Centering Practice: “Going to” the Heart, Cultivating Joy, and Working with Energy (a Practical Guide)
If you’ve read my previous posts, you’ll understand just how much I value the cultivation of a practice (routine, or ritual) that you can return to daily (in some cases, many times a day). When people first start coming in for energetic support with me, there seems to be an amount of mysticism around practices like meditation, intention setting, and setting up any kind of personal ritual. I think actually, that we have been conditioned and programmed to be detached from our innate ability to connect to something deeper than ourselves, outside of traditional religions. I stand by my belief that cultivating centering practices is not only possible for us all, but it can enhance our lives in myriad ways:
It can help establish routine, which will reinforce the return to our practices, and ultimately to ourselves.
It can help us to regulate our nervous system, lower cortisol and heart rate.
It can help us improve our interoception.
It can help us learn to trust our initial instincts.
It can help us to learn to seek less validation from others.
It can enhance our creativity.
It can help us receive “downloads” from our higher self/guides/angels/source.
I’d like to walk you through a centering practice that you can do daily. With any of the information that I offer, take what is resonant for you, and leave the rest.
Establish a place in your dwelling space and time of day to “sit”.
This can be as simple or as ornate as you like. This may be in your bedroom, or any area of your home. You may create a simple altar, with meaningful items (such as photos, art, crystals, items representing the elements). This is a fun part! You cannot get this wrong. You may just need a meditation cushion. You can also sit on a chair. Having a designated place to return to is an important part of establishing a routine. Play around with the time of day; many people like to do this at sunrise or sunset, but you can do it literally at any time of the day. Your practice can last 5 minutes or longer.
Establish protection.
You can call upon archangel Michael, your higher self, or your highest guides to protect you as you begin to meditate. I recommend surrounding yourself in a bubble that is a mirror facing outward, with no seams. You can ask your higher self (highest aspect of your soul, some call it the “oversoul”) to be a gatekeeper for you throughout the day.
Clear your energy field, cut cords.
You can imagine sitting under a waterfall, and allowing the water to clear the energy in and around your body. You can return any energy that does not belong to you, by saying “return to sender with consciousness”. You can cut cords to you by imagining cutting all of them with a golden scissors or sword (allowing the healthy ones to reattach) or by cutting the unhealthy cords in the same manner. You don't have to get all of the details or know anything more about the cords. You may receive intuition about the cords, but it is not necessary.
Call your energy back to you.
You can say, or intend, “I call my energy back to me now, across time and space, across densities and dimensions, cleaned and cleared. I send my energy to the earth for further balancing, harmonizing, and alchemizing. And now I call it all back to me, back to my body so that I can hold a high vibration for myself and humanity”. This can be modified to fit any specific wording or language—make it your own.
Anchor into the seven directions.
The idea of the seven directions is taken from the work of Barbara Hand Clow. Anchor into the east, west, south, north, into the Earth, into the cosmos, and then finally into your heart. Pause between each direction and notice if you can feel anything in your body. There is no right or wrong, just pay attention and see what comes up. When you get to your heart, imagine expanding it like a toroidal field; a “cosmic bagel” of energy that pulses and radiates outward and inward, in every direction.
Continue to go deeper into your heart.
Imagine your heart as the most special place. Create a temple, or other sacred space—either a dwelling, or right in nature, and get really imaginative about the location. What does it look like? Sound like? Feel like? This is a place that you can keep coming back to, over and over. The more you can imagine it, the more you are actually building your intuition. You can go to this sacred space as often as needed, for respite or clarity.
Cultivate a sense of joy.
Ask to cultivate and experience as much joy as you are capable of receiving and holding. Think of 10 things that bring you joy, and really think about them. Practice gratitude for everything that you have right now that is supporting you, no matter how small. Notice the shift in your heart, your body, your nervous system. Hold onto this and bask in the glow-up of joy “mining”.
Call in high frequency golden energy into your body.
Imagine a golden source of energy; perhaps in the cosmos, or near the sun. This energy is pure healing light, pure love. See if you can imagine it, then connect with it by calling it down into your body, through the crown chakra, and eventually to your heart. Notice what it feels like. Is it warm, tingly? Does it have a texture? Allow it to grow to in your heart. Then you can send it to various parts of your body (if you are aware that you need healing), and/or you can ask it to go where your body needs it right now. Then, just pay attention to where it goes, how it feels. Imagine it; get visual.
As you begin to work with these practices, it might be helpful to have a journal nearby in case you want to jot down or note anything that comes up for you. I really do advise this; it can be hard to hold onto any information after you leave your practice. Taking the time for you each day is a powerful and healing practice. Don’t underestimate the benefits and empowerment that you will receive by cultivating and practicing this centering exercise. Let me know how it goes in the comments.
