6 SIGNS YOU MIGHT BE A SECRET “SPIRITPRENEUR”

Feeling the call to put your heart and soul into work that makes a difference in the world? You may be a spiritpreneur in the making, says Ruby Warrington

spiritpreneur the numinous gabby bernstein spirit junkie masterclass
Photo: Jordan Whitfield

“To tip the world, it will take all of us.”

Cut to three weekends ago and I’m sat in the audience of Gabrielle Bernstein’s Spirit Junkie Masterclass. On stage, Gabby’s long-time coach and mentor, the incomparable Rha Goddess. Riffing on concepts like “massive collaboration” and “prophecy + strategy” in a lecture titled How To Step Up As A Spiritual Activist, Saturday morning sermon is ON.

When Gabby invited me to come check out her weekend-long spiritual business coaching deep-dive, I decided I would give the timing of my drop-in over to the Divine. I would not rush to be there in line at 8am, I would not cherry-pick which sessions sounded the most interesting to my logical mind. I would take my chances and trust that whatever seminar I found myself in, would be the one for me.

And here I am, with the Goddess herself proclaiming: “We are living in the Age of the Citizen. This is a unique moment in history when we get to have a say on the kind of world we live in.” Telling us how she’s named a certain orange-hued politician “The Accelerator,” since she believes that events currently unfolding on the world stage are compelling a new generation to call themselves “spiritpreneur” to do their dharma, and fulfill their “sacred duty.”

I get chillz even writing this now, because hell YES. Spreading this message has also become the bigger mission of this platform. It’s there in articles on How To Be A Spiritual Activist. It’s a guiding principal behind the teachings and community Alexandra Roxo and I have created with Moon Club. And it’s the golden thread running through my book, Material Girl, Mystical World—the chapter titled “Do Your Dharma, Fix Your Karma,” the one people tell me has impacted them the most.

Gabby and Rha Goddess at the Spirit Junkie Masterclass

In the words of all-time #basicwitch classic, The Craft: “Now is the time; This is the hour; Ours is the magic; Ours is the power.”

Feeling the call? Then read on for 6 signs you may be a spiritpreneur in the making …

1) You suspect there might be more to life than playing company politics in the name of climbing the corporate ladder. (Hint: THERE IS.)

2) You strongly believe that you have something very, very important to contribute to society. Even if this “something” is simply being the happiest, healthiest version of you—and in doing so inspiring others to be the happiest, healthiest versions of them, too.

3) You secretly want to become known (okay, “famous”) for the incredible work you do in the world. Even if this work is simply BEING THE MOTHERF*CKING LIGHT.

4) Your diet and workout regime is less about looking and feeling great, more about having the energy and motivation to make your dreams for a better world a reality.

5) Your main motivation for seeking financial abundance is … so you can hire an army to work on making your dreams for a better world a reality.

6) “Success” for you is a multi-dimensional concept, including, but by no means limited to: expressing your creativity; making your own schedule; working with people who feel like friends; making your family proud; financial abundance (so that you can hire an army to work on making your dreams for a better world a reality); having a voice; your work having a positive impact on the lives of others; being the mother*cking light.

Sound like you?

So here’s the thing. In my experience, stepping onto the spiritpreneur path has felt so so right … but is by no means easy. It might / will very likely mean a period of financial uncertainty (FYI, I’m still navigating this 4 years into starting The Numinous). It may mean pissing some people off (i.e. your parents, your partner, your boss). And it will most definitely require you to seriously up the stakes in the “self-belief” and “abilty-to-multitask-and-fake-it-til-I-make-it” categories.

Which is why, if you’re committed to making it as a spiritpreneur / making your dreams for a better world a reality, it makes sense to seek all the help you can get.

Which is where Gabby’s online Spirit Junkie Masterclass comes in—a digital training + business community based of her annual live event that you can access from anywhere, and that’s specifically designed to support you on your mission!

Gabby has been a HUGE supporter of The Numinous from the very beginning. She was one of the first people to befriend me when I moved to NYC, and was THE first person to tell me I should write a book. Thank you Gabby!!

Curious? Click HERE to find out more. PLUS, if you sign up via The Numinous using this link, you will also receive:

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*And a disclaimer: Hell yes, The Numinous will receive a financial kick-back for every sale via this channel. I’m putting this out there in the name of transparency—AND ALSO to let you know that signing on to Gabby’s affiliate program this year is part of my own journey in overcoming blocks to being rewarded financially for my “soul work.” Supporting each other in this mission is an essential truth of the spiritpreneur—and Gabby, bless her badass-business-leader soul, knows it! See you out there on the road less travelled …

spiritpreneur the numinous gabby bernstein spirit junkie masterclass

WTF IS “HEALING CIRCLE CHIC”?

No more skinny jeans and tight waistbands. These days I prefer to let it all hang out, with some healing circle chic … Main image: Francis Catania

In my favorite drop-crotch pants

Skinny jeans, RIP. It’s official, the long-time reign of spray-on skinnies is officially ovah. Having been gradually edged out over the past few seasons, recent strolls around my hood in Williamsburg show the pendulum has finally swung. Long live the mom jean! And my belly, for one, is breathing a HUGE sigh of relief.

I actually stepped away from skinny jeans in a major way after I launched The Numinous, and began a deeper investigation of the modern spirituality scene. As a fashion writer in London, I’d amassed quite a collection—spray-on drainpipes by All Saints, hip-hugging micro flares by MiH, at least five pairs by J Brand. And peeling them off at the end of the day sometimes felt like being released from a Victorian corset. I actually think my skinny jeans habit might also have been a contributing factor to ongoing digestive issues during that period. For real!

But as days in high-pressure editorial meetings and nights spent trawling the celebrity party circuit gave way to Full Moon circles and sound bath sessions, more and more often the skinnies were relegated to the back of my wardrobe. Drainpipe denim and gong healing workshops do not make for happy bedfellows. As anybody who’s tried sitting cross-legged for extended periods in a pair of size 27 Cheap Mondays will know!

Free People Full Moon Ritual Ruby Warrington The Numinous
Rocking some Healing Circle Chic at at Full Moon ritual for Free People

Instead, I found myself seeking out clothing for my bottom half that allowed ample room for movement. For deep belly pranayama breathing. And which would not mean spending an entire Zen Buddhist meditation workshop trying to detach from thoughts about the pain of stiff denim cutting into my abdomen, hips, or the creases behind my knees. What I have come to term: healing circle chic.

My go-to look these days is a variation on yoga pants + sharp-shouldered blazer x chunky leather shoe situation (my friend Gabby Bernstein once coined my look “rock n roll yogi”!). But truth be told, even the yoga pants can get to feel kind of restrictive. As for the thong panties they require, let’s not even go there. My actual fave is a pair of drop-crotch Indian pants, with a loosely elasticated waistband positioned somewhere low down on my hips. Ahhhhhhh.

All the better for “letting it all hang out”—in a physical and an emotional sense. Because what I’ve also come to realize is, the more energy spent angsting over a waistband that feels too tight, the less headspace for deep and meaningful conversations with your higher self. The kind of conversations that are pretty much a non-negotiable for living your most cosmically aligned, high vibe life. Those loose-flowing robes favored by all the religious gurus? I totally get it now!

Celine SS17 The Numinous Ruby Warrington Healing Circle Chic
Celine SS17

Other faves for summer ’17 will be bias-cut slip dresses (for curves without the corset effect), kaftans (of course), and billowing outsize shirts, a lá Celine (above). Anything without a waistband, basically! (Which is ironic, btw, since also switching to a plant-based diet as part of my “spiritual awakening” means my stomach has never been flatter). And yes, of course I still do denim. In fact, I recently found a pair of vintage Levis mom jeans reckon I could sit for a 10-day silent Vipassana in.

This article has been adapted from an article that ran as part of Ruby’s Style Goddess column on Horoscope.com

MY MYSTICAL LIFE: THE SCIENCE BEHIND MOON MAGIC

More evidence of real Moon magic, the argument for “oracle abuse,” and why there is no 13th zodiac sign…

 

moon magic full moon ruby warrington the numinous

:: MONDAY ::
Fittingly for Moon day (yes, Monday is named after the moon—which, in my opinion, is why/because Mondays are often so moody…nothing to do with the post-weekend blues) I found myself reading an article on new scientific research that showed how the phases of the Moon are linked to major earthquakes and tsunamis. This after Japanese scientists analyzed more than 10,000 earthquakes, and found they were more likely to occur during Full or New Moons.

It’s all linked to the tides, which are controlled by the Moon, since even the teeniest extra water pressure on the earth’s tectonic plates can be enough to trigger a major quake-causing shift. Which I read as yet another example of the scientific and the mystical coming (back) into alignment! Think about it. In astrology, the Moon is said to govern our emotions—which, in turn, are represented by the element of water. And if fluctuations in the ocean’s tides (as dictated by the Moon) are behind tectonic shifts in the natural world—then it is swings in our emotional states that often lead to the big evolutionary shifts in our lives.

Which is why I’m soooooo into Moon sign astrology. For me, our Moon sign is the one to pay attention to when it comes to connecting to our most deeply-rooted (like core-of-the-earth deep) human needs. Plus, if we want to surf the waves—opposed to being dragged down and under by emotions that can feel like a tsunami sometimes—here’s yet more (scientific!) evidence that it pays to pay attention to the phases of the Moon.

gabby bernstein the universe has your back book launch nyc 2016 moon magic the numinous

:: TUESDAY ::
Book launch for Gabrielle Bernstein’s The Universe Has Your Back, where Gabby shared how while writing it she had actually been feeling utterly disconnected from spirit. Her answer—spoken like a true #spiritjunkie—was to go deeper into her spiritual practice. Which got me thinking, since earlier today I also heard the term “oracle abuse” for the first time—meaning an over-reliance on messages from “the other side,” versus trusting our own voice and intuition.

It’s a subject Numi contributor Victoria Cox covered brilliantly in this article, and for me, there’s a fine line between tapping IN, and using spiritual tools to “escape” from what’s going on in the here and now of our human existence. And…you can read more from Gabby on the subject of tuning in vs. numbing out in an interview I’m running with her this Sunday—which also happens to be her 11-year sober anniversary…

:: WEDNESDAY ::
Since the whole world is freaking out about NASA and the 13th zodiac sign, I commissioned this excellent piece which explains the whole sitch perfectly. PLUS will make you lol HARD over just how accurate regular ol’ astrology really is!

ruby warrington the ash center vitamin drip moon magic the numinous

:: THURSDAY ::
First ever vitamin drip at the Ash Center in Manhattan—an upscale functional wellness clinic that is emerging with a new-found optimism following the tragic passing of founder Dr. Richard Ash. What struck me as I sat with the IV feeding me a mega-dose of vitamins B and C, new MD-in-Chief Anthony Lyon’s little dog Champagne on my lap and sipping from a cup of green tea, was the family vibe of the place. It’s a huge testament to how loved Dr. Ash was that his former colleagues have banded together to continue in his name. And honestly, the atmosphere up here is a panacea in itself. As for the drip? I walked out SO. BUZZED. Favorite new healthy treat.

:: FRIDAY ::
Prepping for a ROAD TRIP!!! The Pisces (husband Simon) has wound up with a whole month off in between jobs, and so we’re heading South to tick a few Numinous must-see travel boxes. Here’s where we’re headed—please comment below with any sights, studios, esoteric stores, and mystics we should try to visit! And follow along on IG for adventures from on the road…

AUSTIN
MARFA
ROSWELL (for the aliens, lol)
SANTA FE
SEDONA
GRAND CANYON
JOSHUA TREE
LA
BIG SUR
SAN FRAN

MY MYSTICAL LIFE: A YOGIC IMMERSION, AND A POET WHO DIDN’T KNOW IT

An Immersion with my yoga preachers, an animal spirit out of balance, and an epic journey of self-discovery…

New pals! @welltodomag @thevoguetrip and @mind_body_bowl
New pals! @welltodomag @thevoguetrip and @mind_body_bowl

:: MONDAY & TUESDAY ::
I’m dedicating some extra space today to THE most incredible weekend with my friends at lululemon. “The Immersion” was a four-day experience in Austin, TX, hosted by lulu ambassadors Gabrielle Bernstein and Baron Baptiste—creator of mega transformational practice, Baptiste Yoga. And it came at the perfect time for me, since 2016 has been the year I’ve finally found a dedicated yoga routine, but have found myself yearning for ways to tap the spiritual side of the practice. As in, use it as a way to commune with the Universal oneness, y’all!

Well of course this is Gabby’s whole jam with her Kundalini practice, which she described to us (50 of the most switched-on, diverse and interesting disrupter-entrepreneur types I’ve had the privilege of spending some dedicated hang-time with—and what an HONOR to be numbered among them!) as bringing “physicality to my spiritual practice.” A long-time meditator, “I was always like, ‘how do I get my body involved?'” And I may not be the most dedicated K-head (“K” as in Kundalini, obvs), but every time I do practice I can be guaranteed some pretty out-there downloads from the energy I call “spirit.”

Gabs getting her Kundalini on
Gabs getting her Kundalini on

And then there was Baron, a prime example of a breed I’ve named the “yoga preachers.” Not in the sense that he’s preaching a certain way to be or dogma to believe. If anything, his philosophy centers around the concept of “santosha”—sanskrit for something like: “satisfaction with the status quo…tinged with curiosity for where this could go.” But he’s one of those teachers with a sixth sense about precisely the right words to deliver at precisely the right moment in the practice to unlock the door to the divine. That is, to an understanding of your Self as a limitless being of pure light consciousness. Hallelujah!

Baron Baptiste: the preacher man himself
Baron Baptiste: the preacher man himself

:: WEDNESDAY ::
A also brought along my new Wild Unknown Animal Spirit Deck, a.k.a. my favorite new toy. The card I pulled for guidance about my time at The Immersion? The Firefly—a flighty, creative energy that burns super-bright, but can easily burn out. Which sounds exactly like me—a major introvert—in full-on retreat mode. The suggestion to bring this energy into balance? “Write a poem.” Which I’ve actually never done before, but which has rapidly become my favorite thing! Kim Krans’s practical tips are one of the best things about the deck. Have you been using yours yet? I’d love to hear what you think.

Wild Unknown Animal spirit oracle on The Numinous

:: THURSDAY ::
So Ellen Degeneres is a secret Numi. Um, going through the research for a recent interview I did with her uncovered the following evidence: she came out after a trip to spiritual development center Esalen, where, “What came up was: ‘would they still love me if I was gay?’ It made me feel ashamed that I was pretending to be something else, just to make people like me”; she’s a long-time advocate of Transcendental Meditation – “when your computer goes crazy, you just shut it down and when you turn it on, it’s okay again. That’s what meditation is for me”; AND in 2010 she founded a record company called eleveneleven. #materialgirlmysticalworld

ellen degeneres vegan on The Numinous
…oh and she’s 99% #vegan

:: FRIDAY ::
You guys—I’m so so close to handing in the final manuscript for my book! And writing it has been the most epic journey of self-discovery, something I was reminded of today when I re-worked the intro I wrote as part of my original proposal waaaay back in early 2015. From the overall tone, to my knowledge and understanding of all things numinous, the process crystalized exactly how much I’ve grown in the past 18 months—not least as a result of me literally living what I’ve been writing about. Which bodes well for the impact the finished result could have on YOUR lives, dear potential readers! Safe to say I’m fully psyched to share my baby with y’all next year.

READ IT AND LEAP: 10 BOOKS FOR MODERN MYSTICS

Check out the books for modern mystics that get Emma Mildon‘s soul star seal of approval – and she’s got something for every type of soul searcher out there…

10 books for modern mystics
Image: Shutterstock

Wiccapedia: A Modern-Day White Witch’s Guide, by Shawn Robbins & Leanna Greenaway
For when you want to get your vodoo, love potion, good witch vibe on. Ideal for those summon-your-inner-witch-super-power-crisis moments. Now in a new, hipper, edgier format, Wiccapedia provides a fresh, innovative, and thoroughly up-to-date look at witchcraft—and gives readers a prescription for happiness. “Spiritual life coaches” and celebrity witches Shawn Robbins and Leanna Greenaway unlock the secrets of the Wicca universe, explaining what it means to become a “simply fabulous” twenty-first century witch. Newfound witches—and even more experienced ones—will learn how to tap into magic, re-empower themselves, and realize their dreams through a little witchy know-how.

Women Who Run with the Wolves, by Clarissa Pinkola Estes
For when you feel like stripping off and running wild and free through a nearby park. (Keeping in mind you could end up in handcuffs, and not in a hot Shades of Grey way.) Dr. Estés unfolds rich intercultural myths, fairy tales, and stories, many from her own family, in order to help women reconnect with the fierce, healthy, visionary attributes of this instinctual nature. Through the stories and commentaries in this remarkable book, we retrieve, examine, love, and understand the Wild Woman and hold her against our deep psyches as one who is both magic and medicine.

Moon Spells: How to Use the Phases of the Moon to Get What You Want, by Diane Ahlquist
For when you howl at the Full Moon, and tend to go a little cray cray during lunar cycles. Magickal practitioner Diane Ahlquist guides you on a journey to attuning your spirit with the moon. You’ll be amazed at how much more you can achieve in life when you synchronize your activities with the moon’s phases. With the proper use of candles, gemstones, and incense, spells can be conducted at exactly the right lunar moment to enhance the flow of power and make your wishes come true.

Anatomy of the Spirit: The Seven Stages of Power and Healing, by Caroline Myss
For when you need some energy and healing, or are feel depleted, disengaged, or disconnected. Caoline Myss , PH.D. is internationally acclaimed in the field of energy medicine. This book builds on wisdom from Hindu, Christian, and Kaballah traditions, and acts as a comprehensive guide to energy healing to help you to reveal the hidden stresses, beliefs, and attitudes that cause illness. Tap into the intuitive link behind your attitude and your illnesses.

The Crystal Bible, by Judy Hall
For when your religion is gemstones, crystals, and all things quartz. The Crystal Bible offers a comprehensive guide to crystals, their shapes, colors and applications. With informative descriptions and an easy-to-use format, it is an indispensable practical handbook for crystal lovers and users everywhere – both beginner and expert alike. For anyone drawn to crystal and gemstones, this will become your new go-to for all things quartz to amethyst.

Adventures for Your Soul: 21 Ways to Transform Your Habits and Reach Your Full Potential, by Shannon Kaiser
For an itchy root chakra that’s keen to embark on a spiritual adventure of some way, shape, or form. Sometimes the one thing you need to make a change is to see things from a fresh perspective. Discover twenty-one innovative emotional explorations to boldly confront the habits that are holding you back in this breakthrough guide that provides the tools you need to fearlessly embrace your innermost desires.

Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear, by Elizabeth Gilbert
For when your creative talents are sitting dormant, suppressed, or bunked down by our fear or negative self-talk. From the author we all fell in love with thanks to Eat, Pray, Love (#soulsiter), now Elizabeth Gilbert brings us a personal and inspiring book that will help you both channel and create your soul’s purpose. A must read if your soul needs an injection of inspiration, motivation and a catalyst for action.

May Cause Miracles: A 40-Day Guidebook of Subtle Shifts for Radical Change and Unlimited Happiness, by Gabrielle Bernstein
For when you want need to kick start some radical spiritual shifts in your life and have hit a happiness road block. From the author behind the Spirit Junkie movement, Gabby’s interactive guidebook will help nourish and guide your soul towards a more spiritual and fulfilling life. Ditch fear, sign up for gratitude, let your life flow, and begin to learn how to welcome in miracles as you transform your life into a constant stream of appreciation, acceptance, and abundance. A life coach for your soul.

Wild Feminine: Finding Power, Spirit & Joy in the Female Body, by Tami Lynn Kent
For when you need some soul sister, goddess goodness, and fiery, feminine self love. Wild Feminine invites every woman to journey deep into the heart of her female body, to her root place, and the center of all womanhood. Through stories, visualizations, and creative exercises, the wisdom arising from the female body has been distilled as never before into this guide to nurturing, healing, and exploring the nature of the Divine Feminine.

Lastly, Emma’s own book is The Soul Searcher’s Handbook: A Modern Girl’s Guide to the New Age World.
For when you want a quick download on all things woo-woo and new age. A fun and informative read, this interactive handbook works as a go-to guide to help you decode your dreams, find out the meaning of your favourite crystals, count your numerology, learn your astrology, blend new aromatherapy mixes, explore different styles of yoga or meditation. A new age bible to living well – loaded with spiritual life hacks and practical tips.

MATERIAL GIRL, MYSTICAL WORLD: MINDY YANG

This week’s Material Girl is MiN New York co-founder Mindy Yang – purveyor of fine fragrance, and pursuer of life’s pleasures…

IMG_3864
Mindy Yang is co-founder fine fragrance apothecary MiN New York

Greetings from London! Because I’ve decided I need some sunshine this actual Christmas, I’ve gone all American and travelled “home” (as in, the place of my birth as opposed to where I call home now) for the Thanksgiving holiday instead. The timing of my trip also coincided neatly with an invitation to speak about all things Numinous at an event by global trend forecasting agency The Future Laboratory. Which means we basically ARE the future, Numis.

How interesting that the day of my talk, two friends emailed me the link to this brilliant Huffington Post article by Dianne Collins, author of a book called Do You QuantumThink? New Thinking That Will Rock Your World. In it, she basically says a slice of society she calls The Consciousness Crowd are “the new mainstream”. So take that as your cue to come out of the spiritual closet and fly your Numi colors proud!

As I’ve mainly been travelling and finishing up deadlines (like working on our 2014 Instagram Awards – check it out if you haven’t already), my Mystical Life has fallen by the wayside a little this week (insert sad face). But I did use Gabby Bernstein’s “backpack meditation” (see below) to calm my pre-talk jitters. Public speaking is my big dry-mouth-heart-palpitations fear, but seeing as it seems to be happening more often, I’m actually planning some sessions with mystic Stewart Pearce – a.k.a. The Alchemy of Voice (and none other than Lady Di’s speaking coach – um, sign me up).

So I met this week’s Matreial Girl when I first moved to New York, and immediately fell in love with her otherworldly fragrance boutique. I think I walked away with about a million samples, because don’t you just love perfume? The nose is perhaps the most Numinous of our sensory organs – I’m constantly amazed how a particular smell or scent can become my own personal time travel device, transporting me down memory lane, or to an alternate reality altogether.

Then when I started following her brilliant Instagram feed, I realized Mindy was also a total Numi, and when I had the idea for this column she was right near the top of my list. A fellow Fire Dragon, the world through her eyes is a truly mystical place…and also happens to feature the best #foodporn on the planet.

IMG_3862
“Your fragrance is an invisible armor and also what makes you unforgettable”

:: MATERIAL GIRL ::

My label
I don’t have one favorite brand, but my love and appreciation for Yohji Yamamoto has grown to epic proportions over the years. Comfortable, timeless and chic, I enjoy wearing artisan garments that are also works of art.

Yohji Yamamoto AW14
Yohji Yamamoto AW14

My shoes
I run around in heels and I have a soft spot for vintage shoes. I have an extensive collection of those. Some of my favorites are vintage YSLs.

My fragrance
Your fragrance is an invisible armor and also what makes you unforgettable. As Vice President and Curator of MiN New York and an expert in this category, I am spoiled with rare, niche perfumes from around the world. But my signature scent has been SHAMAN, an olfactory art potion that we made for MiN New York’s Scent Stories, Volume 1. Old fashioned notes like violets, roses, incense, and patchouli swirl with modern aroma molecules (like aldehydes) to inspire a time-traveling mystic.The hologramic effect is magical. Each moment is immersive, yet surreal like a waking-dream… All of it is so very me.

SHAMAN by MiN New York, $240
SHAMAN by MiN New York, $240

My jewels
I’m not a collector of jewelry, but I have a few rings that I wear daily (for sentimental reasons) along with a bracelet of meditation beads.

My pampering
Sipping a well-aged scotch listening to something ambient or blue. Flipping through large coffee table books in the glow of my (MEMBERS ONLY) Union Club candle (bone China, gilded in gold; Scent of leather, balsam, smoke, and fire). And yes, I’m known to indulge in (perhaps too many) massages.

(MEMBERS ONLY) Union Club Candle, $195
(MEMBERS ONLY) Union Club Candle, $195

My home
When my intense days in the city are through, I retreat to a quaint neighborhood called Turtle Bay (by the UN). It’s my sanctuary on the isle of Manhattan.

My food
I’m powered by coconut water, fruits, lots of tea, ginger, and mostly food from the sea.

unnamed
“#Montauk #scallops #foodporn #diary #newyorkminute” @godolcevita

:: MYSTICAL WORLD ::

My awakening
A glass of fresh lemon juice and water with 8 drops of Cellfood, mediation and a short yoga session, followed by #PhotosForBreakfast. I browze the web for inspiratios each morning, and I share my favorite photographs via Instagram/Twitter/Facebook under @GoDolceVita.

My sign
Fire Dragon Virgo

Virgo ring, Solange Azagury Partridge
Virgo ring, Solange Azagury Partridge

My mantra
Om Namah Shivaya

My healer
The Healer is in each of us, and I learned to activate my inner power when I became a Reiki Master over 15 years ago. Through reiki, aromatherapy, massage, meditating, working with crystals, mudras, etc, I believe healing is all simply energy. Taking time to recharge in solitude is important to me. To embrace it all and let go, to transform, to inspire, to create. With awareness, you can amplify the good. Perception is reality and a positive attitude is everything!

My reading
Eckhart Tolle’s A New Earth: Awakening to Your Life’s Purpose is one of my all-time favorite books. Pema Chödrön is a wonderful teacher – I’m currently reading The Places that Scare You: A Guide to Fearlessness in Difficult Times, Awakening Love: Teachings and Practices to Cultivate a Limitless Heart, and Noble Heart: A Self-Guided Retreat on Befriending Your Obstacles.” I love listening to her on audio too, and a session with Osho is great from time to time to make me think.

My transformation
If you live each moment with awareness and take the time to reflect, it’s easy to see (and deeply appreciate) the journey. Reiki opened my eyes to a different way of understanding how things works over 15 years ago. Since then, my yoga and meditation practice have intensified my energetic world. I’m fortunate to be able to express myself creatively in my professional life through art and design, in colors, scents, experiences, even music. Now a curious light warrior, I think and live in a empowered metaphysical Universe where the law of attraction rules and dreams come true if you are willing to manifest them.

IMG_3867
“My yoga and meditation practice have intensified my energetic world”

My mission
Exploring the beauty of moments with gratitude.

Discover Mindy’s scentsual world at Minnewyork.com and follow her @godolcevita.

MATERIAL GIRL, MYSTICAL WORLD: RUBY WARRINGTON

Regular new post alert! Every Friday we’ll be featuring a different Material Girl, and the things in her Mystical World. To kick things off, it’s me! Your Chief Numi Ruby Warrington. Plus a round-up of what’s been rocking my Universe this week. Portrait: Thomas Giddings

Ruby Warrington shot by Thomas Giddings for Thenuminous.net
Just chillin’ at home in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. Chakra shirt…coming back soon!

Has this been the weirdest week or what? On Monday I posted about how I like to use Mercury retrograde to revise and re-evaluate key areas of my life. But man, it’s been like scheduling spaghetti out there – for pretty much everyone I know. Head-spin!

I’m gonna blame my inability to concentrate on anything useful for the fact I had a total retail therapy moment on Matches Fashion. New Isabel Marant jacket, check. New Marant sheepskin-lined booties to match, check check (see below). I don’t shop that often since I found a more spiritual path to fulfilment, but when I do, I do it properly 🙂

This was also the week I totally cried at Under The Electric Sky, a documentary about EDM mega-rave the Electric Daisy Carnival (WTF) :: discovered THE most beautiful “intention setting candle” (and fell in love with it’s creator – watch this space for a collaboration!) :: picked up my lapsed meditation practise :: finally watched the Vagina Monologues :: and got stuck into Launch by Jeff Walker – essential reading for anybody running or starting a business online (thank you Gala Darling).

So what have you tried distracting yourself with while Mercury does it’s thing? I actually do wanna know, so Tweet me or connect on Facebook!

Isabel Marant Knowles bootie, available at Matchesfashion.com. Click to read more at Thenuminous.net!
Isabel Marant Knowles bootie, Matchesfashion.com

So here it is – all the things that make me a MATERIAL GIRL, living in a MYSTICAL WORLD…

:: MATERIAL GIRL ::

My Look When I went to get a hug from Amma with Gabby Bernstein, I wore Lululemon yoga pants, a vintage rock-chick tee, biker boots and a Marc Jacobs bag. Gabby described my look as “rock ‘n’ roll yogi” – and I’ll take that, thanks. So lots of yoga pants from brands like Teeki, Vie Active and Vimea, and lots of fashiony, grungy tops. And I love a good Helmut Lang blazer.

Ruby Warrington's favorite Sacred Feather yoga pants by Teeki. Click to read more at Thenuminous.net!
My current fave Sacred Feather yoga pants made from recycled materials, Teeki.com

My Shoes Isabel Marant shoes (specifically boots, actually) consistently make me feel pretty special. My friend Psychic Betsy has this meditation where you meet your highest self, and you’re meant to visualize “the best version of yourself”. That’s how I feel in my Marant boots – sexy, cool and powerful.

My Fragrance My ego hates the fact it’s not “cooler”, but the one that gets me the most comments is Sensuous by Estee Lauder – I think it just mixes well with my pheromones. I also love stealing a squirt of my husband’s Patchouli 24 by Le Labo.

My Jewels I always wear the Numinous necklace my husband got me, and this summer I also acquired a pretty special ‘Lemurian’ crystal from Vega Jewelry. Buying myself my first pair of diamond studs (they’re about a millionth of a carat, but still) at ABC Home last year was also a pretty special moment for me.

Charging up the Lemurian crystal from Vegajewelry.com at Rockaway beach this summer. Read more at Thenuminous.net!
‘Dem jewels…Charging up the Lemurian crystal at Rockaway beach this summer

My Pampering I have one of those bodies that “needs” a monthly massage, and I go to Lorraine at Greenhouse Holistic in Williamsburg. She does the best deep tissue and barely speaks a word the whole time. I’m also deeply into my Theraputic Balancing Oil by Vered Organic Botalicals right now, which feels super special and nurturing.

My Movie Anything that makes me cry. Most recently that Electric Daisy Carnival docu (seriously, WTF…)

My Food I could eat salmon and avocado, prepared every which way, for days. Ditto the Montana salad at the Jivamukea café in Union Square. And a scoop of vegan peanut butter ice cream from Lula’s in the East Village for dessert.

:: MYSTICAL WORLD ::

My Awakening I wake up with my cat’s meow at about 6.30 or 7 am, make myself a HUGE mug of hot water with lemon and then “try” to meditate for ten minutes. After that I get right onto my machine to write, while my brain is still clean of email static.

My Sign Aries Sun and Sag rising with a Cancer Moon thrown in to cool things down a little. I read it this way: Sun = mind (self-directed and impulsive), rising = body (outgoing and active) and Moon = soul (super sensitive and security oriented). #confusing.com

My Mantra “You’ll never know unless you ask.” And most days, at some point: “I forgive myself.”

My Healer Acupuncture with the amazing Lisa Levine at Maha Rose in Greenpoint, custom flower remedies from very special Kerri Aab, and, recently, breathwork with Numi contributor Erin Telford. But some of my greatest healings have happened on my yoga mat, if you subscribe to the belief (as I pretty much do) that all healing begins at a spirit / emotional level.

Burning Man 2014. Image: Simon Warrington. Read more at Thenuminous.net!
Burning Man 2014. Image: Simon Warrington

My Reading I wish I could say there was one book that really shifted my perspective, but maybe I just haven’t found it yet. I read every night before I go to sleep though, preferably fiction. It helps my mind shift gears from the material to the mystical realm (where sleep happens).

My Transformation The second half of 2014 has been ALL ABOUT transformation. Beginning July on a retreat with Taryn Toomey in Martha’s Vinyeyard, I then hit up Burning Man for the first time, did the Landmark Forum and also just completed Gala Darling’s Blogcademy. Each of these experiences has made me stronger and more resilient, more certain of myself and my place in the world, more comfortable expressing myself and more confident about my goals.

My Home Is wherever my husband Simon is, something I became aware of from the moment we first met. Past life connection for sure…

Facebook.com/thenuminousmagazine

@The_Numinous

WHY TOO MUCH SOCIAL MEDIA IS BAD FOR THE SOUL

We know, we know…too much social media can be a recipe for the dreaded “compare & despair”. Life coach Lucy Sheridan shares why it’s so easy to fall for the filter factor, and how we can all fight back.

Supermodel selfies found on Harpers Bazaar. Read more at Thenuminous.net!
Supermodel selfies found on Harpers Bazaar

This NU digital age means it’s easy for us to take for granted the power at our fingertips and how technology can make our lives more streamlined, where before there might have been effort and chaos.

Increasingly though, the “power couple” that is technology and social media, presents an interesting and complex counter dynamic to the no-brainer benefits of the digital world.

Now, don’t get me wrong – I think social media is amazing. It’s one of the best ways to keep in the loop with people we know and love (and people we don’t for that matter – ex stalking, anyone?)

It feels like geography and time zones no longer matter. There’s the arrival of a baby in one feed, and a stack of amazing paleo pancakes in another. The significant and the small sit side by side as we consume the constant updates we allow to flood our lives.

We’re also more accessible than ever. I’ll bet you’ve been found by, and searched for, your school buddies from your distant past as well as that cool girl you sat next to at that workshop last weekend. These connections have evolved our networks and with this our feeds fill with more and more “news”.

The irony is that these increased connections can create a feeling of acute and uncomfortable separation. There’s a sense that there’s lots going on “over there”, and yet when we look at our own lives it’s crickets and tumbleweed.

Cue the “compare & despair” phenomenon that’s so aggressively on the rise.

Beyonce getting a private tour of the Louvre...Read more at Thenuminous.net!
We can’t all be Beyonce getting a private tour of the Louvre…

If you’re like me, you may have looked at your feeds and thought everyone is basically:

• Having loads of amazing sex
• Building businesses overnight
• Living more spiritually than Gabby B
• Raising beautiful, perfectly behaved vegan children
• Moving into a home from MTV Cribs (Google it kidz)
• Eating only the most delicious food in exclusive VIP restaurants
• Enjoying luxury as standard when it comes to going on vacay

I fell deep into a pit of compare & despair after a high school reunion a couple of years ago, when my online habits and perceived place in my digital world began to have serious effects on my offline life.

More and more I felt disconnected from other people and, more worryingly, from myself. And I was supposed to be the Zen “life coachy” one in my gang? Uh-oh #Fail and #FML.

In short, my ego had been having a field day fixating and obsessing over all the areas I appeared to be falling short.

According to my feeds I wasn’t thin enough, clever enough, entrepreneurial enough, interesting enough – basically, just not “enough”. How that ego magpie pecked away at my confidence.

But waking up to what I call the “filter factor” snapped me out of my downward spiral.

Miranda Kerr posts a selfie with her new diamond encrusted watch. Read more at Thenuminous.net!
Miranda Kerr posts a selfie with her new diamond encrusted watch…

After sitting uncomfortably with my negative feelings, I realized I was as much a perpetrator as I was a victim. After all, if I was over-thinking the angle, tone and words to use in my posts, then surely others were too?

Starting to notice, hone in on and stare my insecurities in the face was a difficult but necessary process to free me from my distracted ego state and make friends with myself again.

For me, this meant tuning back into the things I’d found it all too easy to tune out – i.e. my spiritual practice, spoken conversations and daily non-events that actually kept me grounded and in tune with myself.

Real connection happens in the spaces between our online and offline lives. The moments with #nofilter, where the failures, the poor choices, and the average, regular days are. Where nothing that interesting happens, and yet you still smile at someone in the street, laugh at a joke you heard or move your bag to let someone sit down on the subway.

I may still apply ‘Amaro’ to all my Instagram pics to make my skin look awesome but, when I do, I know I’m consciously tinkering with what people will see on the surface…just like everyone else is.

Supermodel selfie found on Harpers Bazaar. Read more at Thenuminous.net!
Supermodel selfie found on Harpers Bazaar

Here are six things to think about when fighting the filter factor:

Life is not a zero sum game. That is, just because you see someone else winning or succeeding does not mean you’re missing out or failing. Trust that you’ll get back what you’re putting in, whether that’s your parenting style, yoga practice or the new blog you’ve started. Stay focused on your own goals and remember there’s more than enough success to go round!

You never know the full story. What we see posted on Facebook and other channels is a snapshot of a result and does not show the hard toil and ugly tears that are part of the process of success.

Fine is fine: Most of the time life is fine. Only fine – and that’s okay! I can’t remember the last time my Wednesday afternoons were particularly epic, amazing or unforgettable. They’re usually just…fine.

Reality can have bite. Sometimes I make a point of posting stuff about the little things that make a day extra fine. A chalk drawing on the pavement in a not-very-cool-part-of town, a feather landing at my feet or finding the EXACT change for the parking meter in my pocket. Those little wins are the ones the prove the Universe has your back, boo! You don’t need to dress them up – they’re beautiful in any light and happen much more regularly than you realize. Be brave and post those every day miracles on your social media.

The power of an actual digital detox. This doesn’t mean deleting your Facebook STAT. How about just turning down your exposure to what’s distracting you, and reframing how you use your time. For example, if you’re rocking up to a job you hate day after day, instead of just scrolling Twitter on your way, perhaps use your commute to search job sites or tweak your CV. Or even stare out the window and be present, giving yourself the gift of a peaceful moment to help you decide what you really want.

Go back to basics. A “like” here and a retweet there can make us feel present and included in the lives of those we love. In fact it’s easy to forget that feelings of real connection are created and nurtured face to face. Taking the time out to really connect with those you love – whether it’s a meet up planned nine months in advance or a Skype call at the weekend – you’ll not only get the big news first hand and in detail, but you’ll feel the love of supporting your friends on their journey and vice versa.

Lucy Sheridan is a Life Coach hell bent on helping Gen Y girls overcome the comparison caused by social media and get what they want OFF-line.  Find out more at www.proofcoaching.com

Facebook.com/ProofCoaching

Twitter & Insta: @lucysheridan

WISHES FULFILLED: HOW TO MAKE A PRAYER FLAG

Looking for an alternative New Moon manifestation ritual? Artist Monica Ruiz makes prayer flags for herself and her friends as a way of reppin’ her love for the life she gets to live. Main image: Larry Louie

Home made prayer flags – Numi style

When I think of prayer flags, fabric panels ranging in sizes and colors with spiritual images, hanging and swaying in a breeze in a secret garden or a cute storefront, I always see and feel peace, wishes fulfilled, Universal love and freedom.

I had given to friends and also received the mini-squares from Tibet that represent light and all the elements, thus bringing health and harmony to all. After the panels naturally fade away due to the elements, it is believed that the mindful loving intentions within the flag fade into the Universe, contributing to an ongoing cycle of the flag’s blessings.

I wanted to re-create my own using images I had already saved from magazines, old books and stamps, and even just cool paper that felt special to my heart. After I made a quick one just to see if my vision was as easy as it seemed (it is!) I kinda went prayer-flag crazy. I made them for everyone around me, including many for myself.

The two that hang in my studio today represent the surfing elements for my Pisces ocean-loving soul-surfer boyfriend, along with some “Marie Antoinette/ French masquerade” vibes pour moi!

And then I have one hanging up in my vanity room / lounge reppin’ my love of books, writing, and my job at the library that supports my life and allows me to live out my daydreams. While I’m putting on my mascara in the a.m. I can glance up and give thanks with a smile.

My flags are small pieces of art that I feel serve as sacred reminders of the simple things that make us smile and lift our spirit. While I like to hang ours on our year-round blue fairy lights in our bedroom, doorways and windows are fun too. I have also hung them up on bulletin boards on my desk at work and on a huge collage at home. There was even one point they were nicknamed “Purr Flags,” by a friend who felt all warm and fuzzy on receiving hers.

“It felt good to give away something beautiful that I loved”

Having got such a great reaction gifting them to people I know, I decided to make a special one as a birthday gift for my spiritual teacher Gabrielle Bernstein a couple of years ago. I’ve written about my gratitude for her before, as she’s kinda been the vessel for many hardcore lessons I’ve needed to start receiving, and for learning more about forgiveness, love and how to listen to my heart and angels.

I felt compelled to make a prayer flag a la Gabby, with images that included her love of street art, the cosmos, her recent engagement in Paris, sacred Buddha statues, mystical silhouettes, powerful words, vibrant energy and of course just lots of LOVE.

Only Love is Real is Gabby’s motto, and I felt like I wanted this flag to have my love and appreciation for Gabby literally bursting through because of the gifts she has shared with me. It took all day, but it was so enjoyable and groovy to create. I was also happy and excited to put many of the images I’d save for future flags of my own on my guru’s flag, because I actually felt the transfer of love: it felt good to give away something beautiful that I loved. It was a true gift of appreciation from the heart.

Because of Hurricane Sandy that year, Gabby didn’t actually receive my flag until May 2013, while her birthday was November 1st! Regardless, my birthday/gratitude gift cosmically made it to her six months later. The morning I woke up and saw it unexpectedly on her Instagram feed, I felt like I was lucid-dreaming. She had it hanging up already and was allowing the magic and love from my home into hers. She loved my gift and I loved making it for her, and the prayer flag looks so cool in Gabby’s “zen den”.

The flags Monica made for Gabby hanging in her guru’s zen-den

Are you inspired to make one now? Let’s do this…

Here’s how to make a prayer flag for a sweet soul in five simple steps.

Supplies needed:

  • Paper images (magazines cut-outs, computer graphics, old books, saved stamps, cards, clip-art, etc)
  • Scissors
  • Double-stick tape
  • Glue stick
  • Twine (pre-cut to the length you want your flag)
  • Card stock or construction paper
  • Paper clips (optional)
  1. Think about how many panels you’d like to work with. I’d start small at first with either three or five (odd numbers work best and the traditional flags come in sets of five, but remember there are no rules!) However many you choose you will need enough images to cover both sides.
  2. You can either pre-cut your card-stock and then alter your images after or cut your card-stock around the image leaving about an inch as a border. Remember, this is not about being “perfect” or having exact straight lines – you’r e creating something from the heart to bring joy into your heart and home!
  3. Glue one image to each panel’s center, one side of the panel only.
  4. Grab your double-stick tape and twine. Lay the panels down in a row, with the image just glued on face down with a little space in between each panel. Now along the top, lay the twine across about one inch below the top edge and place a piece of double-stick tape in the center of the twine on each panel.
  5. Glue the remaining images in the center of each panel, on top of double-stick tape/twine combo.

Voila! Your flags are ready to be shared and invoke feelings of peace, spirit, strength and magic.

Sacred and simple, have fun bringing the tradition of prayer flags into your home. Tie some little loops at the end and use a couple of twisted paperclips if needed and they can be draped wherever you like. Enjoy the process of making each panel personal but keep the process simple.

Whether you make a prayer flag for yourself or for someone special, just remember to use images that make you feel good, because whatever is made with your heart is your art. And don’t forget they are reversible! Switch ’em up depending on your mood or needed inspiration. Sometimes I will do an opposite theme on each side, like maybe sweet dreams contrasted with powerful sun energy. Use your intuition and just pick art and pictures you like! Be whimsical.

When I commented on the prayer flag I made for Gabby the last time I saw it on IG, she sweetly replied; “I look at them every day and I love them!” Wishes-fulfilled and blessings received, Amen.

Island dweller Monica Ruiz is a collage artist, hardcore daydreamer, HayHouse book reviewer, bloggess, burrito lover, cat enthusiast, librarian assistant and wanderluster who is obsessed with good hip-hop beats, Lana Del Rey and Paris, France. She owns way too many black clothes, swoons over Sofia Coppola films and loves the concept of protecting your magic with an open heart.

www.lechat808.com

@LeChat808

CALLING IT IN: DESIGN A RITUAL TO RECEIVE

From a regular yoga or meditation practise to the way you like your morning latte, we all have our daily rituals. But what happens when design one that’s just for you? You become a vacuum to receive, that’s what. Ruby Warrington shares her experience of creating the custom ritual that helped call in The Numinous. Video: Shine Creative.

Last month, the Numinous hosted a guided meditation to meet your Spirit Animal, with the Modern Shamanic Practitioner Marika Messager. The event took place on a balmy early summer evening in London, at spiritual concept store Celestine Eleven, and attracted an elegant crowd – including jeweller Gina Melosi, illustrator Erin Petson, a talent booker, some girls from Elle magazine, and the fashion designer Henry Holland. The atmosphere was one hundred percent high vibe, and after the meditation, when people shared about their experience meeting their animals, they were like five-year-olds on a sugar high. In short, they were amped to have participated in this ancient Shamanic ritual.

And how funny, it took place almost six months to the day after I enacted a custom ritual, designed, in part, to ensure that when people experienced the Numinous they’d feel; “a sense of discovery, more joy and happiness and a way to connect to their true life purpose.” These were my exact words to “receptivity expert” Emily Tepper, the woman who helped me design my ritual, which eventually took place as a day-long series of events. The manifestation of which I could expect to see, yes, six months down the line.

Let me back track a little. I met Emily at one of Gabrielle Bernstein’s lectures in New York City, towards the tail end of last summer. The Numinous had only recently launched, and when she told me she designed custom rituals for people, to assist in calling in their deepest desires, I was obviously intrigued. The Numinous was a new born at the time, with so much potential ahead of it, and like a proud mamma I wondered if a ritualistic or ceremonial baptism would help set my project on the right path from the get-go. But actually, working with Emily turned out to be so much more than that.

We met on a grey day a month or so later at the Ruben Museum in Chelsea, where sombre gong music in the deserted cafeteria created a fitting backdrop for the initial ritual design session. With a background in dance, Emily, an empathetic and mystical yet earthy Piscean, described “a yearning for other people to experience their body as an agent for change, like I had from a very early age” as one of things that led her to this line of work. Studying for a degree in Experiential Design then helped her create a modality in which “everything we touch becomes the props we use to facilitate relationships, exchanges, transitions and personal growth.” And so her company, Receive Everything, was born.

Emily’s ritual design clients receive a “Receive” necklace as part of the process

Because we’re pretty well versed in the concept of manifesting these days (like attracts like, act “as if,” yada yada) – but what happens if the conditions in our body, and our life, aren’t set up to receive? What if there are “energetic cysts”, as Emily put it, stored in our tissues that need to be removed before it’s safe for our manifestations to land? This is where ritual, physical acts designed to empower our intentions, weed out doubt and link us directly to our creative, or feminine, energy comes in. It could be described as literally “going through the motions” to hardwire your body to receive. If, “your nervous system is like a riverbed, and the water is used to flowing one way,” Emily’s ritual – “a piece of performance art for your life” – would be about “taking the flow slightly outside the well-worn groove. It’s a quantum physics service!” she joked. Kind of.

Emily’s ritual process is divided into three parts – Design, Do and Download – with the design part acting like an opportunity to really get clear on what you’re calling in, as well as any impediments (negative beliefs and crazy talk) in its way. In this sense, it also rapidly becomes a bit of a therapy session. “Why is it so important to you that people feel a sense of self-ownership and freedom to choose their own life when they connect with the Numinous?” asked Emily when these emerged as key words and phrases around crystalizing the essence of my project.

Of course, it came back to a time in my life, between ages 16 and 22, when I’d been a very controlling relationship with an older guy, who imposed his tyrannical worldview to the extent that I lost all my self-confidence and developed an eating disorder. It was like I’d been brainwashed by a cult made for two. If I’d had access to the kind of tools I’ve discovered through the Numinous then – tools designed to empower us to trust our intuition and truly know ourselves and our life purpose – who knows how differently things might have gone.

From there, it was a question of coming up with visual symbols to represent the different elements of my manifestation – which would then be transformed into the elements of my actual ritual. “When you think of the Numinous, what do you see, feel and taste?” asked Emily. If the Numinous was about “enlightenment and beauty, a playful experimentation with ideas – fashionable, stylish, the zeitgeist,” what were the visual metaphors for this? In my mind’s eye, these words immediately conjured an image of white sails billowing in the breeze against a clear blue sky at high noon. Emily jotted that down.

Thinking about my former relationship, my nostrils filled with the cloying scent of skunkweed. My ex was a dedicated smoker, and I believe being stoned myself for the majority of our relationship was one of the key reasons I felt so powerless to leave him. And when Emily asked; “what would it look like if the Numinous could really change the world?” I saw a tribe of Numis taking to the streets for a party/ protest to celebrate our connection to the Universe and the freedom to chose our own belief systems. And on and on her questions went, until we had the bones of what would become my custom ritual.

In the end, we devised a day of interconnected events, beginning with me using some of my Numinous tools (smudging my space with sage, meditating with my chakra totem), before taking in a trip to the center of the Brooklyn bridge to fly a white flag at noon (see above). Then we’d travel to Emily’s studio in Bushwick, where I would bestow Numinous gifts on my friends, and stage the ceremonial burning of a time capsule representing my ex (would anybody notice the burning joint inside, I wondered?) Finally, we’d all take to the streets in celebration of our collective freedom and empowerment. My friends at Shine Creative would capture the whole thing on film, as Emily highly recommends creating a visual record of the ritual. And I now had two weeks to produce it.

The day itself, November 22, was cold and bright and went by in a happy, emotional blur. I felt like the star of my own reality show, or a bride on her big day. I was happy I’d involved my friends, as so much of creating the Numinous was about wanting to collaborate creatively with my soul tribe, and being followed by a film crew made the whole thing feel somehow more real.

And if that was “Do,” then the final part of the ritual process was to “Download,” which meant a bodywork session with Emily, who is also a certified Pilates instructor and craniosacral therapist, to ground the teachings and intention of the ritual into my tissues two weeks later. When I arrived at her studio, she asked me to write down some key phrases that summed up how I’d been feeling since. I came up with; “No more apologies,” “Trusting myself,” “Stepping up to the next level,” “Who cares what people think?” A process she described as “crystalizing my new energetic signature.”

And a little over six months later, I can feel myself stepping into all of this as I prepare to host two Numinous Live talks for Lululemon at this weekend’s Wanderlust yoga festival. The first? I’ve invited Emily to join me in introducing The Art of Ritual, what she calls a “lost social technology.” And something that, for me, has been a powerful tool in showing the Universe that I’m ready to receive the gifts I know it’s sending my way.

Numinous Live will present two talks at the Wanderlust yoga festival in Vermont. Both talks are fully booked, but clink the links below to be added to the wait lists.

June 21: The Art of Ritual with Emily Tepper
June 22: Your Yoga, Your Intuition with Betsy Cohen

MY MYSTICAL LIFE: LATHAM THOMAS

Doula, yogi and author, Latham Thomas is the go-to birthing guru for New York’s most magical mamas (and definitely one of the city’s sexiest vegans). Having discovered her calling after a shamanic astro reading on an ashram in the Bahamas (as you do), here she goes deep into the details of a mystical life…giving life.

WHAT’S YOUR MORNING AWAKENING RITUAL?
I wake up, give thanks, rising up to meditate briefly before waking my son and starting our day. Sometimes he joins me in my lap for a meditation.

WHAT’S YOUR FAVOURITE FEEL GOOD BREAKFAST?
My favorite breakfast is quinoa porridge in the winter and acai and granola in the summer months.

WHAT MATRA DO YOU LEAVE THE HOUSE WITH IN THE MORNING?
God is good all the time and always ordering my steps. Every encounter is blessed and I am learning every step of the way.

WHAT’S YOUR LUCKY CHARM?
My John of God crystal teardrop ring.

IN WHAT WAYS DO YOU MOST EMBODY THE TRAITS OF YOUR SIGN?
I’m a true Taurus – I am romantic, thoughtful, nurturing, and grounded. I am also stubborn – I don’t quit things.

WHAT OTHER ELEMENTS OF YOUR CHART DO YOU RELATE TO THE MOST?
My moon is in Sagitarius and I am very much aligned with the energy of the traveling horse. It balances the grounding energy of my sun sign.

WHO’S YOUR GO-TO GURU, AND WHY DOES THEIR WORK RESONATE WITH YOU?
God is my go-to! I don’t have a person who I go to most. I love Gabrielle Bernstein and Terri Cole, who are dear friends, and if I am in need of sister support I dial them up ASAP.

AND THE HEALER YOU HAVE ON SPEED-DIAL?
Maureen Dodd at the Ash Center, who is a true mystic and able to intuit what my body needs. I love her energetic facials.

IN WHAT WAYS DO YOUR MYSTICAL BELIEFS MOST INFORM YOUR WORK?
Spirit breathes into every aspect of my work, which is all about birth – and what’s more holy, precious, and divine than the miracle of birth?

AND HOW DO YOU DEAL WITH NEGATIVE THOUGHTS?
You know, that’s such a good question. I let them come up, then I call a friend to talk it out if I can’t seem to shake whatever arises.

RETAIL THERAPY IS…?
I’m not such a shopper – I get what I need and I am done. But I do love to shop for…teas!

WHAT’S YOUR POWER OUTFIT?
A stylish boot, leggings, a well-tailored blouse and a fierce hat. I love a good lid.

AND WHAT MAKES YOU FEEL BEAUTIFUL, WHY?
I think my energy, my essence, the touch I put into my work, and my passion are what make me beautiful. I’ve endured challenges and that has moulded my character along with my smile lines 🙂

YOUR LAST CONVERSATION WITH THE UNIVERSE WENT SOMETHING LIKE…?
Dear God, please give me the strength, the inspiration and the focus to write something that will help others on their self-healing journey. Please make me a vessel for your will.

AND WITH YOUR PSYCHIC GUIDE?
I have a Goddess I identify with who is called Oshun or Oxum, from the Yoruba tradition. I am not affiliated with the religion, but I really identify with the energy of this particular goddess. She is beautiful, lives in the sweet waters. She is vain, and courted by many Gods. She is benevolent, and a creatrix.

WHEN DID YOU LAST WITNESS MAGIC IN ACTION?
This morning – I woke up!

WHAT’S ON YOUR VISION BOARD RIGHT NOW?
Sooo much! I always put everything on, so that when I focus on a particular area I draw those experiences to myself. I’ve been in a mode right now of attracting people and experiences that so much so that I can’t discern whether it’s de ja vu, or whether I conjured the whole thing myself.

YOUR MISSION IN YOUR CURRENT EARTHLING INCARNATION IS…?
My mission is to help women reclaim their queendom and heir bodies and be empowered in the birth process. We need to nurture ourselves so we can be powerful forces in the world.

Find out more about Latham and her work at Mamaglow.com

@GlowMaven

MIRACLES NOW: SELF-HELP FOR THE NOW AGE

Who says you have to go meditate in a cave for days to find your true life purpose? Not Numi fave Gabrielle Bernstein, who’s new book Miracles Now offers 108 almost instantaneous tools for bringing less stress and more flow into your life. But do they really work, asks Ruby Warrington? Images: Chloe Crespi.

Gabby B isn’t exactly the kind of girl to sit around waiting for s*** to happen. A New Yorker through-and-through, when it comes to crossing off her to-do list yesterday is never soon enough. Same goes for attaining enlightenment – and her die hard fans are of the same mindset.

“I was finding a lot of people in my workshops would say, ‘but what can I do right NOW, I want to fix this today’. I think that the next generation of spiritual seekers want immediate change right now,” she says, over a lunch of salmon and cauliflower rice in her light-filled East Village apartment. And so she set about compiling a volume of all the tools she uses herself to bring peace, stability and a sense of inner knowing to her own fast-paced, inner city existence.

“A lot of it came through just living,” she  explains. “Something would come up for me and I’d be like; ‘I have to put that in the book’. It’s all self-prescribed. Like I’ve had to practise saying “no” a lot lately – which was the inspiration for an exercise called #Sometimes NO is The Most Loving Response.”

A certified Kundalini yoga teacher, getting deep into this spiritual “technology” no doubt opened her eyes to the speed with which breath work in particular can create a shift in our internal (and therefore external) environment. She nods; “I included a lot of what I learned during kundalini teacher training – a lot of pretty ‘do-them-now’ meditations, but which all address pretty specific things we’re all faced with. Like the #Meditation to Prevent Freaking Out!”

But isn’t it kind of “spirituality lite”? How can repeating a two-minute mantra, or whatever, take the place of the deeper work that we’re often called to do to elevate our lives beyond the confines of our current situation? Her eyes widen; “Oh I am by no means suggesting bypassing the steps to look at deeper issues – I wrote three other books on that. But what I love about Kundalini in particular is that the small things that come up always have their root in bigger issues. It’s an invitation to go deeper.”

Which sounds like my invitation to put the theory to the test. Here’s how a week’s worth of Miracles Now played out for me.

Day one: #Value Yourself and the World Will Value You

I’m en route to London, on a work trip that represents a new challenge for me. Am I up to the job? This exercise, borrowed from spiritual money guru Kate Northrup, suggests writing down three things I value about myself so that the world can reflect that back to me. Mid-way across the Atlantic I fire up my iPhone notes app. “I have strong willpower which I use to keep healthy and direct my life the way I want.” “I have the ability to remain calm and positive in a stressful situation.” “My friendships are real and deeply felt.” YES – I can do this!

Day two: #Energize When You’re Short on Sleep

Ugh, jetlag. Gabby suggests doing a 15-minute shoulder stand – “which (Kundalini guru) Yogi Bhajan taught can equal two hours sleep because it relaxes you so deeply.” Unfortunately I didn’t bring my yoga mat, and getting into position on the hard wood floor of the apartment I’m staying in equals a major ouch. I stay up there for 60 seconds max – fail. (NB. should have noted option two, “simply lean your legs against the wall.”)

Day three: #Honor Your Commitments

This is a random one – Gabby suggests letting the book just fall open some days and seeing what “comes up for you,” and, fittingly, I get this on a day where I’m tempted to back out of a team bonding workout session with my London crew. I don’t have time to do the actual exercise – “make a list of the ways you may flake…the write a list of how this behavior affects others” – but I get the message loud and clear. I go workout, we bond, I feel great.

Day four: #Rest, Relax, Restore

Back in NYC, I’m feeling too amped from my trip (it was a success!) to sleep but I need to be on my A-game tomorrow. In this exercise Gabby introduces the “Yoga Nidra”, a deep relaxation technique that involves lying on your back and focusing on relaxing each body part individually, and then your body as a whole. “Do your best to stay awake,” she advises. But I’m asleep before I’ve even got as far as my left earlobe.

Day five: #A Meditation for Healing Addiction

I like to party, oh yes I do, and with some of my more cocktail-loving friends coming over for dinner I am bracing myself for a hard drinking evening – but with a full work schedule for the weekend, I have zero space in my diary for a hangover. Can this meditation help keep the white wine monster at bay? I am instructed to press my thumbs into my temples and repeat the mantra “Saa-Taa-Naa-Maa” for five minutes, while clenching  my molars rhythmically together. Two beers into the evening, I open the Sauvingon Blanc (white wine monster: “screw the hangover, this is fun!”). But what’s this? No-body else is drinking that much. Could it be the meditation worked on them instead of me? I go to bed relatively sober, so success…sort of?

Day six: #Be More Childlike

Another random, and oh-so-fitting with that weekend workload staring me down. “It may seem counterintuitive, but one key to feeling more productive and satisfied is to step away from your responsibilities from time to time,” Gabby writes. Being more curious, more present and allowing yourself to daydream are ways she suggests to bring a more creative, childlike quality to the task in hand. I find myself adding “dance break” on my to-do list. Er, yay.

Miracles Now is out now on Hay House, and Gabby is giving away a free half-day workshop to anyone who the book via her website: Gabbyb.tv

@GabbyBernstein

PSYCHIC CLOSET CLEAR OUT: ROOM FOR A WHOLE NEW ME

If the contents of your closet reflects who you really are, what to do when nothing’s working any more? Call in your friend Psychic Betsy to help intuit what should stay and what really needs to move on.

“Who IS she?” Photograph: Megan Gustashaw

The past two years have been a time of major transition for me. A move to NYC, a radical change in my daily working life and a slow and steady slide to the other side of 35 are the obvious, surface things. But internally, things have been shifting too. With Pluto (planet of transformation) squaring Uranus (the future, individualism, radical and progressive ideas) since June 2012, I get the feeling I’m not the only one (you can read more about THAT whole situation here) but one of the major tell-tale signs that I’m no longer the woman I used to be is that peering into the labyrinth that is my closet, I often can’t find anything to wear.

In fact, it’s more like taking a trip down memory lane in my Facebook photo archive. That dress I wore to rave the summers away in Ibiza. The jacket that felt so sharp when I landed my first proper newspaper job, but which I haven’t actually worn since 2007. If what’s in our wardrobe is really a reflection of the person we are, at times it’s been like grappling with a case of multiple personality disorder. I look inside, and it’s like…who IS she?

It had got to a point where I’d just wear the same things ALL THE TIME, waiting for precisely the right meeting, party or dinner date when a 1980s sweater covered with gold sequins would obviously be just the thing. In the meantime, with so many perfectly good clothes waiting to be worn (I mean we’re talking a lot of designer goods here too people) I hardly felt justified buying new stuff to bridge the gap. Clearly, it was time for the closet clear out to end all closet clear outs. But where to begin?

Ruby, are you in there?
It makes me look like Kate Moss, right?

Our personal style is ruled by Venus, and in my case that comes with a serious case of Pisces sentimentality, not to mention a heady dose of fantasy and self-delusion (of course I looked like Kate Moss circa Glastonbury 2005 in that vintage beaded vest). I was going to need external help with this – and who better than my friend Psychic Betsy? A gifted intuitive who specialises in finding practical tools to aid in your personal and spiritual development, I felt that with her help I would finally be able to cut the crap and find the real me.

Before she arrived, I did a brutal edit – anything I hadn’t worn for 12 months or more was up for the chop, as was anything that had been making me feel like an imposter in my own skin. Together, we then did a short meditation to set an intention for the session – basically, to make space in my wardrobe for the new, updated Ruby. We also visualized all the clothes I got rid of finding their way into the hands of women who would rock them like they deserved to be rocked.

And as we began working through the pile, several things quickly became clear. No. 1 – I am no longer the good time girl who danced her way through my 20s and early 30s in a blur of cocktails and fashion forward frocks. “’I used to wear this in Ibiza’ is coming up a lot,” Betsy pointed out. And having got deep into a decade-long love affair with the infamous party island (to the point I even edited a magazine there for two whole summers), there was obviously part of me that still felt very attached.

Taming my inner hedonist has been a conscious choice – mainly because these days I want to be more present for the highs that show up in my life – “but I don’t want to say goodbye to the fun times forever,” I whined. The answer from Spirit? “But you have fun in other ways now, and don’t you need new clothes for that?” Sayonara, frilly pink mini dresses and tiger print crop tops.

The old me: cocktails and frilly pink frocks

It also became obvious that in certain cases my “sentimentality” was masking some serious lack mentality. We unearthed numerous “placeholders,” things I was hanging onto for dear life because I might need them one day – rather than setting the energy in those particular items free to come back to me in new and frankly waaaay cooler form. Now this was a concept I could get my head around. But in some cases, saying goodbye to things that had been with me for years was as painful as kicking old friends to the curb. “So take a photograph. That way you can keep the energy of them close, but make room for new friends too!”

Anything I spoke about in the past tense was also a straight up “NO,” but of course there were some things I was seriously on-the-fence about. “So let’s do a little intuition 1-0-1,” suggested Betsy, who then had me close my eyes and picture another woman wearing and loving the item in question. “How does that feel, in the space right below your belly button?” Well good, actually, expansive and happy. “And now imagine yourself putting it on.” Stifled, stale and tight. This was getting easier by the minute.

As little as an hour later, virtually everything on the pile was ready to be packed up and shipped off to my local clothing exchange store – save for a few items I had got a very strong sense I should pass on to my friends Gabby and Gala (the three of us recently formed a sort of fashion maven holy trinity on an impromptu trip to Gabby’s favourite store, Reformation, on the Lower East Side). Maybe it was Betsy’s presence, but I just *knew* they’d love them.

The sense of clarity, lightness and relief I’ve been feeling since has been liberating to say the least – as a friend recently confided to me, “purging (as in, energetic purging) might be my secret favourite thing.” Of course there are huge gaps in my wardrobe that now need to be filled, but how much fun is THAT going to be? And of course, there’s a fittingly serendipitous P.S.

When I took my haul to the exchange the woman next to me was unloading a job lot of Helmut Lang samples, including just the black jacket to replace my faded “placeholder.” I walked out wearing it, with a cheque for $142 in my pocket for the rest of my swag. And when, the next day, I found myself with five minutes to spare in Soho, I wandered into the Jerome Dreyfuss boutique. I’ve been on the hunt for a new wallet, as Gala has a theory that an upgrade can help attract abundance into your life.

#abundance

And what do you know, after weeks of searching (it had to be red and the right size for my mini Marc Jacobs handbag – not an easy score) it turned out they had just the thing. But it was from last season so they had to fetch it up from out back, and it also happened to be on sale. For precisely $142.

Betsy Cohen is available to assist with your psychic closet clear out too! To make an appointment, go to www.newyorkcitypsychic.com