When we disconnect from ourselves – when we stop listening to our heart and intuition – things show up in our lives that we don’t want. All of a sudden we find ourselves stuck in unhealthy or destructive patterns. We attract drama. We get sick. We feel exhausted and unhappy, and we’re not really sure why.

On the flip side, when we reconnect with ourselves, we heal and grow. We live a more authentic, happy and fulfilling life. We are healthier, inside and out. We become a nicer person. We blossom, follow our passions, and become all we are meant to be. And that, ladybird, is a beautiful, blissful thing.

So why don’t we reconnect with ourselves on a daily basis?

Usually the biggest block is fear. It can be very scary to listen in to ourselves. What if we hear something we don’t like? What if our heart tells us it’s not happy with the life we’ve created? What if we have to make some big changes? What if we’re not ready for that?

Being alone with our thoughts can be very confronting. We’re naturally programmed to avoid pain, and tuning in to ourselves might mean coming face-to-face with memories or emotions we don’t want to deal with.

So we do anything we can to distract ourselves. We drown out that little voice inside us with drama, gossip, scrolling (zombie-like) through social media, shopping, throwing ourselves into work, watching hours of trashy TV, or bingeing on food or booze (or both).

Yes, reconnecting with yourself can be scary. But you know what’s even scarier? A life half-lived. By closing yourself off from pain, you also cut yourself from all the beauty and magic of greater intuition, creativity, depth, growth and love.

Need some help getting started? Try these powerful tools to help you get out of your head and back into your heart:

1. Vision/Mood Boards

How do you want to feel? What do you want to see, do, and experience in your precious life? Maybe there’s a dream you’ve had in your heart since you were a little girl, or maybe you’ve just started to feel the pull from something recently. Maybe you dream of freedom from destructive patterns or anxiety, and living a bold, happy existence.

The first step is being honest about what you really want. The second is to understand that you deserve it. Truly, you do.

Click here to learn more and create your own Vision or Mood Board to rock your dreams.

2. Morning Pages

The ‘Morning Pages’ method is a fantastic tool devised by Julia Cameron. Keep a notebook by your bed and write three full pages when you wake up every morning. Write anything at all – no-one ever has to read it (including you).

Some of my clients find it helpful to start with anything they remember from their dreams, then anything that’s still bugging them from the day before (they guy who cut them off in traffic, the report they handed in late, etc), and then ending on a positive note with things they’re grateful for and looking forward to. But there are no rules. It’s simply a tool to unload your subconscious, leaving you unencumbered and free.

There’s a time every morning when we are half awake, half asleep and not quite fully conscious. At those moments, we have access to our unconscious mind and our inner workings. But like dew on the morning grass, it will soon be gone without a trace. Listening to these tender morning wisps allows us to reach into our inner world, the deeper part of ourselves that helps guide us on our path of transformation. – Julia Cameron

3. Journalling

Whereas Morning Pages are geared towards a simple purge and release, journalling can have more structure. Journalling be a great way to explore your deepest fears and desires. You can choose to explore a certain topic each day, or just carry a notebook with you and jot things down when they spring to mind. You can write a gratitude journal, or record your heart’s dreams and intentions.

In The Sparkle Project we discover huge breakthroughs using a ‘morning intentions’ journal to set our intentions for the day, and an ‘evening reflections’ journal to reflect on what went well, what didn’t, and what we’d like to work on going forward.

Start a journal and just see where it takes you.

4. Meditation

I know, I know. This one can be tough. It is for me sometimes too. But it can also be the most rewarding – by far. Meditation helps to melt away the tension and worries, and allows you to be still long enough to really tune in to yourself.

Start with just a few minutes per day, and build up from there. Try beginner meditation apps like Headspace and Omvana (which has a great intro meditation from Spirit Junkie, Gabby Bernstein). Or check out this beautiful meditation track from my gorgeous friend Vanessa.

5. Visualisation

A tool favoured by top athletes, even just a few moments of visualisation per day will reap huge benefits. And best of all? You can do it anywhere. When you wake up, on the bus, or (my personal favourite) right before you fall asleep.

Imagine yourself blissfully happy, or free of a destructive behaviour or eating pattern. You’re the healthiest and most confident you’ve ever been. Visualise it in bold technicolour. What does it look, taste, sound, smell and feel like?

Just like meditation, visualisation can be a bit tricky at first. If you need some help getting started, look for free guided visualisations like this or this.

Craving more tools to help you reconnect? Join us in the new and improved Sparkle Project!  Our 6-week, love-soaked, journey of transformation will help you reconnect with yourself (and your body) on the deepest level.  Click here to learn more and jump on board.  x

The post 5 Powerful Tools for Reconnecting with Yourself appeared first on Vegan Sparkles with Rebecca Weller.

Once I got the hang of that reading stuff, man, there was no stopping me! While all the other girls were on the netball courts, I was tucked up in a corner of the library with my books. I totally geeked out whenever a Readathon was announced and thought Librarians had the coolest job in the world.

By the time I reached High School I’d started to daydream about what it would be like to be an author. I convinced my girlfriends to co-write stories with me and spent hours drafting plot outlines and drawing covers with our names on them. I wrote poetry in every spare moment and was only ever on time for English Literature class.

When I went to live in London I wrote emails home about my adventures. Receiving replies like ‘That was the best email I’ve ever read!’ and ‘You have got to be a writer, girl!’ made my heart sing.

But as I ventured further into a career in Finance (and later, Project Controls), I slowly turned my back on my dream. I thought I grew out of it. I stopped daydreaming and wishing on stars. I told myself I was happy with the financial perks of my career path. I distracted myself with shopping, destructive eating patterns, and drinking too much. I blocked my intuition, avoided my feelings, and just got on with it. For a decade or so, I thought it was enough.

In 2011, I started to think differently. I started following a vegan lifestyle. The little voice inside me refused to be ignored any longer and I began to look for a way out of the life I’d created for myself. Studying at IIN in 2013 reinforced what I’d already begun to feel. Along with a million other changes I made that year, I also made my first vision board.

Yesterday I published my first book on Amazon (*insert excited squeal!*). It’s just a teensy book (you can download your free copy here), and just a tiny fish in a huge ocean. And yes it was terrifying sending it out into the big, scary world, especially when I feel like my writing is still so rusty. But it’s also one step closer to my heart’s dream:  holding my first paperback in my hot, little hands.

Yesterday (after I recovered from alternating panic and grinning attacks), I gave my Vision Board one hell of a high-five.
 

The Practical Magic of Vision Boards

If you’ve always thought of Mood or Vision Boards as just ‘new age’ or kid’s stuff – not so fast, ladylove! They can be a powerful tool to help you reconnect with yourself.

How do you want to feel, beautiful? What do you want to see, do and experience in your precious life? Maybe there’s a dream you’ve had in your heart since you were a little girl, or maybe you’ve just started to feel the pull from something recently. Maybe you dream of freedom from destructive patterns or anxiety, and living a bold, happy existence.

Creating a vision board will help you visualise yourself in that life. The more you see your dream in front of you, the more you’ll naturally gravitate towards it. You’ll start making decisions in alignment with that vision. You’ll begin to think more clearly about what you do and don’t want in your life.

Yes, it can be scary to sit down and be honest about what your heart truly desires. But you know what’s even scarier? Regret. Turning your back on your intuition and stomping on your dreams. Wasting your true potential.

It’s impossible to truly sparkle when you muffle part of yourself.
 

How To Make Your Own

Any way you like, baby! Pull out a large piece of paper and draw, paint, cut pictures from magazines or write a list. Create a virtual board on Pinterest or use a free on-line tool like Pixlr Express to create a photo collage.

There’s no right or wrong way, beautiful. Do whatever you feel like doing. Just like your dreams, your choice of vision board is completely up to you.

My vision boards look like this, this and this:
 

 
Display your board on your desk, save it as your laptop or phone screensaver, stick it on your fridge, or hang it up in your bedroom. Put it where you can see it. Let it be a constant reminder of the life you truly want and everything you desire to be.

It’s completely normal for your board to continue to evolve. As your goals and dreams change direction, update your board in line with your vision. Keep it fresh, exciting and inspiring.

And when you start to notice it creating magic in your life, girl, give it one hell of a high-five from me.

The post Create a Vision Board to Rock Your Dreams appeared first on Vegan Sparkles with Rebecca Weller.