daily devotional dairies
making space for ritual // week 1
a weekly anchoring practice to stay rooted in seasons of change // week 1
Welcome to our first segment of making space for ritual. As I set out to make space for our Intuitively Wild home IRL (SIGN UP FOR THE WAITLIST HERE!) I am committing myself to staying present, intentional, and soft.
ICYMI and want more context and details on the background of this substack series - head to this post.
Devoting ourselves to a life of spaciousness amidst a huge life change and the chaos of a crazy world takes daily commitment and remembering. So here we are - showing up and making the space for that intention, together.
This past week felt big. I’ve kept this process close to my chest for so long now I don’t think it has felt fully real. Honestly, it still doesn’t.
But announcing it to the world this week has not only slowly allowed the reality of it all to seek in, but has brought up so much of my stuff (read: blocks, fears, doubts - as well as excitement, hope, insights) to come up.
This week has been overwhelming, to say the least.
It has reinforced the decision to do this series in the first place. Writing this has given me a place to pause, process and put it all out there. With the goal to not overthink or perfect, just share and reflect.
So here it is…
this week…
HOW I MADE SPACE
🫖🕯️
—> LESSONS LEARNED
✨ There’s a belief I’m actively working through right now that has controlled me for far too long. Dictating my actions, deciding my sense of self.
The belief being - that a life of ease, joy, freedom and spacious alignment is only earned through blood, sweat and tears.
I’ve waited my whole life for someone to fly down from the sky and grant me a permanent permission slip to loosen my grip. For someone to write me a golden ticket I can show to others saying I’ve proved myself - I’ve worked hard enough, and now finally finally I can feel joy. I can stop filling up all my empty space with more doing, proving, shaming, self blaming.
I can finally allow myself to rest, while intentionally showing up for my path with purpose and devotion.
I’ve been waiting.
And, well, the waiting has only led to rock bottoms, actions rooted in self-doubt, exhaustion, self-sabotage and a lot of unnecessary suffering.
The truth is - we do not need to earn our space in this life.
We are worthy of a life of spaciousness, because we simply exist.
Imperfect human messiness and all.
Not to say life is easy (LOL!!!!), or that things will flow to us with ease and consistent joy as long as we stay in the manifestation flow (ALSO LOL!!!) — but that we don’t need to make things harder for ourselves. We don’t have to hustle or burn out or choose the hardest option or bypass our life in order to prove our right to feel joy. That we don’t have to wait until ___ or compare our suffering to others as justification or punishment.
Life is hard enough as it is, for all of us. We can choose to lean into joy, ease, softness and peace as much as we can, in every and any moment. So that even through the hardest of times we can tap into the overflow of our inner joy, peace, grounding.
Freedom is in the decision to free ourselves.
We don’t have to fill up our lives with more doing. We deserve a life of spaciousness. No permission slip or golden ticket needed.
My business has confronted me with this belief almost daily. It constantly asks me to choose: are you going to turn away from yourself or towards yourself?
Choosing to build this business with softness, joy, self-belief and spaciousness is me turning towards myself. No longer striving to prove my worthiness by business, I am committing to allowing this process to be as joyful, easeful and spacious as I can by choosing to lean into that energy. To tap into the unending well of peace within me and letting it flow out into all that I do.
It’s a commitment I’m constantly needing to remember and re-choose.
But - that innate worthiness, that’s my new belief system.
CHALLENGES NAVIGATED
✨ Self doubt, fear, comparison and judgment…
Like I said, this week brought up a lot of my stuff. I think I cried everyday this week with frustration, overwhelm, fatigue, doubt. After every little moment though, I felt a sense of peace, reassurance, solidity.
I’m doing this. And I’m confident in what I’m doing.
Being an entrepreneur brings you face to face with yourself everyday. It is honestly the most terrifying and confronting and spiritual path you can walk. Especially when your business is so personal, so heart led, so vulnerable. This business, and specifically the iteration of it we are growing into, means (for better or for worse) so, (so) much to me. I care about it so deeply. It requires so much of me. It is exhausting to put yourself out there everyday in a way that is so vulnerable and feel like you’re getting no where.
Yet, I am also constantly reminded that I am moving forward, this is my path and I must put my blinders on and keep going.
(SELF)APPRECIATION
✨ I would like to pat myself on the back for continuing to show up. To choosing to devote myself to my dreams, to my business, to this path… despite how challenging it has been. Despite the anxiety, rejection, uncertainty, delays, doubts, fears.
I have long trained myself to make nothing a big deal, on both ends of the spectrum. To not celebrate any accomplishments, to not acknowledge any hardships, to not talk about any trauma.
It felt too dramatic, attention seeking, unnecessary… To the extent that I have to consciously and actively tell myself to acknowledge things - to celebrate, to speak up, to make space for my accomplishments and traumas, big and small.
This is one reason ritual and ceremony has become so important to me… it not only helps me process - it helps me acknowledge, it helps me celebrate, it helps me heal. It allows emotions and sensations to move through me.
Although even saying this still feels false and not okay to me, opening this space is a big deal, and I am going to celebrate it.
GRATITUDE FELT
✨ Community & Connection is life giving.
Like freakin duh right? That’s a core value and purpose of my brand, but this week I had the absolute blessing of being in different circumstances where I had to stop, pause, breathe and let the overwhelming gratitude of my support systems flood in (especially due to the above challenges navigated).
Friendship - my best friend from college visited me with her partner on Saturday and omg it was everything my heart and soul needed and more. She lives in Chicago and I haven’t seen since she visited me while I was living in California three (!?) years ago. Nothing compares to being reunited with one of your unbreakable bonds. Nothing will ever be able to compete with the nourishment, healing, and soul fulfilment of in person connections with deep true friendships.
Mentorship / Therapy - I’ve recently started a container with a new practitioner (I refer to her as my priestess mentor / therapist) and it has been exactly what I needed. More on her and this decision later, I think, but for now I’ll say - find the support systems that sustain you.
Business Mentorship - I have mentioned her before and I’ll probably mention her again but
is magic. I’ve been working 1:1 with Xanthe for almost ten (?) months and I can confidently say investing in myself and my business in this way has been one of the best decisions I have made. This week in particular, after sending a tearful, overwhelmed voice-note to her and being met with so much love, support and wisdom I just felt overwhelmed with gratitude. Find the support systems that not only help you have your shit together, but meet you in your mess.LOCAL HIGHLIGHT
Last week I had the absolute honour of spending almost two hours in Bens studio. He has dedicated his life to making tea ceremony bowls and it shows. Turns out we have a lot of connections and synchronicities and picking out bowls for the space felt like a ceremony in and of itself. More on him soon, but if you’re looking for tea bowls, or any ceramics in general, I highly recommend checking him out.
RITUAL
last week was the summer solstice, so my rituals were all summer solstice themed. we went into it in last weeks substack and podcast - apple spotify youtube -
INTENTIONS DECLARED
My intention for this upcoming week is to stay rooted in my grounded confidence. Confidence that comes from a quiet, steady, foundational place.
I want to choose to be confident in myself and embody the belief that - I know what I’m doing. I’m ready and capable of making my dreams come true. I am deserving of my dreams. I do not have to prove my worth. I do not have to compete or compare. I am ready to fill up space in the world.
And I will do so by actively choosing to show up for all aspects of my life with that energy. To pause throughout the day and reconnect and recommit. To remind myself - I am confident in myself, in my path, in my power. I am connected to my grounded confidence.
What are your intentions?
poems podcasts prompts plants stories songs statements people places ponderings - pieces of life - … that grounded me this week
— I was asked in a questionnaire what song I would choose to listen to for the rest of my life if I could only choose one and while that question is absolutely illegal I ended up choosing Searching for Freedom by Ziggy Alberts and it did help me get through this week so…
— this substack note and Emerson quote spoke to my SOUL. I’ve talked often about the way my fear of being misunderstood has been woven through my life and this segment came at the perfect time. It will be reread often until it’s softened into my heart as if I am wearing it thin like an old tea stained book.
— Also, this tea (the tea that made me fall in love with tea), this incense (earthy, simple, grounding), this book (but, like, always this book), and this podcast (chock full of some reminders about relationships I really needed to hear).
Ooof, it’s been a week.
Can’t wait to reflect and make space together next week.
See you then xx,
Rachel