Pity Party First, Kick Ass Later

Sister, I know how it is because I've been there. The world is screaming "calm down" but you know that that's not an option. You want to scream, swear, stomp your feet, pout, binge watch netflix with your favorite comfort food, curl up in a ball, cry, and make the world revolve around your pain. Well guess what? You should. 

I am a firm believer that you must pity party first, and kick ass later. 

Ugly Self-Care is a THING! 

To some people, self care means putting on your favorite facial mask with a bath bomb. However to a lot of us, self care means ugly crying and screaming at the "master creator" for what they have done for you. I call this "ugly self-care" but in reality, it has the most beautiful results. Let me tell you why this works: 

• You cannot overcome a victim mindset without first thinking like a victim. 
• You cannot live a happy and productive life with pains and challenges clouding your brain. 
• It is okay to experience emotions; they are natural. 
• If you do not let yourself feel, your body and spirit takes on the burdens of the emotional body.

The Victim Mindset vs. The Hero Mindset

Be the hero in your story and overcome that victim mindset. 

A good story begins with a naive character, the challenge that they endure, and their heroic rise to overcome. A victim mindset is someone who is naive, faces a challenge, and lives in the realm of things like "why me" or "story of my life." They believe that unjust things will always happen to them; thus attracting more negativity into their life. To be a hero, we must first be the victim. Experience victimhood. Figure out your escape. Figure out the obstacles you have to overcome. Turn yourself into a survivor. 

Best Way To Move Clouds Is To First Storm

What happens when the sky is overcast? You pray for it to just rain, thunder, lightning- anything!!! to bring back your beautiful blue sky. Let your body cry it out, let your body scream it out, punch a pillow, do what you need to do to recover. If you keep those pent up emotions inside, your brain will suffer. The Director of the Psychiatry Research Lab at St. Paul-Ramsey Medical Center states, "People say they feel better after crying and our data shows this is so." Frey's studies have proven that crying is the body's natural response to any sort of stress, and that many feel comforted and relieved after letting it out. It has been shown that lack of tears can contribute to stress and brain disease down the road.

If you don't let it OUT, your body and aura take on the burdens of keeping it pent up inside

Built up anger, aggression, and stress lingers in the energy body and can cause migraines, tension, and inflammation. It can also contribute to poor gut health like indigestion and constipation. Not to mention your energy suffers greatly. Your aura will be clouded. People will come into contact with you less and less because your energy is no longer compelling. Friends may disappear or treat you differently. Your subtle body will suffer. 

Observe Your Emotions, Then Let Your Emotions Pass

There is a great meditation known as "Leaves on the Stream." In this exercise, you take every thought you have and place it on a leaf floating down the river. This allows you to observe that thought or emotion, and watch it pass. Learning this technique can help you in your day-to-day life by not beating yourself up for experiencing an emotion but also not holding on to that emotion. It helps you separate yourself from that emotion by extending an awareness, and also can help you detach from it to let it float away. Listen below. 

Set this as your phone background for a peaceful reminder whenever you check the time or texts. Leaves on a stream mindfulness exercise will help you observe and let go. 

It is human nature to feel, and dangerous to push our feelings aside. To delve into your emotional responses is the ultimate form of courage and strength. To let the tears pour out, the cries and screams be heard, to let yourself be in a state of darkness. Once you are submerged in the darkness you will be able to find your way to the light easier. If you harbor these emotions within you for too long, they will escalate and worsen. PLEASE allow yourself a pity party for whatever bad news you have experienced... and then conquer from there. 

When Does the Pity Party End? 

Deadlines are so important! This will help prevent you from letting your pity party spiral out of control into a prolonged state of depression and victimhood. Mine is anywhere from 1-3 days then you can begin faking it. You may not be completely healed, but you will feel a lot better. Over time, faking it can help you return to your normal self. It can help patch up the holes that were left open after such a big release of emotion. It can replenish your soul and counteract the difficult emotions that you just experienced. 

What is Your Ugly Self-Care / Pity Party Ritual? 

I LOVE to hear from my readers! Let me know what your go-to ugly self care routine is or how letting it out has helped you feel good enough to conquer your goals and kick ass! 

How I Manifested My New Life In Five Days

Hi Friends! (Disclaimer... this story is TRUE.) It has been a crazy couple of months for me and I'm sure many people can relate. It is not my first time being in a low - so I know what to do and how to fix it. I do a lot of manifestation but wanted to see how quickly I could really accelerate it. I figured I want my life to change, so I might as well give it a shot. 

First of all, let me start out by addressing the issue that needed fixing: EVERYTHING. Primarily the city I lived in and my job. I knew I wanted to move but I had to wait until January for my lease to be up and then of course I was concerned about where to go and whether or not I would like it there. Finances are always an issue too. How do I know I can get another stable job if I locate to a new city? My stress was at a high. So I said the magic two words - "F*** IT" and started to create my ideal life. 

Step 1: Figuring out your next step. 

I was attached to the idea that I wanted to move to South Florida...no Arizona... no New Mexico... you get the point. And the problem with having so many dreams at the same time is the Universe has no idea what you want. If you don't know what you want how can the Universe ever help you get there? So the hardest part is figuring out a linear plan. For me that is somewhat impossible so I at least chose the next step and picked a city to live in. Once I picked a city, I started noticing people around me helping me in small ways: offering boxes to move, offering to help me search for apartments, offering to show me around the city. I was amazed at how one decision already helped me feel like I was moving there. But there was one issue - I didn't tie up loose ends! So that brings me to... 

Step 2: Wrapping up the last chapter. 

Ok so I didn't have a lease signed... So I knew what I had to do. And on the night of the Sagittarius Full Moon, I said those two magic words again and wrote my landlord. My lease did not end til January - but I said I can't wait that long! Is it impulsive or irresponsible? Maybe, but they ended up negotiating and allowing me to close off on the lease early and even adjusted some terms on the lease. This brought more clarity, more direction forward, more action, and inspired the universe to help get me to where I'm going - not stay where I am. 

Step 3: Power of thought, words, and prayer. 

Rewind... Two days before the full moon (the day I made the decision on where I wanted to be) I had looked at apartments all day. I didn't see any I liked and that's because I still was struggling to figure out what I wanted. I named the city, but I didn't know how else my life should look like. So after having a meltdown and eating my feelings in sweet potato fries (hooray for vegan bar food), I said you know what - let me just put this out there. I said "I am coming back here in four days. The next place I look at is going to be the apartment I sign. I'm gonna have the gut feeling when I walk in there and I'm just gonna know. And then I will look at a few other places after, but I will revert back to the first place. Now the Universe knows it and so do I." 

I kept this affirmative thought in my mind. I told everyone I spoke to that same thing. I got some "okay rae" eye rolls, but I knew it would work. 

Step 4: The Power of Magic and imagination. 

Follow @andzensome on instagram for tricks and tips on crystal healing! SHOP for your citrine crystal on my website (here) or etsy (here)! 

On the night of the full moon, I wrote that same idea down on paper. I told the moon exactly how I wanted to feel when I stepped inside. I told the moon exactly how I wanted the apartment to look like. I told the moon the price I was willing to spend... I kept my Citrine crystal close as it holds no negative energy to prevent me from reaching my dreams, and it is the ultimate manifestation crystal. 

The law of attraction only works when you create a clear image of what you want. If you ever wake up in the morning and say "I hope it doesn't rain, it looks like it's going to rain, I don't want it to rain..." The universe hears "RAIN RAIN RAIN!" If you say, "it doesn't look like it will be, but i want a sunny day! I want clear blue skies and sunshine." The universe says "oh okay, sunshine! I know what that looks like too." (We can't control weather but we can try.)

SO this is why I told the moon and my crystal: affordable, clean, safe, washer and dryer, pet friendly, a pool, an OPEN LAYOUT - I was excessive maybe...

Step 5: Let the magic happen - and notice when it does. 

When I came back to visit, I called my list of rentals and I said "what time are you available - just give me a time." They all coordinated and I let the universe do its thing. I walked into the first apartment and it was EXACTLY. WHAT. I. WANTED. It was exactly what I described, it was exactly what I had manifested, I felt the way I wanted to feel when I walked in. Keeping an open mind, I did of course look at the others and they even had better reviews but they all ended up being horrid. I noticed signs like I'd fall over, or the tour guide was giving off an uncomfortable vibe. So I signed my lease, and made plans to move to the new city.

I guess what I can say is sometimes you feel hopeless - like no amount of anything will work. The law of attraction sucks sometimes when you are down. The law of attraction takes time, patience, and clarity (and I and many people I know do not have ANY of those things.) However you must FORCE yourself to believe that it will work... it worked for me in just five days. And now I am ready to create the life that I designed for myself and the universe helped me achieve. Thank you for reading - happy manifesting!

Top 5 Healing Crystals for Manifesting Wealth

Healing crystals are powerful energetic tools to help aid in manifestation. Knowing which specific crystals attract different energetic qualities can help guide you to picking out the crystal for your needs. The saying by Rumi, “What you seek is seeking you”, is one of my most favorite reminders of the power of the law of attraction and the importance of directing our energy into the things we want out of life. One area that is commonly focused on for manifestation is wealth and abundance, using prosperity centered crystals to make abundance grids or simply wearing them can make a huge impact on your life. Here are my top 5 crystals for wealth and abundance. 

#5 Malachite- This powerful dark green healing stone is great for attracting money and good fortune. Its vibrations attract financial abundance and success. This stone is also great to use when trying to manifest one’s deepest desire out of a transitional phase in life, such as starting a new job or moving. This empowering stone should be worn or placed in your surrounding environment. Learn more about the amazing stone Malachite by clicking here!

#4 Moss Agate- Known as the stone of new beginnings, this earthy crystal attracts new opportunities for success. It can help you embrace new and unexpected changes and promotes balance, while energetically attracting wealth and success. This stone is great to add to a crystal grid or carry with you. Wanting to use this stone for success? Check out some of THESE other crystals by clicking here!

#3 Pyrite- It's captivating to watch this beautiful silver to gold stone sparkle. It is often called the stone of luck. Pyrite is a powerful healing stone for manifestation and attracts abundant wealth to the user. It encourages generating abundance through one’s own power and connects you to the warm energy of the Sun. Wear this stone or add it to a wealth centered abundance grid.

Check out this Pyrite Piece wrapped by Rae of And Zen Some! It is sure to bring some wealth your way. 

#2 Green Aventurine- This light green stone is the ideal crystal for prosperity and luck. Manifesting good health, fortunate events, and opportunities this stone is excellent to have at all times. It enhances one’s leadership and can help manifest new job opportunities. Excellent to wear during a job interview or just to keep close for good luck! Click the photo below for yours. 

These green aventurine pocket stones are perfect to keep in your wallet, in your pocket, or at your work station. Do that, sit back, and watch as the fortune comes your way. 

#1 Citrine- This radiantly happy healing crystal is my personal favorite for manifestation. Its strong vibrations promote success and abundance and attract unexpected instances of good luck and positivity. Citrine also encourages confidence in the user and can stimulate wealth and prosperity. Place a piece in your wallet to attract monetary wealth. Excellent stone to place all around your environment as well as wear. Click the photo below if you want a Citrine necklace of your own!

Hands down the best crystal for manifestation & wealth! Wrapped by And Zen Some. 

Article contributed by Victoria Shuler