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Beauty, Brains & Boundaries

By The Artful Woman
    Why Worthy Women Are Done Apologizing for Wanting More As a young girl, I was an international model—traveling the world, young, beautiful, and financially independent. I was naturally drawn to powerful, intelligent, and successful men—not because I needed anything from them, but because I admired ambition. I respected men who could build something for themselves, because I was already building something for myself. But because I was beautiful, I was labeled. Assumed. Dismissed. "Gold digger" that type of judgment made me stay away from the very type of man I was genuinely aligned with. I didn’t want to be misunderstood. So I shrunk my desires and played it safe. And for that, I paid the price. As I got older, that stigma stuck. I found myself in a pattern of relationships with users, losers, and opportunists—men who took and took and gave nothing back. Men who drained my spirit, my finances, my peace. And I let it happen, because somewhere deep down, I still felt like I ...
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Effortless Manifestation: What Happens When You Stop Trying So Hard

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By The Artful Woman


I’m writing this blog because something clicked recently, and I want to share it with you. After studying, practicing, and digging deep into spirituality, healing, and manifestation, I found myself hitting a wall. A wall called effort.

Through the teachings of people like Dr. Leslie Phillips, Dr. Joe Vitale, and even some of what I’ve questioned from Dr. Joe Dispenza, I realized this:

The more effort I put into trying to be more spiritual, more intuitive, more abundant, the more I was actually blocking the very flow I was trying to invite.

Let that sink in.

🌧️ What Does “Effortlessness” Look Like When You Still Desire Transformation?

It doesn’t mean sitting around doing nothing. It means tuning your energy to receive instead of constantly striving to control.

When you’re trying too hard to get something—money, success, clarity—your vibration usually shifts into lack, fear, or frustration.

You’re subconsciously saying:

  • “I don’t have it.”

  • “I need to make this happen.”

  • “I’m afraid it won’t come.”

But the energy of manifestation comes from:

  • “I trust.”

  • “I’ve planted the seed.”

  • “I’m open to receiving.”

🌱 Think of It Like Gardening (Which I Live Every Day)

You plant a seed. You don’t pull it out every day to check if it’s growing. You don’t panic if you don’t see sprouts immediately. You water it. Give it sun. Let it be.

That’s trust. That’s alignment. That’s effortless manifestation.

💭 So What Happens When a Practice Feels Like Effort?

Sometimes we overdo spiritual practices thinking they’ll save us. We chase meditation, journaling, energy clearing, or manifestation techniques like a to-do list. But when they become forced—when they become a chore or a struggle—they lose their sacredness.

I experienced this firsthand with some of Dr. Joe Dispenza’s meditations. As much as I respect his work, the 40+ minute guided experiences of "feeling my body in space" felt like effort. Instead of enlightenment, I felt frustration. Instead of transformation, I felt resistance.

I began to realize: just because a practice works for someone else doesn’t mean it’s right for me.

And just because I want something to work doesn’t mean I have to force myself to do it every day.

✨ When Resistance Shows Up, Listen

Dr. Leslie Phillips teaches that being in effort blocks your heart chakra. The more you strive and push, the more disconnected you become from the very center of your being.

And here’s the truth:

What begins as a ritual can turn into a rut the moment it loses presence and purpose.

So if your meditation, your journaling, your visualizations, your affirmations—whatever practice you’re using—begin to feel like obligation or punishment... it's time to pause.

Your practices should lift you, not drain you. They should expand you, not trap you.

🚜 The "How" Is Not Your Job

You don’t need to know how the miracle happens. You just need to show up for your part:

  • Desire

  • Intention

  • Alignment

  • Openness

The Universe handles the rest.

Just like a caterpillar doesn’t plan how to grow wings, you don’t have to overthink how transformation unfolds. You trust. You cocoon. You emerge.

💫 Want Less Pressure and More Flow in Your Practice?

If you’re finding that your current spiritual routine feels heavy, overwhelming, or disconnected from your real life—you’re not alone. And you’re not doing it wrong.

You just need a more aligned approach.

At Artful Living Coaching, I help people reconnect to practices that feel nourishing, sacred, and sustainable. No guilt. No dogma. Just tools that work for you.

Let me help you:

  • Explore different types of meditation and ritual work that suit your time, energy, and lifestyle

  • Reclaim your heart chakra flow by removing the burden of effort

  • Build a soulful, flexible, and intentional practice that meets you where you are

If you’re tired of being told you have to meditate in a way that makes you want to scream, it’s time to try something that actually fits your nervous system and soul.

Reach out to me at Artful Living Coaching
We’ll create a living practice—one that supports you, centers your heart, and keeps your feet on the ground (not lost in space).

Because your growth shouldn't feel like pressure. It should feel like coming home.

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Location: Dana Point, CA, USA

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When Effort Becomes a Block

By The Artful Woman
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By The Artful Woman
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By The Artful Woman
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