Spirituality
Stephanie Discusses The Importance of Fully Feeling Your Emotions, and Using Positive Affirmations to Transform
Published
4 years agoon
In her first interview with Manifest Easy, Stephanie discusses how it’s so important to fully feel our emotions and not suppress them, how positive affirmations are changing her life for the better, and how part of remembering our Divinity as women is recognizing that we are multifaceted beings.
Stephanie’s Age: 31 years old
Her Current location: Utah, United States
Stephanie’s Profession: Mental Health Counselor
Instagram Username: @StephieandSage
What makes you feel most connected to your femininity?
“Any time I feel unshakably confident, I feel completely connected with my identity as a woman.
In situations of professional, academic or personal life, when I find myself exuding self-assurance, I feel completely feminine.”
What outfit do you feel most sexy in?
“It absolutely depends on the situation. Most of the time, I feel great in a bikini.
I love a sexy black dress for a night out, with glam makeup.
I feel fabulous in lingerie. I can also feel like a goddess in an oversized sweater and long socks. I like being naked. It’s all relative.”
Has anyone ever judged you for showing your more feminine, emotional side? How did you deal with that?
“That has been a constant for me throughout my life. My immediate family wasn’t particularly sensitive growing up, and I had felt judged for being too emotional, either positive or negative.
My emotions were minimized with phrases like “stop crying, it’s not that bad,” or “that’s not that exciting.” It was a theme I had carried into my romantic relationships.
My ex husband had even taken to saying “stop crying so loudly,” in moments of extreme, and justifiable turmoil.
I had never really been able to do anything about it. I have always thought it necessary to feel emotions through, even though it had made me the oddball. I did begin to internalize those feelings. I stopped openly sharing them.”
At what point in your life did you start to really step into your femininity and the divinity that comes with that?
“Honestly, probably a year ago. I had become very closed off and I spent a lot of time hiding myself. I had shut down various parts of myself based on the opinions of others.
I let people make me feel like less for being emotional, sexual, opinionated and vibrant. I spent my whole life trying to “find myself,” and finally realized that I couldn’t do that if I didn’t explore some of those things that I was suppressing.”
What’s your favorite self-care ritual?
“Yoga. Getting lost in a good flow makes me feel so nourished.
I also enjoy setting up a cozy environment for reading as part of self care, either sitting on the beach or lying in bed with a cup of hot tea.”
What do you love most about being a woman?
“This is such a tough question. I love being a mother and everything that encompasses. I have two daughters, and teaching them to be empowered young women means the world to me. I hope they are able to “find themselves” more quickly than I did.
I love that women can be soft and firm. I love that we have a force that is only available to women. I love how a confident woman can steal a room. I love that I can be nurturing and powerful. I love that we are tenacious mountain movers. I love how women glow from the inside out.
We can be everything. Strong, intelligent, creative. We are multifaceted. “
What inspires your creativity most?
“How I see my surroundings based on my emotions. I also utilize memories and past experiences.”
How do you express your creative side?
‘I write. I very much enjoy getting my thoughts out in words for me to reflect on later. I fully believe it is necessary to feel everything fully.
I like going back to reference past writings when my mood matches those past works, and reflect.”
Women are intuitive beings by nature. What’s one instance where you’ve felt called to really tap into your intuition and listen to that voice inside of you?
“I feel this so often. I feel that I am particularly emotionally intuitive. I’ve been called a clairsentient in the past.
I have the uncanny ability of just knowing what people are feeling emotionally. I’ve always had an unconscious confidence in that ability.
I have been recently trying to cultivate that skill into other areas of my life.”
Women have an intrinsic trait where we tend to avoid confrontation, and handle issues passively. Because of this, we can often manipulate the situation and get our way without fighting. What’s one time that you’ve seen this trait show through you?
“I feel I’ve probably done that quite a bit in past relationships. I can’t recall specific times, but in relationships I tend to gravitate towards extroverts who have always been quite situationally commanding.
I suppose that’s a nice way of saying that they liked being in control. I’ve learned that to be heard, I have to passively implant ideas.”
When did you really start to feel confident in yourself? Was there a specific moment or event that caused you to embrace yourself with love and step into confidence?
“There were many events. I struggled with my identity for my whole life. I had battled an eating disorder, anxiety, panic and depression, as well as unkind and unfair treatment at points.
About a year and a half ago, I decided that I needed to finally figure out who I am regardless of the opinions of others. I was having a panic attack and I felt so lost.
I started experimenting with different ideas, read a lot about various types of activism, began speaking my mind, stopped being passively myself and apologetic for my existence.”
Was there a time you ever doubted yourself? And how did you overcome your doubt?
“Constantly, even still. Doubt will always be there.
I notice that I have two voices, two ways I talk to myself. Those voices are my confidence and my doubt. My doubt has always been louder than my confidence.
My work has been to make confidence louder, so loud doubt quiets quickly.”
As women, we are too often told we need to change the way we look, and the media and beauty industries can pick on our insecurities. How do you like to honor your body and remind yourself how beautiful and perfect you are?
“I honor my body by staying active and living a vegan lifestyle. My insecurities have been my master for much of my adult life. I often followed far too closely to beauty standards of the media and it took over my day to day.
The best thing I could do for myself now, so I don’t fall subject to that again, is to make sure I am doing all of the things that make me feel grounded.
I don’t deprive myself of food, good or bad, like I used to. I exercise on a schedule that isn’t overwhelming, in ways that make me happy. I care for my skin in daily rituals. I apply makeup when I want to, as it is something I enjoy doing for myself, though I don’t find it an obligation.
I try to look at myself in the mirror and really see myself. I give myself the time to notice where I am with my mood, what I need.
Also, when I look in the mirror, I try to always acknowledge something I like about myself. Positive affirmation and action are my best tools.”
What advice would you give to a young girl who isn’t confident in her body and femininity yet?
“I would say this: You will find yourself. You do not have to be anything for anyone other than you.
Find your voice. Use it. Do not be afraid of it or where it will take you.
Whatever doors close because of it, are not doors you are meant to walk through. Be kind to yourself while you are learning. You are precious and deserve all of the grace in the universe.
You have power that you haven’t found yet. You are a fire that deserves to be fed, not contained or managed. Burn brightly and kindly, allowing your light to lead others. You will be okay. Keep learning.”
Women are naturally highly sensitive beings, and we deeply feel our emotions. How do you honor your emotions and give yourself space to feel?
“I do simply that. When feelings arise, I feel them. I cry if I must. I allow myself the time to do so, however long it takes.
I let it become the experience that it is. I am very intentional with my emotions. Each deep feeling is a learning opportunity to better understand myself. “
As women, and divine feminine beings, we’re given the precious ability to create life. In our society, we’re told we need to be mothers and raise a family. While having the incredible ability to create life and give birth, not every woman decides to become a mom, and that’s okay. What are your thoughts on this topic? How do you feel about being able to create the most precious thing on earth – life itself?
“Though women are born with the gift to create life, a woman is not less if she can’t or chooses not to. Many factors come together when considering motherhood. It doesn’t end after life is created and birthed, that life must be maintained.
Our bodies are ours to be used how we see purposeful, and our lives are our own to cultivate.
I am a mother to two daughters. I was 20, quite young, through my first pregnancy and had not quite learned myself yet or how to be intentional. I was overjoyed journeying into motherhood, though a bit naive.
My second pregnancy was 4 years ago and I was much more aware of myself. I truly felt that I had embraced the divine goddess in that period, though I did struggle with doubt in my abilities.
I had not felt more beautiful or powerful at any other point in my life. I found myself so connected to my children, both the unborn and with new eyes for my oldest. It was a magical experience.
Through breastfeeding, I found myself with different respect for my body. These were surely large stepping stones in my journey and in honoring my feminine power.”
The divine feminine energy within you is inherently strongly connected to nature – Mother Earth. What is your favorite way to spend time in nature and honor Mother Earth?
“I enjoy hiking trails of all intensity. I also spend a lot of time at the beach observing the ocean.
I am personally a vegan and environmental activist. I have been to a number of rallies and events for both, and it is my largest immediate goal to live as sustainable as possible.
I support animal and environmental initiatives and work towards educating others on veganism and sustainability. I am not quiet about our need to respect our Mother and have compassion for all of her children.”
As women, we are the embodiment of Divine Feminine energy, but we also have Divine Masculine energy within us. Do you often feel like you have more feminine energy than masculine, or vice versa? How does the energy that you think is most dominant within you often express itself through you?
“I am positive I embody more of the divine feminine, though I am stepping more into masculine energy as my confidence grows. The two really go hand in hand, and previously, I had been very concerned with not appearing as one or the other.
I know that before I had begun practicing self awareness, I had a tendency to be aggressive and emotionally reactive. I am constantly now working to balance feminine vs. masculine.”
Anna Pepe is Editor and Creator of Manifest Easy. After learning how to properly manifest the life of her dreams, and communicate with the Universe in a productive way, Anna now has a passion for helping others to do the same. Anna is a channel, and often channels lessons from her guides regarding love, romantic and platonic relationships, abundance, money, and more. Not only does she have a passion for helping others manifest the life they desire, she also has a passion for helping people recognize that they have incredible power within them, that often lies dormant. She loves to share other people’s stories, as well as her own stories and lessons from her guides, to help as many people as possible and share as many perspectives as possible with her brand. If you have a story you’d love to share, please go to the Contact Us page, or email Anna at [email protected]
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Spirituality
Do This Simple Technique To Release Negative Thoughts and Feelings
Published
4 years agoon
December 6, 2020Do This Simple Technique To Release Negative Thoughts and Feelings
I’m gonna be realllll bold here…
So you think you love yourself, huh?
I mean really. Do you think you love yourself???
I thought I loved myself.
I thought I had done the work.
I thought I had done enough meditating,
I thought I had done enough soul-searching,
I thought I had done enough shadow work and integration….
I realized….
Self love is not a college degree.
It is not something you earn or tap into once you’ve “done enough of the work”.
It is a moment-by-moment, unconditional love.
It is constantly choosing love, over that little voice (or big loud scary voice) that tells you that you aren’t enough.
It’s choosing love over the voice that tells you you’re not good enough.
It’s choosing love over the voice that tells you that you should feel ashamed, or that you should feel guilty for the things you’ve done in the past.
It’s choosing love when you eff up.
It’s choosing love when you feel afraid, or when you feel worried about the future.
You see…
Self love isn’t a degree.
Self love isn’t something you earn,
It isn’t something that just stays with you, because you’ve felt it or tapped into it a few times, or even many times.
You have to constantly choose love.
Unconditional love for yourself, and really for everyone around you, as we are all really one.
When you constantly choose love, it becomes second nature to keep choosing it.
But yet, it is a choice.
Not a badge.
Not a degree.
Not a permanent state.
We can make a habit out of choosing love.
We can also make a habit out of choosing fear, worry, anxiety, self-judgement, judgement upon others…
We can make it a point to choose love. To consciously choose love.
And even when you’ve made a habit out of choosing love…
You still may experience times when you might choose fear, or worry, or judgement…
And that’s okay.
You don’t need to run away from those things.
You can acknowledge them, and move past them.
Call them out for what they really are – They are the absence of love.
These negative feelings and emotions, they don’t belong to you. They don’t belong to your true self.
If you feel yourself getting caught up in these types of feelings and emotions, here’s a simple tip/exercise that you can apply at any time, to relieve unpleasant feelings, thoughts and emotions!
- Take a deep breath. Breathe in for 6 counts, hold for 3 counts, then breathe out for 9 counts.
- Breathe in again, using the same breathing pattern – but this time, picture the negative or unpleasant thoughts and emotions jumping into an elevator (during the breath in and hold at the top), an elevator that’s appeared inside your brain.
- As you release your breath, picture the elevator going down, stopping at your heart center as you fully release.
- If you’re not driving or doing something else while doing this, place your hands over your heart. Feel your heart center expand. Feel the massive electromagnetic energy coming from your heart, into your hands, back into your heart, and spreading all around you into your auric field.
When we drop into our heart center, we can really FEEL whether or not what we’re thinking, feeling, etc. is coming from our Higher Selves. We automatically tap into the frequency of love.
And you have the ability to do this at any time, anywhere.
This is just one example, one reminder of how powerful we truly are – as spiritual beings, having a human experience.
And feel free to do this exercise often, as many times as you feel the need to.
Because remember, self love – love in general… does not come in the form of a badge. It does not come in a degree.
Choose love, in this and every moment… because this moment, now, is all that really exists.
I have so much love for all of you reading.
With love,
Anna Pepe
If you’re reading this, you’re probably human…
Which means, you’ve probably been in an argument a few times.
Arguing is something that we’ve been taught to do since we were really little.
Everyone was programmed by their parents’ conversations, siblings, teachers…
We were programmed to respond in certain ways depending on our environment growing up.
We soaked in everything around us as children, without discernment (which was of no fault to us as we were probably not taught discernment), without knowing that what we’re soaking in and absorbing is shaping us, likely for the rest of our lives.
The way you argue is likely the way you saw those around you arguing when you were growing up.
Is arguing a bad thing?
No, because nothing is good or bad unless you give it that meaning.
The real question, in my opinion, is “Is arguing serving me?”
The title of this article (completely sarcastic BTW) is to play on the fact that many people think that spiritual people shouldn’t, or don’t, argue.
That’s completely false.
Spiritual people aren’t perfect and we all have moments where we fall back into the program of the matrix.
The goal is to care so much about how you feel, your state of being, your emotional frequency output…
that you don’t want to do anything that brings you in a state where you’re not feeling in alignment and in a space of unconditional love for yourself, and for those around you.
That’s what it means to be dedicated on your spiritual path.
Nonetheless, spiritual people aren’t perfect – as you’re probably already aware of!
And while you’re an amazing, beautiful, powerful soul who’s reading this message..
You’re not perfect either!
And that’s totally okay, because like I said in the beginning of this article…
You’re human.
You came here to be human, which means to be perfectly imperfect.
Love on the parts of yourself that feel they need to enter an argument from a place that is not of unconditional love.
If you need to get your point across, do it with love, in a way that doesn’t breed fear, hate, or hard feelings.
A reminder that arguing only breeds that in which we do not want.
Love you.
Channeled Lessons
Stay in Alignment Throughout Your Day By Using This Powerful Technique to Lock in Your Intention
Published
4 years agoon
December 1, 2020In this video Anna Pepe shares how to use this powerful technique which she channeled from her spirit guides, to lock in your intention for your day, to help you stay in alignment with your goal, to help you stay focused, and to ultimately help you create a state of being from which you manifest easily and quickly.
Use this technique every morning to set your intention and set energetic filters within your energy centers and your physical body.