Inner Wisdom – Page 3 – Ruthann M. Wilson

Release the Past: Reflection Practices for Healing and Moving Forward

Past Future

I can think of a time in my life when my primary focus was on past mistakes, missed opportunities, and the wrong doing of others. It was a dead end focus that kept me anchored in the past, silently suffering in the present, and not truly moving forward.

Through an ongoing process of forgiveness, I learned to release the past, resentment, and anger that I felt toward myself and others. Instead of looking back on challenging or painful situations with resentment and regret, I began to look back and ask what I learned about myself (first and foremost) and others and how the ‘lessons learned’ could help me grow. This was an ongoing process that helped me get unstuck and move forward.

The first step to release the past is to decide to release the past. There is great power in deciding to let it go. There is even more power in writing your decision down.

Once you have affirmed your decision to release the past in writing, sit with your decision in silence and allow your wise self that awaits you in silence to guide your steps forward. You have the power to release the past so that you can begin to truly moving forward.

Questions for reflection:

What in my past is keeping me from enjoying the present?
What in my past is keeping me from proactively creating my future?
What steps can I take to release the past so that I can truly move forward?

Feel free to share this post with others via a share button below.

All the best,
Ruthann

The Power of Silence: Embracing Solitude for Inner Peace

“Let silence take you to the core of your life.”

—Rumi

When I was growing up, my mom used to make me and my siblings spend time alone on a regular basis. She felt it was important for us to learn to enjoy our own company and not feel compelled to fill our time with other people or activities to be content and happy.

Spending time alone was never an issue for me. I am an introvert by nature and quiet time alone is how I recharge and reenergize. I looked forward to and enjoyed my time alone.

As I look back on my childhood, I feel a deep sense of gratitude to my mom for laying the foundation for what has proven to be a very important daily practice, time alone in silence to cultivate patience, peace of mind, and trust in the process of being internally guided.

If you don’t already have a regular practice of spending time alone in silence, I encourage you to create time in your day to be still and silent. Strive for 15-20 minutes in silence each day.

If sitting in silence is new to you, start small. Take five minutes or ten minutes out of your day. Set a timer so that you can be fully present to the moment and not watching the clock. You may want to consider using your breath as a focal point for your time in silence. When the timer goes off, bring your quiet time to a close in a spirit of gratitude for the gift of silence. Capture your experience of going within in a journal or notebook.

In the beginning, the benefits of spending time in silence may not be obvious, however, as you continue with this practice, I believe you will feel a deeper sense of peace, calm, balance, and openness to inner guidance. Give yourself the gift of silence.

Thank you for pausing here. If my writing has offered meaningful insight or sparked a shift in you, I would be honored to hear what stayed with you.

You are welcome to follow the blog to receive new reflections, subscribe to the mailing list for updates in your inbox, or connect with me on social media, whatever feels most supportive.

All the best,
Ruthann

Stand For, Not Against: Focus on what you want to grow

Take a stand for what you believe and magnify it in your life.

When we know what we stand for, we spend time and energy creating what we want instead of fighting against/resisting what we don’t want.

Resistance can feel good in the moment and give us a sense of power, however, resistance is not solution or growth oriented. When we are in resistance mode, we are focused on what we don’t want; rather than creating what we want.

Take time each day to renew your connection to your heart to help you stay focused on what you want to magnify in your life and in the world (e.g., peace, love, joy, etc.).

Global change begins with personal transformation.

In preparation for the week ahead, I invite you to reflect on the following questions.

What do I stand for?
How can I magnify it in my life?

Feel free to share this post with others via a share button below.

All the best,
Ruthann

Awaken to Possibility: Living from Within

Carl Jung once said, ‘Who looks outside, dreams. Who looks inside, awakens.’ This video is an invitation to awaken, to stay open to possibility and to live from within. I share three practices to support your journey: asking yourself powerful questions, engaging in quiet reflection with the intention of learning (not judging), and cultivating an ongoing spiritual practice. Together, these practices help you move forward with clarity, openness, and purpose.

Feel free to share this post with others via a share button below.

All the best,
Ruthann

Strategies to Stay Focused on What Matters

What we choose to focus on magnifies in our lives. Here are a few strategies that can help you stay focused on what truly matters and create the life that you desire.

Capture what is most important to you in writing

Putting things on paper can help you focus, plan, organize, and bring your ideas to life. Make a commitment to write down what matters most to you.

Clarify your personal values

Values are qualities/principles that are most important to you. Your values are the foundation for your life. They inform your life choices and help you prioritize what is most important in your life. Take time to identify, clarify, and prioritize your values in writing and put them into action.

Create a vision for your life

A vision is a desired future state. Give yourself permission to dream big. Create a detailed vision of what you desire for your life and create a plan of action to bring it to life. You may find my post on vision boards helpful. Click here to read the vision board post.

Create awareness of how you are spending your time, energy, and money

Keep track of how you are spending your time, energy, and money (in writing) on a daily basis for the next seven days. It will help you see the degree to which you are (or aren’t) focused on what truly matters. This exercise is seriously eye opening!

Need support? Be True to You is designed to help you clarify what truly matters and create the life that you desire.

Feel free to share this post with others via a share button below.

All the best,
Ruthann

Walking a Spiritual Path: Cultivating Clarity, Purpose, and Confidence in Life

What Is Spirituality? Defining Awareness, Belonging, and Higher Presence

It depends who you ask. Spirituality means different things to different people. I define spirituality as awareness/consciousness of a higher presence working in and through our lives. It is experienced as a sense of belonging to something greater, timeless, and infinite in possibility. It is the means through which we feel a deep sense of purpose and connection to all of life.

What is a spiritual path? Truth, Empowerment, Heart-centered living

Heart-centered/Truth-centered path and process of empowerment.

How to walk a spiritual path: Practices for Clarity, Reflections, and Authentic Growth

There is no right or wrong way to walk a spiritual path; it is a deeply personal path that is influenced by your values, beliefs, trust, experiences, introspection, reflection, and practices. It is an internal process of awakening and discerning what is true for you and living from that truth.

Truth is the light that guides your way.

Are you seeking a deeper sense of clarity, purpose, and direction for your life? Do you feel stuck in one or more areas of your life? Do you feel less than confident about making changes to your life?

Be True to You: A Practical Guide to Pursuing an Authentic Path is designed to help you step into your power, clarify your vision, and move forward on your path. Click here to learn more about Be True to You.

Feel free to share this post with others via a share button below.

All the best,

Ruthann

In-Progress, LLC | Walk your path with intention, at your own pace

Giving Thanks: Gratitude Practices for Thanksgiving and Everyday Life

Thanksgiving is a beautiful reminder of gratitude, yet the practice of giving thanks extends far beyond one day. Whether for friends, family, health, or life lessons, gratitude connects us to joy and abundance every day. Thank you for being part of my journey and allowing me to be part of yours.

Gratitude Practices to Try

Daily Gratitude Journal: Write down 3–5 blessings, lessons, or gifts each day to cultivate appreciation.
Gratitude Rituals: Begin and end your day with a moment of thanks for people, experiences, or simple joys.
Express Thanks to Others: Share a note, call, or message to let someone know how much they mean to you.
Gratitude Walk: Take a mindful walk outdoors, noticing and naming things you’re grateful for in your surroundings.

Peace and abundant blessings,

Ruthann

In-Progress, LLC | Walk your path with intention, at your own pace

How Intention in Prayer Fuels Personal Growth

When you pray, move your feet.

—African Proverb

When we pray with a goal in mind, we are engaging the power of intention in the context of all things being divinely possible.

The word intention comes from the Latin word intendere which means to “stretch out”, “to extend”. Intention inspires vision and guides action.

If you believe your prayers reflect what is best for your life, affirm your beliefs by living your prayers. For example, if you are praying for peace, envision what peace would look like in your life and commit to thinking peaceful thoughts, speaking peaceful words, creating and maintaining peaceful relationships, and creating and maintaining a peaceful environment. If you are praying for a new job/career opportunity, envision your new job/career and support your prayer with actions like updating your resume, creating a list of companies to send your resume, networking, and so on.

Prayer that is outcome focused and not supported with action is empty prayer. It is important that we pray and take action.

Engage the power of the written word to help you manifest what you desire. Create a plan of action that will enable you to move from where you are to where you would like to be. Consider using images and/or symbols as visual reminders (vision board) of your desired outcome.

Work toward your goals, but don’t be attached to a particular outcome. Being attached to a specific outcome can get in the way of you receiving an even bigger blessing than the one you had in mind.

The essence of prayer is faith in a divine presence working in and through our lives. As such, stay open to guidance and trust that you are being guided to your highest good.

Question for reflection

What is one thing you can do this week to move your life in the direction of your prayers?

Feel free to share this post with others via a share button below.

All the best,
Ruthann

The Journey to Authenticity: My Journal Reflections

JOURNAL ENTRY: I realized over the break that I am living a double life.

I have kept a journal most of my life. I have found it to be an invaluable tool for recording my dreams, clarifying my thoughts, and processing my feelings. It has also helped me to see how much I have grown over time.

As a part of the writing process for Be True to You, I reviewed some of my older journals. I was looking for themes in terms of what I was journaling about as well as statements that were related to breakthroughs and turning points. One of the statements that I found during the process inspired this post. I made a note in my journal that I felt like I was living a double life. I was driven by a need to be accepted and, in the process, not openly sharing the part of me that loves to explore a variety of topics and finds inspiration in many things.

At the time of my journal entry, I was exploring spirituality through a different lens (e.g., the Divine Feminine, symbolic systems, etc.). My interest in the topics was real, however, I wasn’t comfortable sharing what I was exploring because the topic was outside of “normal” conversations within my circle of friends and family. I did not want to be seen as “eccentric” or a “new ager”. In reality, I was judging myself and assuming what others might think about me. I noted in my journal that I was out of integrity by not sharing that part of me. I made a decision to stand in my truth and start sharing my interests with others; not only for my personal integrity, but as a way for them to get to know me at a deeper level.

For the most part, it seems the more authentic I am with others, the more authentic they are with me. Being authentic and vulnerable opens the door for deeper and more meaningful relationships.

Is there a part of you that you are hiding/not sharing with friends and family because you are afraid of disapproval, rejection, or judgment? How might you begin to bring that part of you forward?

Thank you for pausing here. If my writing has offered meaningful insight or sparked a shift in you, I would be honored to hear what stayed with you.

You are welcome to follow the blog to receive new reflections, subscribe to the mailing list for updates in your inbox, or connect with me on social media, whatever feels most supportive.

All the best,
Ruthann

Walking a Spiritual Path: Cultivating Clarity, Purpose, and Confidence in Life

Nature Path

What Is Spirituality? Defining Awareness, Belonging, and Higher Presence

What is a spiritual path? Truth, Empowerment, Heart-centered living

Heart-centered/Truth-centered path and process of empowerment.

How to walk a spiritual path: Practices for Clarity, Reflections, and Authentic Growth

Truth is the light that guides your way.

Be True to You: A Practical Guide to Pursuing an Authentic Path is designed to help you step into your power, clarify your vision, and move forward on your path. Click here to learn more about Be True to You.

Thank you for pausing here. If my writing has offered meaningful insight or sparked a shift in you, I would be honored to hear what stayed with you.

You are welcome to follow the blog to receive new reflections, subscribe to the mailing list for updates in your inbox, or connect with me on social media, whatever feels most supportive.

All the best,
Ruthann