It happened again. I thought about something I regretted. It looked like I wouldn’t get sleep.
Then I shifted my thoughts. I brought an image to my sleep-deprived mind.
I am floating in the ocean. Peaceful.
The waves softly flow.
The Ocean is Goddess.

Eventually, I fall asleep.

Later, I reflected on this.

Here are two definitions:

“Regret is an emotion. It’s a negative emotion in that it’s an emotion that makes us feel worse, not better. And it’s an emotion that’s triggered when we think of something from our past and wish we had done something differently, done something in a different way, not done something, taken an action, not taken an action.” – Daniel Pink

“Shame is the intensely painful feeling or experience of believing that we are flawed and therefore unworthy of love and belonging.” – Brené Brown

Whoa! Stop!

Goddess put divinity within us.
We ARE worthy of love and belonging.
We belong to the Goddess.

I remember this quote:

“Do the best you can until you know better. Then, when you know better, do better.” – Maya Angelou

So I need to shift from regret to reflecting on what I may want to do differently in the future.

Here’s a prayer you can use.

Goddess,
Let Your waters of love caress and flow within and without me.
Let my shame and regret be washed from my mind, body, and soul.
Soothe me, nourish me, and heal me.
So Mote It Be.

May these insights support your journey.

Blessed Be,
Moonwater

Enroll in my Online Course Beyond the Law of Attraction to Real Magick At Udemy.com

Enroll in my Online Course At Udemy.com

Spiritual Solution for Depression Relief is also an online course on Udemy.com

Looking for gifts?

See my designs at Redbubble.

For more of Moonwater SilverClaw, consider some of her books:

Visit Moonwater’s Author’s Page for all her books here.

Check out my Podcast.

Check out my site MoonwaterSilverClaw.com for spells and more.

PinkFlower

Is there a Wiccan path to joy?

What is joy really? Is it happiness?

Not really. It is a step to happiness. Tonight, I had the opportunity to hear a talk by Chade-Meng Tan, author of Joy On Demand, who said: “Joy is a moment to moment feeling. It is the building block of happiness.”

The question is: How do we get to joy? Much of my life I wanted to feel joyful, but various things held me down: a brother who terrorized me and later, an abusive marriage.

I learned a number of things that helped me get stronger, and through Wicca I left that abusive marriage.

Still, how does joy pertain to Wicca?

The Gods want us to be happy.

But many times we get in our own way. We put shame and anger in our way. What do I mean about that?

We put ourselves down, and we ignore our true beauty and talent. This puts a roadblock to our joy and happiness.

Can you relate to this? Have you ever been mad at yourself for making mistakes or “not being good enough? Or smart enough?”

As I was growing up, having dyslexia, I felt stupid. I had terrible trouble reading and struggled to keep up in school. More than that, I felt that I didn’t measure up to the media’s idea of feminine beauty. That was a lot of pressure! (Models don’t even measure up to it. That’s why they are significantly Photoshopped!)

With so much self-directed emotional turmoil, I failed to see myself as the Gods saw me. Beautiful and sacred. It wasn’t until I did the Self Love Meditation that I truly understood this.

With tears in my eyes, I saw the truth.

Now I look to the little things of life to give me joy. For example, a simple drink of water. 783 million people do not have access to clean water. I think of how fortunate I am to have clean water on tap. Taking a drink of water gives me a simple joy.

When’s the last time you were thankful and joyful about something? Was it months, weeks, days ago? Think about it. Do you thank the Gods for positive things in your life?

The Gods want us to be happy and have joy in this world. Remember, the Gods are love.

Still, how does self-forgiveness fit in with being a true Wiccan? Picture this. You make a mistake. You get mad at yourself. All you’re now looking at is the mistake and how “bad” you were. In effect, you’re turning away from what the God and the Goddess want you to see and to nurture. They want you to nurture yourself and have a healthy relationship with yourself. And with such a healthy relationship, you can have a healthy, loving relationship with Them.

Imagine this. How about being compassionate toward yourself? Wouldn’t you give a close friend the benefit of the doubt? Wouldn’t you be kind to your friend?

How about extending such understanding and kindness to yourself? Forgive yourself for making mistakes. Nurture yourself as you do better and better on your Wiccan path.

Being compassionate is being one with kindness. Kindness is linked to love.

We are of the Gods and the Gods are of us. Forgiving yourself and making room for you to pay attention to joy will empower you. As you experience joy, you naturally bring joy to others as well.

And then the God and Goddess will smile with you in this present moment.

Blessed Be,
Moonwater

P.S. To sign up for our E-Newsletter click here.

Looking for gifts?

See my designs at Redbubble. For more of Moonwater SilverClaw, consider some of her books: