When You Fall Off Your Path - Reigniting Your Practice
A few weeks ago I received an email from one of my awesome email babes and she had a quandary that I have struggled with in the past and one that I was so excited to be able to help her with and share with all of you.
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What do you do when you have lost your faith? How do you get back to practicing a magical and spiritual path when magic + spirit have let you down?[/wc_box]
I've been there before myself. You work hard following some kind of spiritual practice or working a ritual or series of magical practices with a specific and focused intention and plan. As things start to look like they aren't going well one of three things happen:[su_list icon="icon: thumbs-o-down" icon_color="#2fb8ae"]
- Nothing happens at all
- Something completely opposite to what you wanted manifests
- Everything just blows up in your face
[/su_list]Either way, you're let down. Something you so desperately wanted didn't pan out and the practice that had been giving you hope and a sense of stability for so long suddenly feels like a big sham.Then you start to beat yourself up over it.What did I do wrong?Did I pray wrong? Did I visualize wrong?Did I miss a step in my ritual?Does God just fucking hate me?!?!?!First, I totally want you to give yourself permission to feel all these things. That might seem a little counterintuitive at first, but honestly you're mourning something. You're kind of mourning the loss of your faith! You have to go through that anger stage before you can clear the decks for healing. So go ahead, get upset with yourself if you need to but know that this is just temporary.The next phase is acceptance and healing. When it comes to why something didn't work out the way you wanted, planned or intended it's important to keep in mind that there is always a plan greater than your own at play.[wc_spacing size="15px"][Tweet "Working magic is never a guarantee that you're going to get what you want."][wc_spacing size="15px"]Just because you work your spiritual magic + mojo doesn't mean that you're going to get what you want. There are almost always other people at play so their actions or free will are a factor. There are often unknown factors at play as well. And always you have to have your own head in the game in a clear and focused way.When you work ritual one of the most important things you can do for yourself is to always document your work. Not just what you did, what you used and when you did it but also how you felt when you did it. What was on your mind at the time. How you felt after it was all done.Another thing that I can't recommend enough before doing any ritual work is doing some divination {or having someone do it for you if you want a totally unbiased view} to see what kind of magic you should do for this situation or if you should do magic or ritual at all right now. You'd be amazed at how many times I've done readings for people looking for magical help only to find that magic is the LAST thing that they should be doing at that moment.Sometimes Spirit has a much better view of the situation than you and consulting divination tools first can help get that insight.And always remember that sometimes a failed magical endeavor is exactly what it might feel like - a big fat test of faith. Sure, this wasn't the right work to do and it might not be the right time to do this, but does that mean you're going to crumble and give up?You might! And that's OK.But once the dust has settled it's time to get your magical mojo back and reignite your practice.
Step One: Forgive Yourself
Forgive yourself for giving up and giving in. Forgive yourself for stepping away from your practice. Forgive yourself for beating yourself up over all of this. Forgive forgive forgive! It's OK, babe, but it's time to dust off and get back to it!
Step Two: Get Back To Basics
After you walk away from your spiritual and magical practice for a while, even years, it's a good idea to not try to pick up where you left off. You got off your metaphorical broom at Failuretown so this is NOT where you want to hop back on. Start back at the beginning and take a beginners eye and heart with you.One thing that I love to do is read a beginner's level book on a magical or spiritual topic that I love at least once a year to relight those fires in my belly that got me on my spiritual journey to start. The book that I often find myself reading is Book of Shadows by Phyllis Currott. This is a book that always makes me excited and curious to dive deeper into my practice and get back to the things that got my magical soul stirring when I was 12 in my parent's backyard under full moon light.
Decide what your Back to Basics Book is, or maybe create a list of them, and make a point to read at least one a year. Keep this list handy and any time to you start to feel a little lost or off track grab a book and a cup of tea and sink back into that soft cozy comfort of starting new.
Step Three: Shift Your View
This is simple sounding but it takes time and healing, but shift your view. Right now you may be feeling a sense of why bother or this is just a waste of time or even what if it just all falls apart again. That's OK, but that's not going to do you any good if you want to get your practice going again.[wc_spacing size="15px"][Tweet "When you want to change something in your life you have to start by changing your mind."][wc_spacing size="15px"]Decide that you are going to make this work.Believe in yourself and your ability to start over.Know that you always get a chance to try again. Yes there are always second chances out there somewhere!Start out with something simple like a cleansing ritual to let go of all the feelings and emotions about how spirit + magic let you down.Get out a notebook and a pen and start writing a letter. It can be addressed to God, Goddess, a specific guide you work with, an angel {Archangel Michael is great for this}...or just to Spirit in general. You can even write it to your Higher Self if you feel that the fault all lies within. Addressing someone helps to make it feel more "real" and tangible.Tell your letter recipient how you feel. What you felt went wrong, how it impacted your faith and belief and how you really feel about wanting to get back to your path and practice. Are you nervous? Scared? Skeptical? Get it all out on the page with whatever blood, sweat and tears you need to release. Nobody else is going to see this.When you're all done tuck it away somewhere safe until the night before the new moon. On that night bring it out along with a fireproof container {large enough for the papers}, a lighter or matches and some crushed up pieces of sage. Hold the letter, read it again, read it out loud if you feel safe doing so...really feel the power of your words and bring up those emotions. Cry, scream, laugh or rejoice. Whatever you need to do, do it.Then light that baby up! Set the pages on fire in the container and let them burn, baby, burn! As the flames start to go down but before they are totally gone, throw the sage in the container to burn. They help to cleanse and release any extra negative energy you might be carrying with this.How do you feel? Give yourself a little time to sit with the dying flames, breathing deep in your heart center and get really grounded in what you just did, letting go of anything heavy you are still carrying.No matter what you're feeling it's exactly what you're supposed to be feeling right now!Congrats, babe! You just worked some amazing magic! Welcome back! :tada:
Step Four: Keep Going!
Keep this momentum going but stay small for now as you rebuild your faith. Get a daily meditation practice going, do daily tarot or oracle readings for yourself or do some shielding work. Small and steady is what you need when you rebuild, not big grand gestures that are going to drain you and knock you down if they don't go well.Again, I can't stress it enough, study and refresh your knowledge. Check out new beginners books on spiritual or magical topics that you enjoy. There may be a new author out there writing about meditation or ritual that you haven't discovered because you figured it would all be stuff you know. Trust me, there's wisdom in there for you too.Also, look for support! Find Facebook groups for people who practice your style of spirit + magic and join with a beginner's heart. Ask questions and gain support where you need it. Regaining your faith after failed spiritual or magical work means getting grounded in the basics and really being OK with where you are right now. It's OK to mourn the failures but you have to get up and get back to it otherwise you just let that failed thing have way more power over you than it should. Eventually the reason you have no faith left is because you're giving your power away to the past.Be present and live in the now while setting your sights on the future! :gift_heart: If you're looking for a little support in reviving or breathing life into your spiritual or magical soul, come join us in the Wild Spirit Tribe! You're more than welcome to come here and look or help, healing, wisdom and support if you need it. :rose: One of the things that I work with my Spiritual BFF clients on quite often is this very subject of losing faith - whether it's in God herself or their own ability to manifest their desires. If you want to get really down into it and get amazing clarity and a personal plan for growth, healing and change then let's get together.[wc_spacing size="40px"]