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inner critic ritual

A Spiritual Art Ritual for Quieting the Inner Critic

This is a great art ritual to enjoy when the new moon is in the sign of Gemini.  A Gemini new moon day is a great time to think about the moments in your life you listened to your inner critic instead of your inner wisdom. Your inner critic isn’t your enemy. She usually shows up when you are hurting or scared but that doesn’t mean you should follow her guidance. This ritual asks you to consider following your heart and believing in your dreams instead.

Reflect

The voices in my mind aren’t always nice to me. They ask me to be different. They want me to change. They think I would be happier if I was better or stronger or more likable or a thousand other things I used to think was wrong with me. But nothing was ever wrong with me. Sure I made mistakes (sometimes really BIG ones) and yes, I made bad choices every now and again (sometimes daily) but the behaviors didn’t make me bad or unlovable.

One day, I refused to hate myself. I refused to change myself if my desire to change was rooted in judgement or shame. I would only pursue changes that came from love and kindness. This was revolutionary in my world because everyone always talks about what they need to change and how they need to be different in one way or another. So few people extend kindness and compassion toward themselves. I didn’t want to live like that anymore.

All my problems didn’t go away but how I treated myself changed. I’m patient now and when I notice thoughts rolling around in my mind that aren’t nice, I don’t believe them. I see them but I don’t get caught up in them. The mean girl in my head doesn’t pull me down like she used to. Instead, I understand my mean thoughts are just my mind’s way of letting me know something is bothering me so I get curious. The mean thoughts never say anything true. They are just a symptom. The mean girl that lives in my head is really just hurting. She’s lashing out because she doesn’t know another way to get her needs met but when I tend to my heart and whatever it’s been missing, she grows quiet and grateful.

If you have thoughts that put you down or hurt you, I hope you remember they aren’t true. Something inside is trying to get your attention. Your inner mean girl might just be trying to show you that somewhere inside you are hurting and that’s the only way she knows how to get your attention.

She might need your attention and she might be showing you something inside you is bothering you but that doesn’t mean she gets to make all the decisions. As you perform this spiritual art ritual, think about the one place in your life you will no longer allow her to take the wheel then express those intentions by writing a letter to your inner critic. I wrote my letter on a hand-drawn journal page I created that is rich with symbolism for transformation. If you’d like to receive my free hand-drawn journal pages, simply join my mailing list by entering your name and email address on the home page of my website. But don’t worry, you don’t need to use my journal pages. Use whatever you like. In this case, the tools are not as important as the intentions and the feelings with which you create.

 

Create

After you created sacred space, cleared the energy and invited Spirit to join you for your art ritual, create a page that holds imagery and symbolism of transformation. The new moon is a great time to plant new seeds of intention so any imagery that reminds you of birth or change or newness and growth will work well.

Once your page is drawn and colored (I colored mine with watercolor pencils), start a letter to your inner critic. Be kind. Your inner critic isn’t your enemy so it doesn’t make sense to be mad at her or want her to disappear but it’s also okay to set some firm boundaries. Imagine, as you are writing, you are speaking to a child you love. You want them to feel heard and safe but you also want them to understand you are the leader. Explain to your inner critic in what areas of your life you are stepping in and taking over and what changes you will be making. Think of all the times you didn’t follow your dreams or listen to the song in your heart because she took over. Let her know this won’t be happening anymore. You will be the one making the decisions, not the parts of you that are scared or hurt. You will tend to the scared and hurt parts but you will not let them choose your destiny.

When you are done, thank Spirit for being with you and hang your letter somewhere you can read it over again a few times during the next moon cycle.

If you end up completing this spiritual art ritual, I’d love to see what you created. You can even post the finished piece on Instagram or Facebook with the hashtag #danasartrituals or email me at support@danadaponte.com and share with me how it went for you.

with love,

Dana da Ponte

 

 

 

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This is a space where art and spirit come together. On the blog, I share art rituals for working with the magic of the moon. I also work with the subconscious mind to lighten your emotional load and follow your creative dreams.

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