Things have felt so different so lately, Reader. For starters, we now have 3 dogs at home (one who is currently yapping his little high-pitched bark through the window at the pool guy). Oh yeah, and we also inherited a cat too!
The dogs have been learning to get along – poor Rocky, who always liked his space, is taking the longest to settle in. We're adjusting. It isn't the easiest thing easy to do (we still haven't officially introduced the cat to the other two dogs yet🙄), but it is getting manageable.
Among the things that feel different? ALL of it: getting up earlier, staying up later, driving longer distances, finding sacred alone time - everything is way off.
And the glaring obvious, the grief I'm experiencing after losing my niece feels unlike anything I've known before.
The practices that used to anchor me – breathwork, morning pages, meditation – feel… off, even a little scary.
And, Reader, I know why.
It's not cause breathwork, morning pages, and meditation don't work; it's because they DO work. Way too damn good.
Breathwork, morning pages, and meditation are a powerful ways to sacredly unearth what your body remembers but your mind has buried. Putting your grief into felt emotions and words gives it shape — and allows you to set it down so you can move forward.
Sometimes, that deep work feels like the hardest thing. That's also why I'll never pressure anyone into breathwork who isn't ready or capable of reaching a deeper level—connecting with their body, breath, and soul.
Right now, I'm honoring this different feeling by taking things slow. A meditation here and there, a "whenever-I-feel-like-it" pages instead of morning pages every day, and breathwork only when I feel brave enough to dive into those deeper feelings.
I know that when I'm able and ready for something deeper, more sacred, and more healing, breathwork will be there to guide me back.
This grief is its own journey. And I'm allowing it to guide me slowly to my return to self. Kinda like we're allowing ourselves more time before we introduce the cat to the other two dogs.🤷♀️
What about you, Reader? What feels different for you? What are you allowing in your life?
Wherever you find yourself in life, whether it's dealing with grief, adjusting to a new baby, starting a new career, settling into your new place, or just navigating the craziness of life, I hope you give yourself permission and grace to slowly let your heart slowly guide you back to yourself.
And if you're feeling called to allow yourself some guided support through your "different", here are some ways you can nurture your journey:
No, this isn't about fixing what's broken; it's about remembering and reconnecting with the innate strength and vitality you already possess – and you can experience a powerful shift in just half a day, right here in Houston. Join us for Raava and:
- Let your breath lead: Experience a profound connection to your inner knowing through Breathwork (led by me😉).
- Connect and release: Build community through the sacred shared of a powerful Fire Ceremony to lovingly let go of what no longer serves you.
- Find your intentional flow: Allow the gentle, yet powerful movements of Qigong open your energetic pathways to create space within.
- Nourish your soul through alchemizing power of sound: Journey within and align with the harmonic frequencies during a deeply relaxing Sound Bath.
- Emerge renewed: You'll leave feeling freedom, clarity, and a renewed sense of self, carrying a quiet confidence in your reclaimed power and a commitment to giving back to yourself with the same fierce love you give to others.
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Upcoming resources to guide you back to self:
New Moon in Taurus Workbook Journey & Guidance Readings - A sacred journaling ritual to reconnect you with your peace & power, set your new moon intentions, and get some oracle readings — all for less than the cost of a Target run!
Apr 27th • email delivered to Soul Shift Members
Group Breathwork Class - Group breathwork class to clear your mind, release pent-up emotions, breathe in clarity & awaken your intuition!
Apr 24th • Thu • 7pm-9pm
Apr 26th • Sat • 7pm-9pm
Apr 29th • Tue • 1pm-3pm
Restorative Yoga Class - Dive into the soothing peace your soul craves in this slow, mindful restorative yoga class - no sweating required here!
Apr 26th • Sat • 11am-12:30pm
Apr 29th • Tue • 7pm-8:30pm
May 6th • Tue • 7pm-8:30pm
Online Group Breathwork Class - Virtual group breathwork class, clear pent-up emotions and awaken your intuition in the comfort of your own home!
May 1st • Thu • 7pm-9pm
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JUST FOR YOU:
Your weekly guidance
reading & journal prompts
For this week's guidance reading, I'm using Rebecca Campbell's Work Your Light Oracle Deck with a direct translation from the guidebook. If you have a question, feel free to pause and focus on it. Then, look at the stack of cards below and choose one you feel has your reading. Or you can also combine the messages of all three cards and let that be your guidance.
As always, take what resonates and leave the rest behind. I'd love to hear which reading made sense with your current energy, Reader. So be sure to reply and let me know.
Blue Apatite Guidance
UNBOUND - Releasing soul patterns, contracts, and past lives.
It is time to release old soul stories that have been playing out in your life. They are coming up to be healed. There has never been a safer time to clear these patterns than right now.
Take a look at patterns in your life that you are ready to release. Ancient vows and contracts that your soul made that have an expiry date. It could be a vow of silence or chastity or poverty. It is time to unwind from them. This is the life in which you free yourself from trauma of lives past.
What old ways of being have an expiry date? When you name them, you claim them and they stop holding power over you. When acknowledging these old patterns, it is also important to acknowledge how they have served you up until now. For example, a soul pattern of playing small caused by a soul fear of being seen or sharing your voice would have served you by keeping you safe. In order to grow, you now need to soften by receiving and calling in support.
It is time to unbind from the old ways of being that are no longer sustainable.
Work Your Light Activation: ‘I release all old soul stories, vows, contracts, and patterns that are no longer aligned with who I came here to be in the present time. I carry the lessons, growth, and gifts, but I no longer choose to live the same story. May I be unbound, unbound, forever unbound.’
✍Your journal prompts from this reading:
- What are some recurring patterns in my life – in relationships, career, or my inner experience – that feel like they have run their course or are no longer serving my growth?
- Choose one of the old patterns you identified. How has this pattern, even if negative now, served me or protected me in the past? What was the underlying need or fear it addressed?
- What would it feel like to be truly "unbound" from these old patterns? What new possibilities or ways of being would open up for me? What does "freedom" in this context look and feel like in my body and life?
Botswana Agate Guidance
INNER TEMPLE - Devotion. Tune in to the portal of your heart.
You are being called to be a devoted student and tune in to your heart. To incorporate true devotion into your life. You could be being called to develop a regular meditation, journaling, or chanting practice. Or to show up to your soul with rhythm. To develop a daily practice where you fill up your well and spend time with your soul.
All of the answers to all of the questions that you seek are waiting for you in the portal of your heart.
But you cannot hear them unless you carve out time each day to listen. Your soul is yearning for a deeper relationship with you, and so the more time you spend with it and show up to it, the more clearly it will guide you.
We are here to grow as souls. Earth is one big playground for the soul to learn. And you are being called to go deeper in your soul growth or to increase your devotion by being a student of a lineage or a spiritual teacher.
If you have already been a committed student, then you are being commended for your devotion. Your guides want you to know how proud of you they are, and that the time you spend in devotion is priceless.
If you are questioning your career or life path, your guides want you to turn your focus toward devotion and this prayer: ‘Please use me in a way that delights my mind, body, and soul. May my life be one big moving prayer.’
Work Your Light Action: Commit to a daily devotional practice.
✍Your journal prompts from this reading:
- What does "devotion" truly mean to me in this moment? How does it feel in my body and spirit? What areas of my life am I currently feeling a call to bring more intentional focus and dedication to?
- What is my soul yearning for in its relationship with me right now? What kind of "rhythm" or consistent connection feels most resonant? What small, daily practice could I commit to that would feel like "filling up my well"?
- Reflecting on the prayer: "Please use me in a way that delights my mind, body, and soul. May my life be one big moving prayer." What does it mean for my life to be a "moving prayer"? How can I bring more intention and devotion to my daily actions and align them with what truly delights my whole being?
Amazonite Guidance
LEAP - You go first. The Universe will catch you.
Life bends for the courageous. The Universe wants to support you, but first you need to leap. To throw your life up in the air.
Perhaps you know what you are being called to leap toward (or away from) but are scared to make the move. Or maybe you are waiting for a big fat sign, or instruction manual, or permission to do so first. If this is you, then this card is your sign and permission slip to take a deep breath, and leap into the unknown.
It’s scary to let go of all that we know in hope for something new. And it’s normal to feel anxious at the thought of letting go of what we know for sure. But this is the unavoidable process of rising. And right now, this is how you are being called to live.
Nature is constantly showing us how to live with courage. Fall comes every year and encourages the trees to loosen their grip. To allow what once was so full of life, to fall away, leaf by leaf. For a moment, it feels like nothing will grow again. The branches are left bare without the comfort of what once was. But in the morn of spring, new shoots begin to appear and something new is born that is even more glorious than before.
Work Your Light Action: You go first. Take a good run-up and leap.
✍Your journal prompts from this reading:
- Where in my life right now do I feel a gentle (or not-so-gentle) nudge to "leap"? What am I being called toward or away from? What makes this feel like a necessary, albeit potentially scary, move?
- How can I practice "allowing" in the areas where I feel a call to "leap"? What small acts of self-compassion or patience might be necessary before I feel ready to take a bigger jump? How can I trust the timing of my own process, even if a "leap" feels imminent?
- The oracle card says, "The Universe will catch you." What does "trusting the Universe" mean to me in a practical sense? What kind of support or resources might already be available to me, even if I can't see them clearly yet? What would it feel like to truly believe I will be caught? Where would I take a 'leap' in my life?
As always only take what feels right in your heart and soul and leave the rest behind. Remember, these are general readings. If you want a personalized online or in-person session to clarify areas you're struggling with, highlight what's draining your energy, recharge, or breathe out stuck emotions, click below to book a session with me.
Sending lots of love your way,
— Francisca Hernandez
Breathe Deeply | Connect Consciously | Thrive Wholeheartedly!
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