Hi! I'm Jana, the founder of Moonrise Soul.
I am a Reiki Master, Energy Healer, Akashic Records Reader and Intuitive. I wasn't always working in this field. Up until quite recently, I had an enviable corporate career, but it left me feeling unfulfilled, unsatisfied, unmotivated and bored. I had to make a change. I had been doing a lot of deep spiritual work and training in different energy healing modalities. This gave me energy. Lit me up. Filled that void created by my corporate life. Lots of changes started happening at my company that were out of my control (isn't everything) and eventually I couldn't stay any longer. I had to take the leap. I had to jump into this work that I found so deeply fulfilling. Given the current world climate, I am grateful for the timing. The world needs more healers to step into their power, to help spread love and light.
I wrote a bit about this experience and some of the work I did around it to have the courage to move forward. I’d like to share it with you and would love to know what you think.
Living in alignment. What is it? How do we do it? Is it even possible with all the things we “have” to do? Will it add more to my ever expanding to-do list?
If you read that first paragraph and thought it sounds too good to be true, I feel you! But, hear me out. Living in alignment isn’t meant to add more to your heaping plate, it’s about being intentional about what you put on that plate. Like seeing what’s being offered up at the buffet before loading up your plate.
How do we get to that place of being intentional about our choices and making it much more simple to make those choices? Let’s start with getting clear on our personal values, authentic code, core desired feelings, whatever you want to call it. These are your guidelines for living a life that feels easy, joyful, meaningful, and lit up! When you are living out of alignment with these values, you feel unfulfilled, unmotivated, or uncomfortable.
There are so many exercises, online quizzes, books available to help you dig down and find your values. I’ve used many of them. I’ve also polled close family and friends. I’ve even had strangers pick out what they think my values are based on a story about something important to me. Search some of these out and do the exercises if you’d like. I’ll also provide some questions at the end of this to help you drill down to your authentic self.
OK, so you know your values. You can define what the words mean to you. You’re good there. Now what? Well, now you get to start making decisions that align with those values. Does this choice align with my values? Yes? Then keep on keeping on and enjoy the flow and ease that comes from doing something that lights you up. No? Then you say no thanks, not for me and carry on with your day.
Say one of your values is connection, but as we’ve all been following shelter at home regulations, you aren’t feeling as much connection as you’d like. You’ve been filling that time by binge watching Netflix and baking banana bread. Try saying no thanks to those plans with yourself and instead set up a video call with friends, maybe with a silly theme or a dance party. Or those times when you do go out for essentials, instead of being afraid of every person that walks by you and avoiding eye contact, smile, say hello, acknowledge their presence. Even if it is only a 10 second interaction, you’ve felt some connection. Voice calls over text. Send photos of your day. Share a new playlist you’ve discovered. Make an effort to reach out to one person every single day. I promise, it will make you feel more like yourself!
Maybe one of your values is freedom, and that to you freedom means having the time and the means to be spontaneous. Then you get offered an amazing career opportunity. The money is more than you thought you’d ever make, but the time commitment is huge. You are expected to be available around the clock. Weekends aren’t really your own. If you know that freedom is one of your values, this doesn’t sound like it will allow for much freedom, does it? Knowing that this opportunity isn’t in alignment with you, you can say no thank you and honor yourself and your values. I’m not saying it’s easy, but you will feel relief knowing that you haven’t compromised who you are at the core of your being.
Living in alignment is a practice. It takes awareness. It takes work to figure out what it even looks like to you. It’s also incredibly personal. When you start this practice, you may still say yes to things you know are a no. That’s A-okay. Give yourself permission to screw up. Try again. Soon enough, you will know when a situation isn’t in alignment because you will feel it in your body when you are in the midst of it. And then soon after that, you will feel it in your body before you even get into a situation that doesn’t work for you and you can say no with confidence.
You start doing you more and see how much more flow and ease will naturally come into your life!
Here are some questions to noodle over to help find out what your values are:
What gifts do you have that no one else has? What can no one else do quite like you?
What could you spend hours doing and not even notice that time has gone by?
What are non-negotiables in your life? Travel? Quality time with people you love? Healthy food?
Read through your answers and find some common themes or words that sum up what you want more of in your life. Those are your values.
In what ways do you shrink yourself?
What are some things you would be happy to never have to do again? Things that feel like a chore.
What activities bring you a feeling of stress, worry or you procrastinate over?
Now that you’ve identified some of the things that don’t align, start finding ways to do them less. If you can’t completely rid your life of these activities, how can you reframe them so they feel like less of a chore?
If you feel like you could use 1:1 help with living your life in alignment, I’d love to chat! You can book a Soul Session or a call to learn more over on my website, www.moonrisesoul.com or keep in touch on Instagram @moonrise_soul or on Facebook.