PREFACE 

I decided to revisit each of my blog posts many years after I originally posted them to update and revise as needed. I’m finding two things, I wish I had an editor and I want to soften the tone of the information I’m sharing. To be honest, the last thing I want to sound is preachy or righteous because I am forever learning the depths of my soul. I think when I first wrote the posts, I was excited to share a practice that worked for me so it may have come across that way. I want to revise a few things so it’s more about sharing my personal experience and what I’ve learned on my journey.

I’m a firm believer in experiencing all aspects of self, even the darkness, and the darkest part of self. I’m learning that experiencing this darkness, which I like to refer to as the ebb in the soul’s current, does take strength and lots of compassion as you care for your soul wounds. The soul healing practices are skills and practices I’ve developed during my journey that helped in navigating through the darkness, and assisted in shifting from ebb to flow with rest and integration in between. 

The practices are psychospiritual in nature, and are a mix of my personal experience and prior professional mental health background (as a licensed clinical social worker). All of my practices involve connecting with the elevated mind and sacred heart through awareness, imagination, visualization, and meditation. These soul healing practices continue to evolve and change just as my soul is growing and expanding.

There is of course no guarantee that the practices will work for you, but if you do try any of the practices, I encourage you to experiment in order to make it your own. Listen to your inner wisdom and change or refine the practice as needed so it completely resonates with your soul. Also, all of my practices need to be at your pace, so again listen to your inner knowing and honor it.

My sacred journey is not less or more significant than anyone else’s, my only motivation for sharing is to inspire self-transformation and to offer support for your unique and sacred journey. Please forgive any editorial mistakes for this is as good as it will get without an editor ;). This is what I’ve learned along the way.

SOUL HEALING PRACTICE BACKGROUND 

Grief is something quite familiar to me as I have experienced the loss of my husband, my father, and numerous life and identity changes. Grief is a natural response to any loss of attachment (death, divorce, moving, changing jobs, any life or identity change). All of which is an ending of a cycle or chapter of a former way of life.

In my opinion, the grief journey is sacred and unique to each of us as we ride the waves of grief. It can be quite painful and raw, and then expansive and healing as the waves crest and trough through our soul. The waves gradually loose energy and intensity as they approach and settle upon the shore of a new cycle or chapter of life. The time it takes to settle is unique and sacred to each of us. 

Our grief journey is sacred. It unfolds at our pace and timeframe. Many times external influences want to push us along because it’s painful for them to see us endure so much, but it is not for them to decide or dictate. We have a right to our own grief in however it unfolds, in whatever form it takes, or whatever path we follow, it’s our sacred journey not anyone else’s. 

The following are soul healing practices I found beneficial in riding the waves of grief. The practices are only suggestions and do not need to follow a specific order. Again, feel free to change and refine the practices as necessary so that these practices nurture your sacred soul during the grief journey.  

SOUL HEALING PRACTICE 

1) LOVE YOURSELF

A way to love yourself is to give yourself permission to rest in your own sacred space within, to make contact with your sacred divine self. Too often we are busy doing for others or distracting ourselves with endless stimuli, to include our own mind’s tendency to inundate us with self-defeating and limiting thoughts/beliefs. It’s common during the grief journey to experience a desire to avoid it all together. I’ve found avoidance just prolongs the grieving process sometimes complicating its natural course. During the turbulent times, your inner guidance is inviting you for a retreat within. This doesn’t have to be a lengthy activity, but a short respite lasting even a minute is helpful, just enough to quiet the waters of your soul. 

Centering or grounding yourself with breath, meditation, and/or prayer are ways of offering yourself a retreat and respite. The soul healing practice I share incorporates breath and meditation (visualization). It can be done within 5 minutes or less and done anywhere, but if you do have more time to dedicate to yourself, then I recommend making this inner retreat a personal ceremony to you. Find a quiet space with little to no distractions where you can prepare your ceremony by lighting a candle, burning incense, or placing beloved pictures or loving objects near you, or whatever acts and objects that make you feel safe, warm, and nurtured.

I like to begin all my soul healing practices with the following breathing techniques as an effective way to nourish my soul, to calm my nervous system, and to feel more empowered. If you’ve read any of my other posts, then you may already be familiar with the techniques. I start with the four-count breath where I count to four as I inhale expanding the lower belly (1, 2, 3, 4) and count four backwards as I exhale slowly (4, 3, 2, 1), repeating as needed. Once I’ve calmed my energy, I continue with intentional breathing:  as I slowly inhale I say to myself I am and on the exhale I say calm, continuing the practice on the inhale saying I am and on the exhale saying safe, breathing in I am and breathing out empowered, breathing in I am and breathing out love, breathing in I am and breathing out light, and finally breathing in I am and breathing out free. You can end this practice with the following statement or intention: I trust myself, I believe in myself. Remember with this practice to bring the breath all the way down to your lower belly and not just to your chest. The breath not only gives life to the intention, but also helps to anchor it into your soul’s vibration. If you like this technique, I suggest experimenting with the intentions so it totally resonates with you and gives you a sense of calm, a feeling of being centered and nurtured, and empowered.  

Once you are centered within, gently close your eyes and visualize a sphere of golden light shining from your heart center that feels incredibly healing and nurturing. Now see the sphere of light expanding outward until it completely surrounds you like a cocoon. As you are encased in this golden sphere/cocoon, you notice spirals of golden, white light are dancing all around you and within you. Imagine the spirals of light are directed to your heart wounds and emotional pain, to the chaos or confusion in your mind, and to any physical pain and discomfort. Notice that the spirals of light begin to heal each area with its loving and restorative energy.

Next visualize a warm, loving, nurturing, and deeply supportive presence is now in the golden sphere with you. Imagine the presence is holding your hands, embracing you, or actually holding and cradling you. This presence can be of angelic origins, the beloved who passed, a motherly figure, or whomever or whatever resonates with you most and your beliefs. Once you feel securely held by this energy bring forth any current feeling and hear them say to you: we hear your ‘feeling’, we hold your ‘feeling’, we love your ‘feeling’. For example if despair, sadness, or anger is present, you would hear: we hear your sadness, we hold your sadness, we love your sadness, or we hear your anger, we hold your anger, we love your anger.

Stay in this healing golden sphere/cocoon as long as you need. When ready, gently open your eyes. If the golden light doesn’t quite resonate with you, then experiment with other colors or even imagery that generates the energy of healing, love, compassion, support, safety, and nurture.  

2) ACKNOWLEDGE AND ACCEPT YOUR CURRENT STATE 

Acknowledging and accepting your current state both mentally and emotionally is honoring your soul’s natural current, its ebb and flow. The ebb is a pause and may come with an energy of distress, discomfort, or resistance within the soul, and in this case the aches of grief. Often times, we also know we’re in ebb when we notice any physical discomfort or pain. The flow is movement with a sense of peace and harmony, where any distress and discomfort is allowed to flow through the soul. In my opinion, the soul’s current is composed of emotions and feelings, thoughts, body sensations, and divine energy. Emotions are typically sensations in the body or physiological responses to a trigger or stimulus. How you interpret the emotion, such as how you think about the emotion (thoughts/beliefs) or how you label it transforms it into a feeling. If the emotion is uncomfortable, then the interpretation may have attached thoughts or beliefs that are disempowering, self-defeating, or limiting. This just means the state of ebb may be prolonged until the feelings and storylines are addressed and resolved. 

To allow the flow of emotions and feelings, it is helpful to use simple statements to identify the emotion such as: I’m sad, I’m afraid, I’m angry, or just sad, angry, afraid, or even I’m grieving. By simplifying these statements you are allowing the emotion/feeling to be present in a purer form, thus accepting their existence which initiates flow. Simplifying the statements also helps to minimize the interpretation and to prevent the attachment of additional storylines that may block flow and keep you in a state of ebb longer. Although, you may find and myself included, interpretation is automatic as it dwells in the subconscious. We aren’t always aware of the undercurrent of thoughts and beliefs that are interpreting the emotion or causing the feeling. For example, storylines causing or contributing to distressing feelings are often self-defeating, disempowering, or limiting in nature such as: no one loves me; bad things always happen to me; I’m not good enough; I’m always alone; or I don’t deserve love. However, if you investigate these storylines you will find they are not 100% true, but tend to frequently dominate the mind out of habit or conditioning, causing feelings of suffering and prolonged grieving.

Unraveling the mind of such storylines does take practice so be patient and kind with yourself. It can be further compounded by “hating” or feeling guilty for having such disempowering or self-defeating thoughts/beliefs. Challenging the validity of these types of storylines is an effective way to begin unraveling and empowering your mind. Visit my post to learn how, “The Art of Empowering Your Mind” (15 March 2016). In addition to empowering your mind, it is helpful to remind yourself of the realization that they are just thoughts, and the thoughts are NOT you. Your sacred divine self is so much more than your thoughts and beliefs. Your essence is always sacred no matter the type of thoughts or beliefs that are occupying your mind. This acknowledgement is a way to provide a little more space between you and the storylines that are causing significant distress.  

Acceptance of your current state of being is the beginning of moving from ebb to flow. Utilizing visualization may also be helpful to initiate the soul’s flow. I like to imagine crystal clear water is cleansing, rinsing, and healing my heart where the current emotion or feeling is residing. The healing waters are compassionately acknowledging the presence of the emotion or feeling, comforting them, and then when ready they flow through my soul. If I notice a distressing thought or storyline, then I direct the water to my mind where it cleanses, rinses, and heals the thoughts or beliefs that are present. I may also direct the water to my physical body where there are areas of tension or pain needing love, healing, and attention.

I also like using fire if the distress is a bit more resistant to the water or if I’m feeling disempowered. I visualize fire burns through worries or disempowering storylines and burns through any fear or self-doubt. I see the ashes dissolving into golden dust and then disappearing into the sacred whole. I suggest experimenting with the imagery so it truly resonates with you.

3) REACH OUT

Grief at times has a tendency to make you feel quite isolated and alone in your pain. By reaching out you remind yourself although you feel lonely you are never really alone.

Ask someone you trust to send you healing energy or prayers, to listen to you, and to validate your feelings. This someone or multiple beings can be living, transitioned (deceased), angels, your spirit team, pets, or whomever has the ability to provide you with genuine and comforting support. I found it was important to discern who can and can’t provide genuine support during my sacred grief journey. If you reach out to someone who brings their own projections, distress, or worries, then their inability to support you when you are in deep pain can further complicate your grief journey.

By reaching out, you share the burden of your grief and offer another being an opportunity to give comfort and love, while you allow yourself an opportunity to receive. It is a reciprocal exchange of love and a way of helping you feel deserving of love. In addition, you are offering yourself another opportunity to acknowledge and accept your feelings by bringing difficult emotions from the darkness to the light with the help of another. If you aren’t quite ready to reach out to another person, other effective ways of “reaching out” may include: journaling, automatic writing, poetry, or writing a letter to yourself or to whom or what has left your life.

Finally, an expression of gratitude for their support amplifies the experience. Gratitude is an excellent way to elevate your energy and soul.

SOUL HEALING PRACTICE CLOSING

I like to close each soul healing practice with another visualization, especially if the practice doesn’t include an energetic shield/boundary. If the practice does include a protective sphere of light, then adjust this closing visualization to complement the practice. The closing visualization may also be a stand alone practice. The intent is to further cleanse any residual blocks or burdens, calm the soul, restore optimal functioning, and realign the soul as above, so below.  

Visualize a disk of purifying, white light that is above you and is large enough to fit both your body and energetic field. The purpose of the disk is to scan your body and energetic field while it simultaneously moves any residual mental, emotional, physical, and energetic blocks or burdens. The energy will be moved out and drained like an energetic faucet as it disappears into the void. The intention of the energy as it disappears is to be transmuted and transcended into the sacred whole which includes your soul’s oneness or harmony. 

As you continue the visualization, imagine the purifying disk of light descending down towards you and begins to scan your upper energetic field and extends outward to capture your entire energetic field as it moves down your body, starting with your head, down your shoulders, down each arm, and out each hand. Visualize any blocks or burdens draining out of your hands (like a faucet). You can imagine the energy as darker energy flowing out. Once you feel it is complete or see the energy begin to trickle stop the flow from your hands. Bring your attention back to your shoulders and continue the scan down your chest, your abdomen to the pelvic area, down each leg, and out each foot. Again visualize any blocks or burdens draining out from your feet, once you feel it is complete or see the energy begin to trickle then stop the flow. Now take a moment to visualize your entire body and energetic field are now cleansed and cleaned.  

Next say to yourself, CALM, and visualize and feel every cell of your body and particle of your energetic field is calming like a pristine, quiet mountain lake with no movement. Just calm and quiet. Take a few deep belly breaths to savor this feeling of calmness. Next, say to yourself, HEAL, followed by optimal health and functioning, and golden light are restored, visualize every cell of your body and particle of your energetic field is now filled with sparkling golden light as you are glowing and vibrating with this golden energy. Visualize the golden energy extends outward to form a sphere of light that now surrounds you. The sphere of light may change colors, any color of your choosing. Again, take a few deep belly breaths to savor this energy of renewal, strength, and empowerment. 

Lastly, visualize a column of golden threads above you descending down through you and exiting out your feet, continuing down into the earth to be deeply anchored into the earth’s core so you feel secured, stable, and grounded (you can add imagery of golden roots or similar extending from your feet to be anchored into the earth’s core). Next see a violet light doing the same, and finally a pure white light doing the same. The intent of the columns are to align you above and below, so you feel both grounded and elevated. You may close the visualization by saying to yourself three intentions, for example I say: I am powerful, I am magical, I am healing, and as I say each intention I visualize myself growing taller, stronger, and feeling more empowered. 

As a last note and most likely suggested in the description of the soul healing practice, do experiment with, change, refine the practice as needed so it truly resonates with your soul, becomes your personal practice, and evolves and changes with you. By making the practice your own, you are listening to your inner guidance, are connecting with your sacred divine self, and aligning with your unique wisdom and soul’s vibration.

MY EXPERIENCE WITH THE SOUL HEALING PRACTICE

I awoke feeling depleted and irritable. Immediately the thought, what is it now, was present in my mind as I noticed the tone of my internal voice was a bit edgy and quite annoyed. I got up to start the morning routine while closely monitoring and observing my internal state. I knew based on my inner work when I felt fatigued it was alerting me of an attachment to limiting or disempowering thoughts or beliefs.

I initially tried using gratitude to raise my vibration and began repeating, I adore my life, as I was making my daughter’s breakfast and lunch for school. Yes, it was beginning to shift the energy, but the block was deeper. Something was emerging from the darkness wanting to be seen and acknowledged. I noticed under the feeling of irritation there was deep sadness. And then it hit me, my daughter is turning 15 years old this month, will be starting driver’s education to obtain her learner’s permit, and once again my late husband is not here in the way we want for yet another huge milestone.

I’m doing this all alone, AGAIN! was the thought raging in my mind. And then the old storylines came rushing in, as if an internal dam broke: I always have to be strong for everyone else and I always have to do it alone. I found myself plummeting deeper into the darkness as heavy emotions and feelings attached themselves to these storylines like concrete blocks dragging me into the depths of suffering. I noticed my breathing changed and it was quite shallow. I dropped numerous items in the kitchen because my mind was spinning with self-defeating and disempowering thoughts.

Taking a deep breath, followed by the four-count and intentional breathing techniques, I slowed the energy of my mind enough to accept a glimpse of clarity. I said out loud, I will nurture myself, noticing my tone was loving, but strong. I then visualized a healing and warm, golden light glowing in my heart center that expanded outward into a sphere that completely surrounded me. I felt held and nurtured in this cocoon of light. While in the visualization, I noticed two hands coming towards mine and then gently holding mine. I sensed it was him, my late husband, supporting me. I stated, I’m grieving, with no other thoughts or beliefs attached to the statement. I literally felt as though the bondages of the storylines unraveled and fell to the floor. My mind was clear, my breathing was deeper, and I could feel my vibration lifting which was opening my heart.

After I dropped my daughter off at school, I decided to reach out to my best friend and to my mother requesting healing energy and prayers. For me, allowing others to share my experience is a work in progress. They both lovingly validated my feelings.

My best friend offered a different perspective of my experience and reminded me the excitement of this rite of passage (learning to drive). She also reminded me to recall our experience at that age which allowed me to awaken my inner child and to remember the many laughs we shared. My mother and I discussed the trap of staying stuck in negativity and the importance of honoring your feelings and allowing them to flow and pass without unnecessary blocks or resistance.

The results from this practice was honoring my soul’s current, the movement from ebb to flow, and having compassion for my experience. The sadness passed with ease without hindrance and then I actually felt a tinge of excitement followed by contentment.  

At times during the day, the old storylines were tempting me back, but I gently interrupted the pattern with shorter/briefer versions of the practice above. Rather than projecting my distress onto my daughter, I was able to reverberate excitement and happiness in order to help her anxiety and fear of this rite of passage, learning to drive. I was also more available to support her grief of experiencing another huge milestone without her Dad.

If I was still having trouble moving the old storylines, then I would use the soul healing practices described in my post, “The Art of Empowering Your Mind” (15 March 2016).

POEM

THE REMINDER

Anger is here. 
It bubbles and swells,
in the pit of my stomach. 
I am so pissed off.

I am tired of being alone,
having to do it all myself
and judging myself so harshly.

I used to not be so angry,
before I was alone, before you died,
constantly questioning my decisions.
I am exhausted and scared,
scared as hell!

The power of anger, sadness, fear wanting to expel,
almost projecting it all upon you, my love, 
and then the reminder —
She says, “I feel like you are mad at me.”
“No, I’m not mad at you, but yes I’m angry.” 
She asks, “Do you need a hug?”
and with innate wisdom follows, “Maybe you are just
mad because Daddy’s not here and you have to do it all
by yourself.”

How lovely are you my precious star,
my wise old soul.
You are bright and knowing for such a young girl.
Thank you for the reminder of compassion!

— Stacy L. Pintor ©

NEEDS

I need rest.
I need solitude.
I need love.

I need to see my beloved’s face.
I need to know he is beside me.
I need to care for my grieving soul.

I need quiet and peace
to heal these wounds.
They are so raw and painful,
making each step so difficult now.

Yet, with all these needs,
I feel protected,
not of this world,
held by the unseen.

— Stacy L. Pintor ©

Thank you for visiting my blog, I truly hope some or all of the soul healing practices do help you along your sacred journey and provide you some relief and ease.

Visit my website if you want to learn more about me and to check out my poetry, especially if you liked the poems above which are included in my first poetry collection, Into the Darkness, Become the Light.  

https://www.baresoulworks.com

Thanks again for visiting and for your support. Stacy 💚 

PLEASE BE ADVISED

The soul healing practices provided in this blog are meant as a tool to aid in healing, for improving mental and emotional health, and for inspiring self-transformation. The practices are not meant to be a form of psychotherapy or social work practice requiring a contractual, professional relationship. If you need consistent therapeutic care and/or crisis intervention due to being at risk of harming yourself or others, then seek professional and/or emergency services immediately.

The purpose of this blog is to share with you how I integrate my personal experience, spiritual growth and expansion, and past professional mental health experience in the form of soul healing practices. By sharing my experience, it is my hope it will provide a practical example of how to interrupt and lessen the cyclical energy of suffering and to elevate your soul.   

These practices work best when you are ready to heal and expand. It is okay if you are not quite ready. Please be gentle and patient with yourself, seek outside help both professionally and personally as needed. You will heal and expand when you are ready. Sending you so much love, warmth, and compassion. Stacy 💚

© Stacy L. Pintor 2016. All Rights Reserved.

Revised and updated in 2025 by Stacy L. Pintor ©.

(No part of this blog may be reproduced without written permission from the author)