“To the soul… the most minute details and the most ordinary activities, carried out with mindfulness and art, have an effect far beyond their apparent insignificance.”
~ Thomas Moore
Our soul is elusive. We can’t see it, locate it, fully define it or even begin to think about how we would dissect it if we ever got ahold of it. But we know it is there. We know that deep within us lives a voice, a power, a place of wisdom. And yet we often neglect and even dismiss it. Why?
Our innermost ally often gets lost in the human condition. The soul static of our lives – the busyness, noise, and distraction with which we surround ourselves – camouflages the still voice within, drowning out the most necessary part of our experience as humans. It is the most honest and authentic aspect of who we are, but we keep it hidden away not only from others, but from ourselves as well. To me, this is a tragic but common reality.
If you have followed my newsletters over the last few years, you know that I’ve struggled with how to get the soul mainstream again. I just completed an 18-month marketing training program in which nearly every other coach told me not to use 
the word “soul” when talking to the media. This not only confused me, it deflated me. I was at a serious loss to know how to continue on what I felt was my life purpose – to get everyone I could to acknowledge their soul so that they could lead a more radiant life. I thought everyone wanted to claim their right to create and enjoy a life that was in alignment with who they are at the core. This is optimal soul health.
After several months of tangled thoughts, not only did my own inner ally burst through this seeming barrier to get back on its given path, but it did so defiantly. I realized that while many may want to stay distant from their souls, I do not. I also know that those who seek me out as a therapist, author, and/or educator are seeking something deeper than what the current mainstream can provide. That is why you’re reading this article right now. You’ve chosen to both acknowledge and care for your soul.
In
terestingly, “to keep hidden” is not a new concept. In fact, while doing research a while back for a book I am writing, I became curious about the original meaning of the word “hell”. Low and behold, the very first definition of that word was, yes – you guessed it – nothing other than “to keep hidden.” So folks, when we disconnect from and ignore our soul, we live anything but a heavenly life. Would you agree?
One of the questions I ask to clients on their first visit is, “What do you do to take care of yourself?” More often than not, people can’t answer the question. I’ve even sent clients home with assignments to come back with a list of five to ten things they do for fun. Again, most return empty-handed. Why? Because people can’t take care or feed something they don’t know they have. For this reason, I not only wrote my book Soul Health, but now can offer you my latest book, The Recipe for Radiance: Mastering the Art and Soul of Self-Care.
Why do we make self-care so hard? Why do we put ourselves last on the list? When do we come first?
To me, self-care IS soul care. When we tend to the various aspects of our human 
lives that need attention, we also care for our innermost ally. But few of us know exactly what we as individuals uniquely need to feel more radiant. We each require our own personal combination of soul-care activities – our unique recipe that more fully fits our individual needs and more richly nourishes and balances our life.
Consider this my “infomercial”: The Recipe for Radiance: Mastering the Art and Soul of Self-Care is designed to help you create your own ultimate, life-long guide for optimal health. Using the method of how chefs are taught to create the perfect recipe for their customers, the book offers you a fun and light-hearted way to identify the key ingredients to feeding your soul and thus leading a more radiant life. The book then guides you in learning how to “measure” and “blend” these ingredients so that they become a part of who you are for sustained self-care.
Once complete, your Recipe for Radiance will help you:
Restore your body…
Recharge your mind…
Inspire your soul… and,
Transform your life…
Although consciously tending to one’s own well-being is relatively new, the trend toward a proactive and well-balanced lifestyle is nothing less than a positive – and essential – one. In fact, it is the key to both radiant health and conscious evolution.
This was a fun book to write, but only because self-care – or soul-care is such an important topic. I hope that you will not only acknowledge your soul more now, but also take care of it as well.
https://www.drkatherinetkelly.com/books/.
Recent Comments