Hey Journal Goddesses!

I thought it would be fun to share one of the practices I like to do to honor 'Dee at age __".  While I haven't always used the Elemental Forces of Creation for this, it does help me to get guidance from every realm of creation and integrate the blessings of another year of life in a beautiful way!  Grab your journal and join me!

The great thing about this practice is that it can be used during any transition time in life.  This is really helpful when there were big lessons you learned and you want to be a bit more concise with what came out of that.  See you next time!

Live Intentionally,
​Dionne

In case you don't follow me on Facebook here's the cliffnotes version of a recent example 
of the work to be done.  I posted a link explaining why saying 'All Lives Matter' in response 
to Black Lives Matter is like kicking someone in the face.  

A friend of a friend 'didn't get it' and after attempts were made by others to help her get it 
(via other links and sharing their understanding), she showed her true colors; she didn't 
really care because she felt blacks have more privileges (her last comment being a 
sarcastic reference to "United White College Fund").  

How did my work with the elements support me in this case?   Well, had I not been actively 
engaged in a weekly practice of elemental connection via the Elemental Forces of Creation 
Oracle and my daily practice of saying good morning to the elements and asking for their 
guidance and support throughout my interactions, I would have fallen back on default.  

I would have taken personally the comments of someone I don't know and allowed 
this stranger dull my fiery radiance.  

I would have allowed what she was broadcasting over the air waves to affect the way 
I think and feel about myself.  

I would have become depressed and maybe even angry at feeling like a victim.

I would have shrunk away from standing in my own power.  

I would have been afraid to speak up again.

But that is not the case.  

I chose to remain sovereign, standing firm in my own power.  

The choice I make daily is to hold onto the vision I have of myself and follow my own 
spirit filled guidance.  Allowing my radiance to light the way, I choose to write you 
about this without an emotional charge.  

Don't get me wrong, I definitely was angered by her words.

But because I held an uplifted vibration, God/Goddess/All That Is sent me confirmation 
that the Universe has my back.  This confirmation came in the form of other Facebook 
friends chiming in to put Ms. Sassypants in check and using their power of unfriending.  

The elements support me in my inner world which affected and shaped my actions and 
the support I recieved on the outer world.  

Today I invite you to do 3 things:  

1.  Start making a daily connection with the elements with a simple prayer of gratitude.  
Say "Good Morning ...!  Thank you for..." filling in the blank with each element + adding 
what you're grateful for with each.  (if you need additional support in developing a daily 
spiritual practice check out Honor this Day)

2.  Really pay attention to what's being broadcasted in the places (both online and off) 
you most frequent and be mindful of what you're broadcasting as well.  Are things being 
said that make you uncomfortable or aren't in alignment with who you are and what you 
want in your life?  Consider what actions you need to take in order to be more in 
alignment and act accordingly.  

3.  Take good care of yourself as you make the adjustments.  
Change is hard enough without you beating up on yourself.  

Love~

Dionne

Taking a look back to the beginning of this blog today.  I've been blogging here since 2011.  I remember what a huge step out setting up this website and blog felt.  I had opened my livejournal up for comments when I started participating in Jamie's Wishcasting Wednesday in September of 2010 and this space felt as though I was walking down the street naked!    As I re-read this first post I can see how cautious I was trying to be by just writing observations of what was happening around me and a bit of Tea Priestess knowledge.  I remember this as a time of discovering my identity after my mom's passing and my adjustment to being the matriarch of memories for my family of origin.  I didn't share that part as much at first and I remember comparing my blog harshly to some of my favorites who had been blogging more publicly.  

Looking at this post again today I feel such compassion for 2011 me trying so hard to find her way.  And I can see how much I've grown in my confidence of sharing myself and my gifts online.  It also makes me very happy to note that though much has changed since I started this space (the name of my site was originally sacred space tea dates!) there is one thing that remains the same.   I am a Tea Priestess offering the wisdom, comfort and connection to the elements and the divine feminine through the magic of tea.  It's not just a lofty title...it's part of who I am and who I was born to be.  

I'm a huge self love fangirl.  I absolutely adore myself more and more every day.  My relationship to myself wasn't always this glorious.  I learned early on being in relationship is a continual practice of learning to grow in love, compassion and companionship.  I've been asked many times for the ways I use to improve my self-esteem and it always boils down to these three keys:  


1.  Monitor self talk

We all have those thoughts that run through our minds daily and we often do pay attention to them.  But some of those thoughts could be sabotaging your relationship with yourself.   Notice how you're using your 'I am' spell. Hw does saying things such as "I am too old, too slow, never gonna get this, etc"  feel in your body compared to "I am really good at this, I am willing to do what it takes to get this" ?  Whether consciously or unconsciously your body takes those words in and lowers or elevates your self esteem accordingly. If you're having trouble clearing and redirecting your 'I am' spell you may need additional support and I glad to help.  Learning to listen to the way you talk about you will change your relationship with yourself.  

2.  Ask empowering questions.  

Empowering questions leave you feeling uplifted and ready to take action.  Disempowering questions zap you of energy.  Instead of beating yourself up by thinking 'why am I not taking better care of my self ? or 'I should take better care of myself" ask  "How can I care for myself emotionally, spiritually, mentally and physically today?"  then listen to your body for the answers.  As I tuned into that question today I came up with some emotional clearing that needed to happen so I plan to have a good cry by watching a favorite tear jerking movies, followed by some meditational journaling ( I write letters to Goddess then listen for her answers), I'm teaching myself to play the penny whistle (mental) and I'll either go for a walk or put on some of my favorite songs and dance in my house for 15-20 minutes (physical).  With those answers in place I set an alarm on my phone's calendar for each of them to be completed today.  
Staying with empowering self care questions enlivens you.  

3.  Celebrate what's going right 

It's easy to get lost in the midst of to do lists that never seem to empty themselves and see these as evidents of not enough.  Why not shift the perspective to not only see what going right but to celebrate it as well?  Celebrating even the tiniest bit of forward momentum can make a huge difference in the way you feel about yourself.  Did you season a meal to perfection?  Remember to take out the garbage before it overflowed?  Got that one pressing thing done?   Remembered your resuable water bottle as you walked out the door?  Perhaps you can celebrate by buying yourself flowers, diving into your craft stash just for fun or blessing yourself.  All things you do deserve celebration because they are just right for you.  

Share some of the ways you use to grow your relationship with yourself in the comments.  I'd love to know how you fall in love with yourself!