a sweeter life…

If you’ve been following me you may have noticed that I’m really dedicated to my self-care, it’s sacred for me. Loving myself and having self-care practices that support my wellbeing changed my life. I have healed myself emotionally and physically, because of my dedication to myself. And just to keep it real, I do fall off the wagon at times (I’m not perfect) but for the most part, I’m dedicated to keeping myself healthy in mind, body and spirit.

My self-care practices change from time to time, but making self-care a priority will always be a part of who I am.

Here are 4 things that I’m loving right now:

Books and articles– Making time for reading is a must, I like to read a variety of books and articles about subjects that interest me, not all of them are related to self-care but somehow self-care is woven into the act of reading.  Sometimes reading a book that has nothing to do with self-care, can be the catalyst for forming a new habit that can better serve me.  Right now I’m reading Better Than Before by Gretchen Rubin (here), Keep Going by Austin Kleon (here), The Life Diet by Laura Jane Williams (here) and A Cornish Christmas Carol by Liz Fenwick (here), this is the first novel I’m reading in ages.

Online courses – I love online courses, it’s a great way to stay creatively connected, meet others who have the same interests and I love learning new things.  Currently I’m in a course with Greta Solomon (here), Writing for Creative Self-Expression.

Morning ritual – I believe that the early morning when you first wake is the most precious time. It’s that time before the noise of the day, It’s when I feel the most connected with my higher being and the universe. Right now my mornings consist of journal writing, I’ll also do some scripting about my health. Light a candle, I’ll pull a tarot/oracle card for the day, and of course there’s coffee involved here :). It’s my time for getting in touch with my creativity and my intuition, really tuning into me. 

Cooking – I love cooking it’s a meditative and joyful experience.  I strongly believe that what I put into my body nourishes all of me.  My health is my number one priority.  Cooking for myself allows me the freedom to choose exactly what I put into my body. My food is mostly organic, fresh, and almost completely free of any preservatives, salt and sugar.  I’ve become very creative in inventing new flavors by using combinations of herbs and spices, my favorite right now is combining garlic powder, turmeric and rosemary, I practically sprinkle all three on just about everything I cook. 

Well, here you have it, four things that I love right now as part of my self-care.  Hope this inspires you to craft a self-care practice for yourself, it doesn’t have to be huge and involved, keep it simple, it can be just one thing that you do just for you, one thing that fills you with joy and reminds you that you’re worthy, deserving, awesome and amazing!!!

Share your thoughts I love to hear from you.

Blessings

COPYRIGHT MASHA G. ELLMAN 2021

Ever since my new word for the year – EXPAND – showed up, I’ve felt a shift within me, a new door opened and I’ve walked through it.  I’m feeling that I’m bolder, more expansive, more free…I can’t really find the right words to express the feeling.  This year I’ve decided to trust in Universal Intelligence and follow every guidance I get, not to change it, not to make it smaller, just to trust in and follow the flow of what is showing up. I’m not willing to hide myself away or make myself smaller anymore, I’m ready to show up as the “bigness” that I am.

My higher guidance for you:

Get out of your smallness and get into your bigness!

You’re not here to play it small, you’re not here to hide your greatness, you’re not here to live in limits, let yourself out – be the amazing being that you were created to be – you are a miracle!

Have a wonderful week!

Blessings

COPYRIGHT MASHA G. ELLMAN 2021

Hello wonderful people,

How was your first week of 2021???

I am full of hope and inspiration.  I’m reminding myself that we’re in a #5 year which carries the energies of freedom from restriction and change.  And talking about change, I’ve revised my personal boundaries. I made a list of what I will allow and not allow into my life, for instance, I don’t go on social media, look at emails, answer the phone, or read texts (at least I’m trying not to) for the first two hours after I wake up.  This is my sacred time which I devote to me, focusing on my dreams, my health, my creativity, and whatever else I feel nourishes me. I put my list where I can see it every day and read it. I know not everyone has time in the morning, but if you can manage to give yourself 30 minutes or even 15, believe me it’s a game changer. When I give myself time, my mind is more clear, I feel better, I am in a positive mindset and I feel happier.

I finally got myself out for a morning walk yesterday, something that I love to do but fell behind on last year (I’m blaming this on COVID) Here are a few photos from my walk. There was a flock of birds that flew by but I couldn’t get a good shot of them, I did manage to get a shot of the birds on the wire above the house.

I’d love to know if you set boundaries for yourself? Feel free to share, I love to read your comments.

Have a wonderful day and weekend.

Blessings

COPYRIGHT MASHA G. ELLMAN 2021

Hello wonderful people,

Happy New Year!!!!!!  I am sooooo haaaappppyyyy it’s 2021!!!

WOW!!! we’re not out of the woods yet but, what a year we’ve just come out of.  In numerology, last year was a universal year 4, which is all about building foundations and 2021 is a universal year 5, and according to numerology and astrology forecaster Kari Samuels (here) get ready for a wild ride.  5 is quite revolutionary, it carries the energy of prosperity, freedom from restrictions, and change.  This year of 5 is inviting us to step into change and expansion, release ourselves from the limitations we’ve enclosed ourselves into. What a year this is going to be, I’m really looking forward to huge changes in my own personal inner and spiritual growth.

My new word for 2021 is E X P A N D, I usually get my word in October but expand showed up towards the end of August last year, as soon as it showed up I felt an inner shift. The word also brought to the forefront the fact that I was blocked, which is how I had been feeling for a long while. I felt like I was standing in front of a door but I couldn’t move to open it. I tried journaling about it and did inner work trying to move myself out of the blocked place, but I stayed stuck, and it wasn’t until towards the end of December that I suddenly felt like something lifted off of me and I felt freer than ever and ready for “expand”. During the last few days in December, the words “go within” and “trust” showed up and I feel they carry the perfect energies to support “expand” Two of my intentions for this year is to connect in a greater way with my inner being, and to let go of the fear that is holding me back from being fully me and from receiving the gifts of the universe.

I’m so excited to journey with E X P A N D, I can’t wait to see where this energy is taking me to and in what amazing ways this year will unfold. I just love my word and I feel it’s in sync with universal energies 🙂

If you’d like to know how to find a word for the year, please check out my blog post (here) The Magic of Having a Word for the Year.

And if you already have a word, feel free to share it here in the comments, I’d love to know what your word is.

Have an amazing year!!! Love & Blessings.

COPYRIGHT MASHA G. ELLMAN 2021

Before stepping into the new year and saying ‘HELLO 2021’ – taking some time to unravel the current year and looking at the things that made you happy, the things that you accomplished, the things you did not, the goals you reached or didn’t reach…will enable you to start the new year feeling empowered and in charge of yourself. It’s like doing a decluttering of yourself, you’re making room and freeing up space within, to be open and to receive the new that the new year has to offer.  It shows you where you may want to make changes, what you don’t want to bring into the new year, what you want to let go of, and what you want more of.

One thing to remember in the process of going over your year is to forgive yourself, let go of things that don’t serve you anymore, and be proud of yourself, you did the best you could, the best you knew how, when you’re done celebrate yourself, you’re awesome!!!

My yearly ritual is to first look at the current year and then ask myself what do I want in the new year. I like to make some time on the weekend or during the week, I don’t do this all at one time. I like to write it down, it gives me a better view, so i have a notebook with me, and I ask myself questions, here are a few:

^^^ Questions for 2020 ^^^

What am I most proud of myself for this year?

What was holding me back?

Where did I let myself down? What can I do to change?

What was my biggest challenge?

What am I most grateful for?

^^^ Questions for 2021 ^^^

What part of myself do I want to nurture?

What is my one big dream and what do I need to do to achieve it?

How can I better take care of my health?

What do I want to learn this year?

How do I want to feel in December of 2021?

A search on Google will yield loads of questions to ask yourself in order to unravel yourself and live at your highest best.

Bear in mind that getting to know yourself and changing yourself takes work, it takes dedication, it takes forgiving yourself and loving yourself unconditionally.  It takes a conscious effort, a wanting and willing to dig yourself out from the illusion that you accepted as the truth, in order to transform yourself into the grandest version of who you truly are. 

Your life is a gift, meant to be lived by YOU

don’t just let it move past you, take charge and live it consciously and aware. 

You are the one creating your reality every day, make it – extraordinary!!!

Blessings

COPYRIGHT MASHA G. ELLMAN 2020