How to Build a Soultribe: Step Two, Use Your Words

My dreamboard for January, embodying my new mantra.

How’s that experiment with making space for your Soultribe going? Have you baked some bread? Cleared some clutter? Made the place smell good? Good for you! (If not, that’s okay. It’s not a race or anything. We’ll wait up.)

Step Two: Using your Words to Creating Emotional Space

Now that you’ve made some physical space for your Soultribe, it’s time to create some emotional atmosphere as well. You know how sometimes you walk into a room, and it just feels right? Maybe it’s someone’s living room that always feels like a hug. Or maybe your massage therapists’ practice room is just the right balance of professionalism and coziness. Or it could be that your yoga studio is just so perfectly Zen. You can create that kind of emotive space for your Soultribe too!

Have you ever heard a parent working with a screaming toddler? You might hear the parent say: “Honey, you have to use your words.” Emotions can be big, very big. Even the good ones can be hard to pin down. So what we are going to do in step two, is find some words that will nuture the kind of emotional feel you want your Soultribe to have.

Here are three kinds of energy that lives in some of the Soultribe spaces I’ve visited. These are just ideas to help you get a picture of what you might like to see grow now that you’ve vested your charming space.

1) The vibrant, challenging energy that encourages discussion and intellectual discourse.
2) The passionate, hot energy that flows amongst a group dedicated to social action.
3) The warm nurturing energy that pools in a group dedicated to encouragement and discernment.

Each of these groups would have a different vibe, a different emotional temperature or texture. Anchoring yourself now in the emotional texture you would like to experience with your Soultribe will help put you solidly on the path that’s unfolding in front of you. And thankfully, it’s not that hard.

How to Write a Mantra

So get quiet for just a minute and ask yourself this question. When I am in this room with my Soultribe, what kind of emotional feeling do I want to be sitting in? Okay, just think about it for a minute or two. Now start writing down emotive words. At least ten, I think. Don’t over-think it. This works best quick and dirty on a piece of scratch paper. If any sneak in there that make you feel like you have to include them to “do it right” or “to be official” or because “you should”, toss those puppies out right away. Those are most likely institutional leftovers you don’t need. We are working with fresh ingredients here.

Once you’ve got your list, scan it and circle the three words that seem to float up to the top. Again, don’t over-think it. This is intuitive work. We don’t want our monkey minds getting in there and stirring things up.

Now this is the best part, which I just recently picked up from the Other Laura. Make your three words into a mantra. For instance, mine right now is warmthgentlenessstablity. (That’s how I see it when I chant it—all as one word/breath like that.)

Now, for the next few weeks try saying your mantra at least 4 times a day:

1) Say your mantra upon waking up. The bedroom is the nest of your home. Speak these words into it and root your day in that emotional reality.

2) Say your mantra at the door when you return home and in your entry way. The door and entry are a symbol of welcome. Bath them in this emotional atmosphere – as a sign of welcome to yourself and your Soultribe.

3) Say your mantra when you sit down for dinner. The table is a symbol of hospitality and gathering. Wrap it in your good intentions by “setting” it with the gift of these words.

4) Say your mantra at bedtime. This layers the very place where you lay your head with these positive emotions and brings the day full circle. (If your mantra is very energizing, you may want to skip this time so it doesn’t disrupt your sleep.

Finally, say your mantra whenever you practice vesting your space, or whenever thoughts, dreams, or worries about your future Soultribe arrive.

Why it works

Now, this is not a researched answer or anything. It’s just my opinion based on personal experience. I think saying a mantra works in the following ways:

• It affects the way your brain is thinking about a given situation. Now you are not just a person lacking a tribe, but a person who is creating a sacred atmosphere for your Soultribe to gather. It literally changes your reality. I think it shifts something on the cognitive and the behavioral level. It’s good stuff!

• It solidifies your values to create a solid base on which to build something new, giving you more stability and confidence.

• It opens your eyes, heart, and thoughts to opportunities and possibilities. Gradually you will start noticing the resources that are in front of you, the intriguing people that are crossing your path, the articles that mentioned just what you needed to hear, and the dozens of kismet moments that cross your path. You tune in to what God and The Universe are doing.

Okay, so now we are two steps in towards creating our Soultribe. Please let me know how things are going: What’s working for you, and what’s not. What questions are coming up for you. What tools you are realizing you need in your kit. What unexpected tasks come up along the way. Together, we will find our way to our Motherland.

Yours on the Journey,

Rachelle

Posted in Soulcare
Tags: dreamboards, Soulcare, Soultribes |