Spirit Tips
Read these 20 Spirit Tips tips to make your life smarter, better, faster and wiser. Each tip is approved by our Editors and created by expert writers so great we call them Gurus. LifeTips is the place to go when you need to know about Wicca tips and hundreds of other topics.
A Time for You
Try to find your "quiet center" every day. In the morning upon rising, (if you have to get up earlier to avoid the morning rush, do it) find a spot (outside if possible) where you can sit quietly and commune with Nature; listen to the morning sounds with a cup of your favorite relaxing beverage. It doesn't have to take hours. Fifteen minutes of quiet realization will do wonders for the rest of your day and put you in tune with the path your life should be taking.
Candle Pyrokinesis
Q: How can I learn pyrokinesis?
A: Pyrokinesis is a form of telekinesis in which a person uses his/her mind to control fire.
Telekinesis of any kind is an advanced skill that must be built with consistent exercises and training. It is best to start with basic psychic skills such as meditation that will teach you to clear your mind and focus your energies, then move up to more advanced work. With that said, a simple exercise that you can use to try your mind at pyrokinesis is the following:
1) Find a quiet place where you will not be interrupted.
2) Light a candle and place it in front of you.
3) Look at the base of the flame (near the wick) and let your mind relax. Defocus your eyes, but continue to watch how the flame moves.
4) Imagine that the flame is a part of you that you can control just as you can blink your eyes or move your lips.
5) Once you are comfortable with step 4, try to control the movement of the flame. See it flicker, move to one side or another, lengthen, widen. Work with the flame for about 10 minutes, then snuff the candle out.
Don't get frustrated if you can't seem to get it right -- telekinesis of any kind can take a lot of practice to master.
Sacred Space
Having a sacred site to call your own does not have to involve going to a large stone circle in the middle of a field in a country far off. In fact, you can create your own sacred space on your patio, in your backyard, even in your bathroom.
If you long for a touch of nature, try buying a bonsai tree (for earth people) to represent the outdoors, a fern for air, a pepper plant for fire, and so on. If you love the ocean, set up a basket or bowl of sand and shells to bring a piece of the seashore into your everyday life.
Finding Your Familiar
Finding a familiar is important - in spite of what Hollywood tells us, a familiar is not a personal slave that runs our errands in animal form. A "familiar" is an animal in which we find a kindred spirit, a spirit we have gotten to know as a friend, one that is familiar to us, hence the name. If you have a special attraction to a particular animal, maybe a pet, or an animal whose strength or qualities you admire, such as an eagle or bear, it's a good bet that this is your familiar animal, and you should take the time to know it better so that you can learn from it.
Hug a Tree!
Q: How can I get in touch with the spirit of my area?
A: Hug a tree! Seek a tree that has been in your area long enough to have a large enough trunk for you to embrace. Touch your tree - talk with the dryad inside (and the animals living in her branches!)
When you get to know your tree, give her a big hug - feel the sap (the life blood of the tree) running, pulsing within - merge your essence with that of the tree, and become one for a while. When you return to
yourself, thank the tree - and come away with new knowledge of your area and it's roots!
Guided meditation
Q: Any suggestions for a guided meditation on a budget?
If getting out to nature is a problem, why not bring nature to you. Buy a picture of a landscape, or other scenes that inspire you (or even print a picture from the internet). Find a quiet place where you won't be disturbed and sit quietly with your favorite incense and a white or purple candle. Picture yourself walking into the picture - find your power animal or totem, your friend accompanying you on this walk, or even the Gods or Goddesses themselves! Let your spirit soar through the scene and discover new insight.
Stress and the Spirit
Stress is destructive to the Spirit. A great way to relieve stress is a warm bath, but make yours a truly spiritual experience. Set your bathroom with lavender candles (as simple as a votive or two, or get
elegant with a candle "garden" of varied sizes) and light a stick of soothing lavender (or any favorite) incense. Use lavender oils in the water ... and a
lavender-scented soap. Soak for a while and feel the stress melt into the water. After the soak, be sure to rinse off with a quick shower to rinse away the residual stress.
Have a warm milk or tea and take yourself to bed!
A Meditation visualization
When you settle down to meditate, a good picture to use for your "self" is to see yourself/your spirit as a tree. Even if you are on the fifth floor of a building, see your "roots" reaching into the Earth
and your branches reaching to the sky - through floors and roofs, if needed.
Take the time ...
Take time for yourself everyday - even if it's only a few minutes to slow down and smell the flowers or contemplate the Lady Moon.
Too many times we are in such a rush, we forget about our surroundings - until we are so disoriented we are unable to figure out how we got to this point in time.
If you make yourself more aware of your world, you can attune yourself better to it - and be rewarded with a more peaceful and spiritual outlook.
Honoring an Ancestor
Plant a tree in honor of a lost loved one. Besides giving back to Mother Nature, this can also help you to release any negative feelings you may have regarding a loved one's death.
This is a rebirth for you and your lost loved one.
Meditation Places
It's nice to have a quiet corner inside, but if at all possible, try to find a significant outdoor spot for meditation. If you live near the ocean, find a secluded lagoon or jetty - mountains offer some great woodland to commune with nature and expand your spiritual horizons. If you're city-bound, a public park during "off-time" could provide a quiet spot under a tree to observe your surroundings and reach for the sky ... be sure to secure your belongings first, so that during your rapture in meditation, someone does not make off with your wallet.
Open Your Horizons
Keep your mind and spirit open to a new experience every day - if you are willing to try one new thing each day, that's seven new experiences to enrich your path per week. Start a new book, use your favorite search engine to peruse the internet for new sites on your specialty topic - keep yourself open, and your Spirit will be happier for it.
A Little thing
Try recycling. Recycling is a little thing - a bottle here, a can there, but even if you only recycle your own throwaways, it can add up. If you approach recycling with reverence, it can be spiritually uplifting.
Little things mean a lot..
The Time of Day...
Q: When is the best time of day to meditate?
A: The optimal time for meditation really is up to you. Take notice of your own cycles - some people are early birds, others are night owls. Timing your meditation with your personal cycles is very powerful.
If you find your inner fire brighter at twilight, try an outdoor meditation with some joss stick incense in sandalwood or frankincense and a portable tape player with some soft music - in a spot where you won't be disturbed. Leave the cell phone home, or at least turn it off. Merge yourself with the emerging stars - watch the Moon rise (and see yourself rising with Her).
A Meaningful Existence...
Some would love to go about their daily business in "full regalia", but one has to consider others in their routine; skyclad (nude) doesn't go over really well at the office or supermarket.
Instead, keep a meaningful piece of stone in your pocket, or wear a "personal" piece of jewlery - it doesn't have to be religion oriented - for example, one of my "best pieces" of jewelry is a piece of oyster shell the Lady gave me on a beach walk that I had wrapped in silver wire. It glows for me ... and apparently others too, since most are so struck by it that they can't resist the urge to touch it.
Simple things will keep you focused on your path.
Avalon in the City
If you often think "How can I practice Wicca if I live in the concrete jungle", try surrounding yourself with houseplants. Remember, your high-rise sits on the Earth, not above it ... reach your spirit roots through to the center of Mother Earth when meditating. Local stones and rocks (a Zen mini-garden?) can also help you connect - make your own wild places, and you can stay connected to the Way anywhere.
The (Wo)Man and the Sea
The ocean is one of the best places to meditate. Lucky you, if you live near the beach! Find a quiet spot away from the tourists and sit on the lip of the shore, preferably where the waves will (gently!) wash up on your body (at least your feet). Let the Sea bring you what it will, (and She will) .. shells washed to you can be used for wishes or talismans - or just a lovely way to remember the day you spent communing with nature.
Evenings are also ideal times to sit on the shore. The moon rising over the ocean is a spectacular sight, as well as a HUGE power boost. Bring your circle!
Looking for Life
You can create your own living environment in your house with plants (and animals, if you can care for them), but if you look outside in your urban jungle, look between the cracks in the sidewalk - you will notice grass and "weeds" pushing their way through. Life still exists even where Man has made a point of trying to destroy it. Take heart in the fact that Mother Earth will not let concrete and glass get in Her way forever.
Seasonal Meditation
Support your inner child and keep your spirit alive by taking a guided meditation to the North Pole! The Santa Claus figure is our god of the woods - see "When Santa Was a Shaman" and it would be appropriate to go visit during the Yule festivities. After centering, walk through the woods and look for an animal. Is it a reindeer? A cardinal? A snowshoe hare? Ask to see Father Christmas (or Santa) and they will take you. Make your Yuletide wishes! Enjoy the sights and smells of Winter.
Hum the Mantra
Q: I work in an office with no natural light or windows. How can I find a natural place to meditate briefly?
A: Try your lunch room or cafeteria - if you find yourself on a break when the lunch room is empty, save the vending machines, listen to the hum the machines make - it's almost as good as a white noise machine! Hum along quietly, or just lose yourself for that 10 minutes. It's almost like a group hum, and (for you closet mystics) not at all noticeable if your cronies waltz in.
