A Reflective Place, Rituals & Clarity
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September,
November and January are always intuitively new beginnings for me.
I think how much I will miss summer and then fall sweeps me away on a beautiful and reflective spell. Any and everything is possible.
What seasons, activities, rituals, do this for you?
I'm learning: Empowering through Invitation, not Direction
Ever evolving, learning and growing, as I embrace my full self and all that that means,
I'm learning to be less directive and more inviting
not just in my writing, but in my workshops and speaking engagements, client engagements and, frankly, in conversation with myself as well. From what I've seen and personally experienced,
empowerment, with long-term commitment,
happens when the invitation is accepted at your core,
within your comfort zone
(a taboo these days with the gurus and 'coaches'). You can commit long-term because
it truly resonates with the aligned you.
Rituals? What rituals?
As I begin to get gentler with myself,
making time to embrace, smile with and fill my 'cup' with self love every morning - in the mirror, while in bed, through my journal, support by my
- I realized that each day I started that way was a day where I interacted very differently with each encounter I had,
where I stayed in the present.
That self love overflowed into my engagement with others, and re-framed each situation far more positively for me. Diffused some situations and exploded others with extreme empowerment for all involved.
Beautiful to watch.
I've found those morning rituals, particularly at this time of year,
keep me clear on my reality and my power to continue to create the reality I truly desire.
That is particularly important, when you're in transition. In my case, transitioning away from clients and community that don't embrace that thinking.
Transitioning toward clients and community who do.
It allows me to be gentle with myself, knowing that this transition reminds me of why right community matters, and to accept that all who are have a right to create their own realities in.
It's soothing, regardless of the situation.
On rituals, it took me a couple years to embrace them.
Coming from a religious background, I'd grown to resent the whole idea of
"having to do something to receive blessings"
, because the God (universe, force, whatever you believe) I have known even as a child
never had a price on the miracles s/he's bestowed upon me.
In hindsight, there have always been miracles taking me through life. As I am able to step back from resentment now, I realize it's because I allowed those "rituals" to be forced on me.
I've learned now that rituals are merely the acts that give each of us, individually:
Time: as much (or as little) as we each need, to get clear on our beliefs as we face the world.
Space: to slow down enough to re-incorporate those beliefs more fully into our psyche.
Sensory reality: whether your rituals are visual, experiential, auditory, intuitive or other, bringing them into your physical, day to day, reality, again to seal it in as real. This one is important, because we seal everything else in this way - at work, writing reports, engaging in 'realistic, intellectual' discussions that don't often align with those beliefs, etc.
Here, I want to stop to ensure you're clear that at all times, you've invited
to implement anything that resonates, in a way that works for you. No two (2) of us are exactly alike and need exactly the same things to keep us awakened in our beliefs, our values.
If you're not being true to You, then neither you nor the world benefits.
So whether you aren't ready for rituals yet, have rituals without even realizing it, practice your rituals before bed, on mornings, or as you desire throughout the day/week/when you remember (let's be honest),
please do what works for you.
Clarity as Motherhood Approaches
This year is particularly moving for me, perhaps because I'm becoming a mother in October of this year. Thrilled, as I've been planning for this since I was 12, but happy I've waited this long, because I'm now in a place where I plan less and am
thrilled to discover, more - who she is!
Even so, rituals fell away as focus became difficult during pregnancy - except with work for some reason.
I suppose, like I mentioned above, it's because work is what we've been trained the most on and what we spend most of our time on.
For me, making those rituals even more important.
September has seen a very natural re-awakening of my flow into those rituals, again. Motherhood, has shifted the focus from 'nice to do' to 'enjoy doing this, and
looking forward to how it my little one responds to rituals'.
Clarity has come in this season,
with my intermittent journaling, conversations with myself, etcetera, and I hope, whatever you do, you find that too. It means:
You're clear on your priorities, regardless of what others may 'need' to foist unto you.
You find you're less resentful that they "asked for something so ridiculous", because you can accept that it's simply what they want, but that you prefer what you want and know you're only responsible for that.
You're better at managing expectations too, after a while.
It's pretty amazing.
Plus, has anyone noticed that 2017 seems to be the year
everyone's getting pregnant and having babies?
It's happening globally - I have friends and colleagues everywhere sharing the good news! I hope you're enjoying whatever you birth this year -
is also my baby, so I can relate.
Reflection. What moves you to reflect, find clarity?
Space, quite alone time and autumn, small un-forced rituals,
September (November and January, as well) awaken this within me.
I'd love to know what brings you into this reflective place,
as I seek out more like-minded community.
I'm always learning.
I hope to hear from you soon!
Warmly,
Crystal-Marie S.
(Initially @cmaries08)
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ABOUT CRYSTAL-MARIE SEALY, MBA
MBA, speaker, dancer, blogger, strategy consultant, author and - like all of us - so much more,
Crystal-Marie
is driven by her passion to see everyone
govern themselves in love, as individuals,
so they when they step out into the world, all of who they are is what builds
a greater global community.
In all she does, her goal is to awaken us all to learn who we are individually, trust that being and live that authentically (not necessarily rebelliously) from a place of love, so that you're always operating in your truth.
It's the source of all confidence.
Founder and president of
, Crystal-Marie
works with
premium-service solo entrepreneurs and professionals who recognize that earning in abundance positions them to make the difference they want to make in the world
- be it for themselves, their families or the world at large. She supports clients as they awaken to the realities of the impact on the
pricing, schedules and client community
(those who already know they need, value and will invest in them), so they have better quality of life and, therefore, are able to be living examples of that success with their own clients and all they encounter.
Feel free to subscribe to this blog,
to follow her journey and enjoy what resonates, or for entrepreneurship/small business support, her Successiory mailing list (
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