How to: know your soul

Have you ever heard something that completely changed how you viewed your life?

Today I want to share a saying that comes from one of my heroes -- my grandfather. 

My grandfather was a very DEEP, wise man. 

His life was far from easy. 

He went from being the son of a very successful third generation piano and pipe organ company in Germany, right before WWII, to losing literally everything, nearly dying once from shrapnel wounds and later from typhoid. 

Then he had to start from scratch in America after leaving a war-torn country with his young wife, my grandmother, and with two little girls (my aunts) and later, my mom. 

One of the things he taught me, growing up, when we would play chess together (I never won and he usually fell asleep after I would take FOREVER to move) was: 

 γνῶθι σεαυτόν (gnóthi seautón)

which is Greek for...Know Thyself. 

This philosophical saying is inscribed at the Temple of Apollo in Greece, in the ancient precinct of Delphi. 

You know, where the famous Oracle of Delphi was rumored to hang out?

The very spot. This place was known for ultimate wisdom and power, and the sacred seat of the Oracle of Delphi. 

The Oracle of Delphi was a high priestess, or Pythia, as she was known, who served in the sanctuary of the Greek god Apollo in Delphi -- once considered the center of the ancient Greek world. The ancient Greeks believed that the Oracle of Delphi existed from the beginning of time, placed there by Apollo himself to tell the future as he saw it.

Cool, huh? 

Well, this saying has been around since the 4th Century BC. 

So...I feel like its pretty reliable!

The original application of Know Thyself is...know your limits.

And the best known application of this is truly... know your soul.

Whoa. This goes deep, right?

How do you know your soul?

Without getting too much into the theology of "what is a soul"...

I'm going to scale it to... (my take): a soul is the combination of human + divine. 

I think...this is what it means to be human.

And...to recognize the divinity within YOU. 

By divinity -- I mean the part of you that is OF God/Source/The Universe. 

The part that is immortal. 

And yes. I do believe EVERY human has this. 

But how do you get to know both parts?

You have to dig deep past all those layers of societal conditioning. 

Of familial and ancestral programming. 

And to get to that ooey-gooey center. 

The part of you that is truly eternal. 

And resting in that knowing....every. SINGLE. day. 

That you are DIVINE. 

Yup. You. Reading this, right now.

You are absolutely Divine.

Because that knowing brings you true peace. 

No one -- no situation -- can take that divinity away from you. 

And if you're here, reading my blog, I truly thank you, and honor you. 

Because you are reading this to get to know yourself better. 

And that journey of self-realization makes you more self-aware, and more compassionate. 

It gives you a deeper understanding of your self-worth. 

Ok, so. How do you get to know your true essence, who you are at your core?

How do you know your SOUL?

Let's dive in. 

Step 1: Do a deep dive of your beliefs. And ditch the ones that limit you. 

Years ago, I took a class on energy healing where the instructor asked a pointed question about beliefs that shook me to my core. 

He asked us to look at our beliefs and start to figure out where they came from. 

Do a little detective work.

On ALL of our beliefs. About ourselves. 

The good. The bad. The ugly.

The exercise went something like this...

• What do you believe about yourself?
• Where did that belief come from?
• Is that belief still personally true for you?

Through this, I realized that I had some good beliefs...

I believe in seeing the best in myself, in other people and in situations. 

But also, some...unattractive ones. 

I'm not good enough.

I don't have enough time/money/resources to do what I REALLY want to do in life. 

Failure is bad.

If I do what I love, and honor my truth... what will people THINK of me?

Ugh. I'm not worthy.

We wrote them all out on paper. 

And went back and started seeing....ok, where did that belief COME from? 

Trace it back to childhood. 

Or maybe to your parents. Or grandparents. Or before that...

So, I picked a limiting belief (I'm not worthy) and dove right in.

(Shadow work is WORK, friends. But it is transformational.)

So...I went into a deep meditative state, and asked to see where this particular belief came from.

At first, I saw nothing. Just inky blackness. 

I breathed and went a little deeper. Relaxed a little more.

And asked...to see. 

I saw myself as a child, in a Catholic church. Praying. Stained glass light streaming through a window. Incense gently moving though the air. 

Speaking a phrase with my eyes closed, while kneeling. 

There is a part of the Catholic mass in which the congregation says:

"Lord, I am not worthy to receive You. But only say the word and my soul will be healed."

Does this sound familiar to anyone?

Well, this is the phrase that came up for me in this meditation. 

And I paused, let it sink in. 

This phrase, repeated hundreds of times throughout my life, was actually the root of my belief. 

That I, inherently, was not worthy. 

Of God. Of God's Love. Of my own divinity. 

That I had to pray, to ask for my own divinity in church. 

That my soul was somehow damaged -- even as a child -- and I humbly needed God to heal me. 

Hm. 

If we come from God, and are OF God, how can we possibly be broken?

That connection, that love has always been within us. 

You already ARE whole. 

You already ARE worthy. 

So. I asked, then, in this meditation, how to release this former belief -- and this was the gentle truth I received from deep within: 

You were born worthy, Kristina. 

You are always worthy of God's love. No matter what. 

EVERYONE is. 

You never were broken. 

Your soul is Divine. 

Focus on the aspect of you that is Divine and seek to understand it. 

Know thyself. 

This sentiment to me, felt like the most powerful form of light, and I believe it to be my truth. 

Once I started this process of going within and seeking to understand WHERE that belief came from, and why I was holding onto so tightly, I could let it go...with love.

Just because these words, said in church, may have been true for my parents, my grandparents, my great-grandparents and so on (and that is COMPLETELY fine for them)...

...I did not have to choose it for me. 

I can choose a new belief. 

That I AM worthy of God's love, and it is not something I have to ask for. 

My personal belief is that divinity is my birthright. 

No one has control over your beliefs but YOU.

Changing a limiting belief can be tough work, but it IS possible. 

Over time, I started saying to myself: I AM worthy of (God's/The Universe's) love. 

And it made me feel...loved. And powerful. And happy. 

You can reframe a belief like -- I'm not good enough to: 

I AM capable, and my life is improving with effort and time. 

Because... you ARE capable.

You are MORE than capable! 

Visualization, affirmations, meditations, and small steps towards changing dramatically changed my life. 

And over time, my beliefs truly changed -- and I could release all the ones that held me back.

You can do this too, my friend. Really. 

If I can, you can too! 

Let go of anything that says you CAN'T. 

Ditch those beliefs for good -- anything that doesn't serve you. 

And start seeing that incredible divine spark that lives within you. 

Your subconscious beliefs can change in an instant. 

I am so proud of you!

Step 2: Nothing in Extreme 

My grandfather had another saying -- nothing in extreme. 

This relates to the second translation of Know Thyself in the fact of -- know your limits.

I take this as -- know what's TOO much in your life.

I started getting real with myself and seeing what was "too much" for me. 

And seeing where I maybe erred on the side of -- too much. Yikes. 

Sooooo....

At one point, I was very ok with too much:

Coffee.

Alcohol. 

Staying up late.

Talking about other people.

Complaining. 

Netflix. 

People pleasing. 

Not voicing what I needed. 

Overworking. 

And slllllowwwwly, one by one, I started to bring each of these into more of a balanced state: 

1 cup of coffee (instead of 4...or 6...). 

An occasional glass of wine (instead of ahem, a few tequila negronis)

Getting more sleep (8+ hours!)

Changing my conversations -- listening deeply, being more present. 

More gratitude. 

Less TV, more reading. 

More walking. More meditation. 

Creating healthier boundaries.

Speaking my truth.

Prioritizing rest. 

And slowly, things came back into balance. 

I felt calmer, more at peace. More connected to myself. 

And...more joyful! I had room for more happiness. 

And I started to understand whenever I felt OUT of balance -- I'd ask myself why, and then I knew what I needed to do to get back in it.

This works to heal your nervous system, because if you've been operating in a state of fight, flight or fawn for a while, you've got to understand what triggers are affecting your nervous system the most.

Asking yourself...what do I need in this moment to find balance?

• Is too much coffee making me jittery and on edge? (Yep.)
• Does too little sleep make me feel extra grumpy? (You bet it does.)
• Do I really, really want to go be social right now or could I use the extra rest? (Mmmhm. Canceling those plans!)

Bringing awareness into the things that shift your balance will bring SO much extra clarity to you, your life, and your relationships with others. 

Step 3: Divine Time

Ok, so how do you really get to KNOW the part of you that's divine?

You guys have heard me talk about meditation for years, and truly, even 5 minutes a day in a state of stillness and reflection helps to calm your body, mind, and spirit.

Why does meditation work?

Because it helps to quiet your mind AND your emotions and allow you to really get present in your body. 

It allows you to feel true peace and allows you to effortlessly connect with the love that's always available to you. 

Breathing in love. 

Breathing out anything that isn't love. 

Tapping into your divine self in real time. 

Guided meditation is perfect, too! The app, Insight Timer, has helped me so much - and it's free.

But it's more than meditation. 

It's seeking time that's just for you -- to fill your own cup.

Maybe it's learning a new skill, taking a new class.

Maybe it's yoga, or rock-climbing, or taking a flower-arranging class. 

Taking action on doing something you love and seeing that you can learn a new skills gives you more confidence. 

Setting small goals and achieving them show you, that yes, you are MORE than capable.

Other ways to connect to the Divine include:

• Spending time in nature (or just in the sun!)
• Reading spiritual books and listening to enlightening podcasts 
• Journaling 
• Prayer 
• Ancestor connection 
• Practicing gratitude
• Helping others
• Practicing self-love, self-compassion and self-forgiveness 

All of these, and so many more, raise your vibration and will help you tap into the part of you that feels...ancient. Loving. Deserving. Worthy. 

You are deserving of the best life has to offer you.

Don't let any old beliefs tell you otherwise.

Would you do me a small favor? 

I want you to look in the mirror and see the Divine within you. 

And maybe, if you're up for it, take a few minutes to recognize just how incredible you are.

How beautiful your soul is. 

That you are here for a reason, my friend. 

Never forget this.

And if you need a sign to remember how amazing you are?

THIS.

THIS IS YOUR SIGN. 

Take one action today -- just for you. 

Spend a little time getting to know your incredible self.

You are amazing. 

I am SO proud of you.

Keep going. 

You got this!!