Blog | Monica McDowell

Monica McDowell
- Sep 10
- 2 min read

Excerpt from my next book...

My next book is coming along well! I hope to have it self-published in 2023. Fingers crossed! In the meantime, I'll give you snippets along the way. Here's the intro...

"It was do or die. Most likely, die.

Nadia knew what had to be done. She knew because she had been here before. Her dad, however, was not one to believe in ghost stories. So she was terrified he was going to be stuck in this hellhole forever, or even be killed by the monstrous half-lives that lived in this abyss below their town. How could she convince him to trust her? To follow her? To give up everything he believed in and do exactly as she told him to do?

She wasn’t confident she could convince him. He had wasted away—his body and his mind. He might not even remember her. He had to trust her, though. He had to. If he didn’t, she’d be alone and orphaned at best; at worst, she could be caught forever in this middle world with him. She had already been warned by a half-life that they would probably die trying to escape together."

Keep writing, keep creating, keep resting and playing so you can keep writing and creating!

If you are so moved and are able, please consider supporting my writing by making a donation (PayPal Donate button on bottom of every page) or buying one of my books. Thank you!

Monica McDowell is a dynamic speaker, author, and practitioner in alternative wellness and spirituality. Find her on Thought Catalog here. She is the author of The Oracle of Devor, The Girl with a Gift, Confessions of a Mystic Soccer Mom, You are Light (internationally published by 6th Books in over 14 countries) and My Karma Ran Over My Dogma, and has the distinction of being the first ordained minister in America granted civil rights by a federal ruling. She lives in Seattle, Washington, USA, and can be reached at monica@monicamcdowell.com.

Monica McDowell
- Jun 24
- 2 min read

The Blessings of Boundaries

Boundaries are good things, yes? Defined appropriately and used with wisdom they help to create mutually enriching relationships. Even more so with energy boundaries. The more we are aware of where our energy boundaries are and how to repair and strengthen them, the more we can experience total safety within ourselves in a world that sometimes doesn’t appear very welcoming to our true natures.

For those of us who are empaths, energy boundary repair and strengthening is even more important. We can feel the world, amirite? And with all the upheaval going on right now (yesterday was a tough one), we can be overwhelmed very easily.

So how do we repair and strengthen our energy boundaries?

First, I've got a couple of videos of energy exercises that will help you both get in touch with your energetic boundaries and repair and strengthen them all at the same time. See those below.
Second, one of the most important tools you can use for any kind of energy healing is to set a strong, positive, clear intention, such as "My energy can go out, and no one else's energy can come in." It can take time to re-pattern your energy fields with thoughts only. So visualize yourself in a nice, big golden bubble and see anything coming towards you as dissolving in the outer layer of that golden bubble, or connecting with it and then just falling safely to the ground. This helps your mind

connect with your energy, your body, and your thoughts, making a trifecta that works some powerful juju.

• Third, if something does get through, do the work to process and release it and then re-set your intentions again.

• Fourth, practice, practice, practice! As many of you know, I dream other people's dreams. It's sometimes perplexing, sometimes upsetting, and I know it means I'm probably effing up on my boundaries somewhere. Ahem. So keep practicing. My dreamscape is much more my own these days after continuing to keep at all of the tips above and practicing the exercises in the videos below!

If you are so moved and are able, please consider supporting my writing by making a donation (PayPal Donate button on bottom of every page) or buying one of my books. Thank you!

Monica McDowell
- Apr 15
- 3 min read

This Season of Renewal: Do you know your ikigai?

One of the main reasons people find their way to a session with me is because their hara dimension needs some healing. The hara dimension is all about intentionality and soul purpose, and why your soul is embodied on the earth at this time. I emphasize at this time because soul purposes can change throughout one’s life. You might get through a series of lessons or achievements in life and then wham, everything changes. You lose your job, a global pandemic starts (!), a beloved one dies, or some other life-changing thing turns everything upside down. Or it could be that you’re just stuck, lost, not knowing what to do with your life, what direction you’re headed. These are all invitations into hara work and a renewing of your soul purpose.

The hara connects our divinity, with our individuated soul, with our embodied self, and with the earth. Quite the spectrum of energy and vibration to keep flowing smoothly! It’s a very subtle realm and thoughts and intentions and dramatic reactions to life experiences can very easily throw off our flow in this dimension and muddy up the new clarity we need and want for our current soul purpose.

The Japanese concept of ikigai hints at how we also might contemplate our soul purpose. I like this diagram because not only does it show the conjunction of possible avenues into the heart of what your soul desires to learn and do, it also shows what ISN’T your soul purpose. You may be good at many things, but if you don’t love them, there’s no passion (energy) there. And pursuing things just because you’re good at them isn’t going to provide clarity to your purpose or give you the energy you need to keep you going through the inevitable bumps and twists and turns that show up on the human road of life. Likewise, if the world needs something and you know a way that you can get paid to do that thing, but you don’t love it? You’re setting yourself up to bring in martyr/victim energy. And that's not likely to make you feel like you're in love with your life!

Take some time this Spring/Easter/season of renewal, to brainstorm, dream, contemplate:

what you love
what you’re good at
what you can get paid for
what the word needs

See if there are any things that check all the boxes that really light your fire and get your passion going, because that will provide the fuel to propel your forward. You might only have an inkling. You might only have a faint idea. No matter, take a small step and let the passion energy keep you going as you adapt, flex, and maybe even hop, skip, and jump into your next soul adventure!

If you need any help on the way, my sessions spend quite a bit of time repairing and strengthening the hara, so you can expand your gifts, find your soul purpose—your ikigai—at this time more easily and even spontaneously!

Clients who’ve had hara work done with me have quickly experienced:

sudden desires to go back to school, have done so with new degrees and started new successful careers
repairs in their ability to connect with people and new relationships have suddenly begun
big shifts in their desire to be here on the planet for the common good rather than escape, hide, or leave

If you are so moved and are able, please consider supporting my writing by making a donation (PayPal Donate button on bottom of every page) or buying one of my books. Thank you!

Monica Mc Dowell

Healer, Teacher, Author, Ordained Minister

Excerpt from my next book...

The Blessings of Boundaries

This Season of Renewal: Do you know your ikigai?

Monica's Blog