I have a “woo woo” side. I like things that magical, mystical and symbolic and I have some basic practices that satisfy the need for the woo in my life. I use some of these practices in my business too – and some of them actually seem to work!
Here’s a list of my favorite woo woo business practices that actually work:
Using essential oils and aromatherapy.
Aromatherapy is powerful! Scent affects our mood more then any other one of our senses. It has the power to calm us right down, to unlock our creativity, or to help us get shit done!
I use essential oils in a couple of ways.
In a diffuser: You can get a small diffuser for your office, they sell a ton of varieties. The one I like uses steam and can be found here. You can also get small ones that just use a candle and a couple drops of oil in water to diffuse the scent. My favorite “work” scents are:
Sweet Orange – anti-anxiety
Rosemary – for mental focus
Rose – uplifting
Grapefruit – antidepressant
Vetiver – grounding
Be Happy Blend or other blends – these are great for pre-mixed blends of essential oils. You can add a couple drops to your diffuser as is rather then needing to invest in a ton of different oils right away.
There are a ton of sites that offer ideas for making your own blends for everything from relieving stress to encouraging creativity. Do a search and some experimenting! I’ve built up a collection of essential oils over the past year, they last for quite awhile and are great for making your own beauty products too.
On a diffusing necklace: This method is the newest one I’m trying, and I love it because I can take the oil with me when I’m on the go – perfect for running work errands, meetings, or while doing a photoshoot. I love to take a wiff of the necklace when I feel myself getting worn out or stressed, while sitting in traffic or problem solving a food photoshoot. It’s just a great way to regroup! I love this diffuser necklace, but there are others types there too. Try searching on Etsy for them. These essential oil diffuser bracelets by LoilJ are also super comfortable to wear and so cute.
Just sniffing one right out of the bottle: I do this with Rosemary the most – the bottle sits right on my desk and when I feel my brain continually wandering I unscrew the cap and take a few smells of the essential oil from the bottle. Rosemary is great for regaining focus!
I also love using balms, like the yoga balm from Badger Balms at the end of the day to help calm down after a hectic schedule, or spritzing some Rosewater & Glycerin spray on my skin or in the air when I need a mood booster.
Smudge sticks
After the week of the election, there was a lot of negative energy in our home – and our office is part of our home! I decided to try using a smudge stick to clear the air and start over. It may have all been in my head, but it helped. I was able to stop ruminating in politics and get some work done. I started thinking about how I could make a positive impact and open up pathways of communication. Hey, I would say that it got the job done!
Here’s more info on how to use a smudge stick, when and why. Also, there are different types of herbs to use for different situations and rooms. Sage is good for cleansing, but check out some others here. You can also smudge people and objects. Maybe that phone or TV that has been delivering bad news? Or your grumpy husband or wife… 🙂 Smudge each other and call it a cleansing ritual – just be sure to leave a few windows cracked so all that smoke and negative energy can escape.
The Chalkboard Method
The chalkboard method is a way of making space for new people, projects or clients to come into your life and business. I first heard about it from the Being Boss podcast, and then learned more when I started listening to the Jay and Becca Do The Work podcast. (Jay is a life coach and told the Being Boss ladies about this method.)
How I use the Chalkboard Method:
Basically, the Universe abhors a vacuum. So what should we do if we want more of something in our lives? Create a vacuum that needs to be filled for that thing.
How do we create a vacuum? It’s pretty easy. Get a large piece of paper, a chalkboard, a white board or anything you can hang up in your office and look at everyday. Draw some blank lines on it. I like to do this by quarter or for a rolling three month period. Right now there are two empty spaces for June, two for July and two for August. These signify the two new clients I want to show up in my business for each month during the next 3 months.
Maybe it IS the Universe filling the vacuum, or maybe it’s those blank spaces staring at me everyday, but this WORKS. When I do this and focus on it, those spaces get filled one way or another.
Being Boss has a great worksheet and more info to get your own Chalkboard going (you can use this for other goals too, not just getting clients!)
Along the same lines as the chalkboard method is the mood board/vision board. I wrote a post about that, but here’s mine for the year:
Meditation
Meditation is one of these things that will indirectly affect every area of your life. Your mind will be clearer, things will more easily fall in to place, and you’ll be able to deal with whatever life throws at you. This may sound like a magic “cure-all” and I guess that’s what I’m saying – it pretty much is. But you have to try it to see it.
When I first started meditating, it was like something in me that I couldn’t put my finger on, was now calmer and more level headed.
Mediation for beginners:
I usually only do this for five minutes a day. I suppose as I get more practiced at it, I’ll naturally go longer, but for now a couple of minutes seems to benefit me and it fits into my daily routine easily.
Find a comfortable place. Set a timer for five minutes or just sit as long as feels right for you. Lay on your bed, on the floor, on a yoga mat, sit in a comfy chair or on your couch. Close your eyes and sit cross legged, or with feet flat on the ground or stretched out in front of you, and let your hands and arms be relaxed.
Take a few deep breaths. Tell yourself that you are here, in this space, to meditate and don’t put too much pressure on yourself. Focus only on breathing, let your breaths be easy and relaxed. As thoughts pop up, and they will, gently release them and go back to focusing on your breathing. The goal is to keep as quiet of a mind as you can for the five minutes.
I used to sit in my living room and meditate while the french press coffee was brewing because it also took five minutes! Now I usually go up to my studio and sit in my comfy chair and meditate before I read a little – this is all before I start my work day and part of my daily routine.
There are apps that help you meditate and even provide guided meditations – check out Headspace.
Law of Attraction
Law of Attraction is a little more on the “woo” side. It’s another “law of the Universe” that basically says whatever thoughts or feelings you continually hold in your mind and heart, you’ll get more of. Feeling worried? You’ll be given more things to worry about (or the exact thing that you are worrying about is more likely to happen). Feeling happy and joyful? You’ll be given more happiness and joy. Through your thoughts and feelings, you are basically making a request to the Universe and saying “more of this please”. When you feel lack of money, shame or doubt, just as you are when you are feeling contentment, joy, or prosperity, these are all requests. And the Universe reacts to you accordingly. It’s based on this book and is an idea that has been gaining in popularity over the last 20 years. The Secret talked about it, and celebrities are in on the game too.
Sounds woo, right? Let me back up a second.
Let’s look at this one at a more logical level. If you love what you do and are happy, joyful and passionate, people will naturally gravitate to you and want to work with you. No one wants to be around someone who is a downer or complaining all the time. This is not about being fake or feigning happiness when you are feeling blah, but this is about genuinely getting joy from your work and putting out positive vibes.
Easier said then done? Maybe. We all have a gift to contribute to the world, and sharing that gift with others can also bring us joy for ourselves. I’m privileged to say that the gift I share is also the thing I get paid to do. I recognize that not all are as privileged, but we can choose to find joy in all our work, or in our daily lives, and thus start attracting MORE joy and happiness (or health, or abundance, or peace) into our lives.
So how do I make the Law of Attraction work for my business?
I focus on what I love about my job and my life everyday. I start my day (usually after meditation) by writing down a gratitude list. This list can have anything and everything that I’m thankful for that day on it. It’s a one page list in my notebook that takes maybe 10 minutes to write, and no matter what side of the bed I woke up on, I’m even better after writing my gratitude list. Some days it has repeats of things I’m thankful for, other days it has something totally random or big or very, very small. But it puts me in the appreciation/joy feeling mode and my day goes better then when I don’t do this little ritual.
Law of Attraction also works in conjunction with mediation and visualizing a future that you see for yourself. It’s like business visioning, but looser and in your mind. I sit and meditate on the success I see in my future, or even in that day, and the kinds of clients I’m working with, what projects I’m working on, and the ease and flexibility I love having in my life. I’ve visualized working on food brands…and now I do. I’ve visualized working well with teams… and now I do. I’ve attracted new friends and clients because of starting my podcast (an idea that came after a meditation session). So it can work – if you work it!
Affirmation statements or Mantras
These are little phrases I like to use throughout the day. Here’s my current favorites:
You find your voice by using it.
This mantra is great for when I was starting the podcast and working on writing skills as well. Use your voice and you’ll find how to say the words. It’s a reminder that it takes practice to find your audience and find your writing and speaking style. I’ve found this to be true and so evident when I listen to the first episode of the podcast compared to the seventh! My voice will keep growing and changing and getting more specific, but I love that I can hone in on what it is through practicing.
The more I do the work I am called to do, the safer I am and the more money I make. 
This one is a little more about prosperity and doing the work I love. It’s also a forward looking statement – saying that as I keep doing work I love and I’m gifted for, things will be better and better. I think a lot of my negative thinking comes out of a feeling of scarcity – time is scarce, money is scarce, resources are scarce. And this thinking only attracts more of that scarcity. When I turn a statement into “more is more” like this one, I am encouraged that the more I do what I love, more of what I love will come to me.
Progress over perfection.
This one just goes through my mind all day – it helps me push the publish button, it helps me send the files to my clients, it helps me load the dishwasher and pull a couple weeds. It helps me not get so dang overwhelmed with all the things that a business owner has on their plate!
I’m on the right path and making better choices
A good general mantra for your finances, your health, or your mental health. It reminds me that I’m not the person I was in the past, that I’m striving to make better choices, and I’m getting better everyday.
Those are just a few! I also loved this book that has other mantras and one page explanations of the meanings behind them.
How a mantra can help you in your business:
These little sayings may feel like they won’t make much of a difference, but when you focus on the meaning of them they can be powerful game changers and stop a bad mood right in it’s tracks. I say them to myself throughout the day and they become mini-life themes to help me deal with whatever phase I’m in.
They’ve helped me skip right over feeling guilty about something, or making myself or someone else wrong, and just get right to the heart of what’s bothering me. I suffer through less emotional hang-ups when using a mantra. I don’t tend to wake up in the middle of the night with anxiety about something or other when I’m using meditation and mantras.
What is it that you are struggling with in your business? How could you develop a positive mantra around it to help you get through it? What about implementing some meditation or even starting with a yummy smelling essential oil blend to spray in the air around your desk?
Try a little bit of woo in your biz life, and you’ll feel more fulfilled and calm in other areas of your life too.