free time. I have been listening to 963 Hz tone frequency on the SoundHeal app during my meditation time. At this frequency I’m stimulating and balancing the Sahasrara, thousand petaled or crown chakra. This is generally considered the 7th primary chakra which is the energy center for understanding according to most tantric yoga traditions. It can be used to attain a state of Nivana-oneness. This frequency returns the system to its original state. It is said that when a yogi is able to raise his or her kundalini, the energy of consciousness, to this chakra the state of Nirvikalpa Samodhi is experienced. Ah….yessssss🧘‍♀️

Well all I can tell you is due to my sensitivity I have been experiencing some amazing benefits from using this frequency. Today, I felt filled with energy. So much so that I went for a long run/walk that amounted to my own personal marathon! I used my MapRun app to track my time/distance/pace and honestly, I didn’t turn it on from the beginning so add another 3 miles to this total…..I completed 27 1/2 miles today 🏃‍♀️

Maria’s marathon 🏃‍♀️

Along the way I was singing out loud to my favorite female 90s pop icons like Madonna and Janet Jackson. I even took a detour to the swings and satisfied little Maria’s love for swinging! It was a welcome break from the path and I must admit felt so fantastic🥰 I just love the exhilarating feeling I get from pumping my legs in order to get as high as I can reach on a swing! This particular swing set is located around mile 8 or so on the running trail that circles White Rock Lake. I observed some very picturesque moments that I captured like these birds sitting in the trees over the lake.

I just adore the feeling I get being out in nature by myself. I feel so alive and whole as is evident in this selfie I took 😎

Hey y’all 🤗

I saw this sentiment near the elevators on a floor of the hotel I work inside a few days ago and quickly snapped a picture of it as inspiration for this post. I agree with Ms. Turner 100%

Lastly, this one sums it up quite honestly and definitely reflects where I am today on my journey. Love, light & peace ❤🌠✌

Where I’m at😉