Ins and Outs for 2025: Reclaim your Power with Intentional Living & Rituals

As we step into 2025, many of us are taking a moment to reassess where we’re headed and what we want our lives to look like. I know I am one of them and I’m guessing you are too. With a world that’s constantly keeping our nervous systems in fight or flight, it’s crucial to find more balance and focus on what you can control. In this blog post, I’ll delve into my top five ins and outs for 2025, with some tips and anecdotes to help you tune into what truly matters and turn off what doesn’t.

Finding Balance in a Consumer-Driven World

In our consumer-driven society, we are often bombarded with messages to buy more, spend more, and own more. However, embracing underconsumption can lead to a more meaningful life. It’s not just about spending less; it’s about valuing what truly adds joy and utility to our lives. Plus, it gives us a chance to get a little creative as we approach alternatives to the things we’ve been conditioned to think need to come from brand-name stores at exorbitant prices. As someone who has been down this road for a while, I can tell you with 100% honesty that I have never missed or regretted not getting an expensive brand-name product. Sometimes things really aren’t as valuable as we’ve been told to believe.

• Mindful Shopping: Before making a purchase, ask yourself if it’s a need or a want. Consider a 30-day rule for non-essential items; if you still want it after a month, then consider purchasing it.
• Capsule Wardrobe: Simplify your closet by creating a capsule wardrobe of versatile pieces that you love and wear regularly. I’ve been doing this for the last year and I am obsessed with it. I enjoy making a Pinterest board to visualize my style for each season.
• Budgeting: Set clear financial goals and track your expenses to understand your spending habits better. I use a software/app called YNAB (You Need a Budget) that I highly recommend.

There are so many options to help motivate you to stop overconsumption. If you’d like to learn more about why underconsumption is going to benefit you or perhaps educate yourself on some of the ethical considerations around overconsumption, there are great creators on YouTube and Tiktok talking about this (#underconsumptioncore is a thing). I like the concept of a no-spend challenge, as long as you don’t deny yourself necessities that you really need. Then there’s thrifting and upcycling items you already own, I’m a big fan of this. Project Pan is about actually using all of your make-up and personal products before buying any more, and I definitely need to give it a try.

On a deeper note, I think it would be helpful to do a bit of journaling or meditation on why you buy things you don’t necessarily need. Why you feel the need to get specific things, brand names, or whatever it is you know you’re probably not being responsible about. If you (like me) say yes to events, experiences, vacations, etc. that you know you probably can’t afford, why is it so hard to just say no?

What would happen if you spoke honestly to the people around you about how you’re trying to spend less and be more conscious about what you buy?

The Power of Ritual

A chaotic schedule can lead to stress and burnout. How do I know? See: My Life. But it’s 2025 and we’re not doing that anymore. By dedicating specific days of the week to a certain focus with relevant tasks and routines, we can cultivate a more productive and satisfying weekly rhythm that leaves us feeling less harried, less pressured, less out of sync, and more tuned into the power of our focus. You can call them routines if you like, but I’m not a routine person, I prefer to think of the things I do in a day that are part of my focus and intention for myself to be life rituals.

• Theme Days: Assign themes to your days, such as “Admin Mondays” or “Content Thursdays” to focus your energy and streamline your tasks. I love using the natural energy of each day related to the planets they represent to align my focus to what is cosmically supported. Monday (Moon); Tuesday (Mars); Wednesday (Mercury); Thursday (Jupiter); Friday (Venus); Saturday (Saturn); and Sunday (Sun).
• Time Blocking: Divide your day into blocks dedicated to specific activities, ensuring you allocate time for breaks and relaxation. When I can stick with time blocking (which is not always easy for an ADHDer like me), I do find it really helps quell the chaos of my daily life.
• Reflective Journaling: At the end of each day, jot down what worked and what didn’t to continuously refine your routine.
• Have Fun With It: Hate cleaning? Try making it a part of your weekly schedule but also make it fun! Turn on some music to get you dancing as you vacuum, set a timer to speed clean your kitchen, then treat yourself with a 15 minute reading break afterwards. Figure out how to incentivize the things you don’t want to do and you may start looking forward to getting them done every week because you’ve replaced the association you have with them with something positive.

If you’d like to hear more about how rituals can help you be more consistent with your self-discovery work, I have a recent podcast episode about this – be sure to have a listen. I think the difference between a routine and a ritual is that routines are processes you follow because you have either become accustomed to doing things a certain way or are trying to cultivate more order in your life, while a ritual is an intentional practice you do because it’s intrinsically meaningful to you. Ritual evokes something that is powerful, enjoyable, and tied to your physical or emotional well-being.

It’s not a bad thing to have routines and to like having routines, but when you make something a ritual – there is a different motivation behind why you’re devoting yourself to it. If I feel like I’m being extrinsically motivated to adopt a routine because society tells me “it will be good for me” then I’m almost immediately out on it. I don’t like doing things because people tell me it’s what I should be doing. As a Scorpio Rising with a Lilith Moon in my first house, I am a contrarian through and through, I have to have intrinsic motivation or I simply will not be able to stick to something.

Rituals feel lush. They feel pleasing. They make me feel like I am in control and I am designing things that are actually meaningful and intuitive to me. So yes, even when it’s just cleaning my bathroom, I try to ritualize the tasks in my life in some way to remind myself that even scrubbing my toilet is important to the ecosystem of my house. It is a part of what I agreed to as the steward of my home. By viewing things that way, all of the million things I have to do, which would otherwise feel quite overwhelming, become a part of the weekly rhythm of my life that feels like it is feeding my progress and supporting my well-being.

Embracing Inner Strength

Embracing divine feminine power is about tapping into intuition, creativity, and compassion. It’s about rejecting societal pressures and people-pleasing tendencies that often lead us to act not in accordance with our own values, needs, and desires. Stepping into your divine feminine (something everyone has, feminine and masculine are energies not limited by biology), is a process of letting go of the need to make others happy by abandoning yourself, and tuning into your own power so it can lead you to a more aligned and peaceful life.

It looks like taking time for your own creative projects, advocating for yourself when you feel you are being taken advantage of or stereotyped into a certain role or dynamic, refusing to blindly follow and accept the terms of a patriarchal society that devalues and disempowers women, and being a supportive and safe space for the people in your life who see and respect you when you’re in your power. The divine feminine knows herself deeply, and extends the love she has for herself to others in need of an uplifting and empowering friend. It’s a great time to start embracing ourselves and the impact we can have on others in this way.

• Intuitive Practices: Engage in activities that strengthen your intuition, such as meditation and journaling. Embodiment is also important for becoming comfortable in your power. Look for somatic practices that can help you heal trauma and fear and find peace in your own body.
• Boundary Setting: Learn to say no and prioritize your needs over others’ expectations. Stop looking outward for advice and guidance, turn inward and listen to what your body and spirit need.
• Community Building: Surround yourself with supportive individuals who uplift and inspire you, and be that light to others who need it as well.

This has been a process for me. It started years ago and it’s still a journey I am on. I recommend finding podcasts and creators who resonate with you who speak on the topic and provide resources like guided meditations, somatic healing practices, yoga, and women’s circles.

Moving your body is important. I think many of us have become disconnected with our bodies, but to be in your feminine power you need to be in your body, fully present and connected. The most effective ways I’ve found to do this is with yoga and dancing. Yes, dancing. Movement in general, but dancing to music that makes you feel something is so powerful.

It should have a beat, so perhaps look up shamanic drumming videos or select a grunge rock song that you’ve loved since you were a teen that makes you want to head-bang and jump around. Then do it. Give yourself some time and privacy and literally dance like no one is watching. I dare anyone to try and tell you that you’re “never going to get a husband dressed like that” after you’ve been rocking to Florence and the Machine in your living room and see how it goes. You have power, it is innate to you, you just need to figure out how to access it.

Cultivating a Focused Spiritual Path

A disciplined spiritual practice fosters inner growth, alignment, and a sense of confidence in your own sovereignty. I have historically been awful at maintaining a consistent spiritual practice, but in 2025 this is going to be a main focus of mine. Daily meditations will be non-negotiable. I’ll also be seeking our more support within the spiritual community, because trying to piecemeal my spiritual journey together with only what I’ve been exposed to is holding me back from finding the kind of guidance and support that could be the key to my transformation.

• Daily Meditation: Set aside time each day for meditation, even if it’s just five minutes, to center yourself. Not everyone feels like they can meditate, so if that’s you seek out alternatives to traditional meditation – like walking meditations or activations.
• Join a Group: Participate in a spiritual group to learn from others and connect with like-minded people. This can also look like classes or workshops (breathwork, yoga, sound healing, reiki), spiritual communities online, or women’s circles and covens (for the witchy folk).
• Spiritual Retreats: Consider attending retreats for deeper immersion and rejuvenation. I went on a life-changing yoga retreat in Costa Rica a few years ago and could not recommend this more.

I’m not someone who can preach about meditation as if I’m a level 10 guru or anything. I go through periods where mediation is a part of my daily life and periods when it isn’t. I do know that when it is, I am more connected to my intuition, feel more inner peace with the world, feel guided and protected, and can more easily feel what is aligned for me and what is not.

There are a billion benefits to meditation that you can do your own research on. I recommend you try to find the style of meditation that works best for you. I prefer guided meditation to sitting in silence, I think Joe Dispenza creates the most powerful meditations out there.

Sometimes I meditate to high frequency music on my own, and sometimes I do walking meditations and activations. Depending on what I’m trying to work on, I’ll seek out pointed mediations for that subject – like “meditations to release anger” or “meditations to embrace self love” and do them at night before bed (most of the time) or carve out a bit of time in my morning for one.

Prioritizing Wellbeing and Sustainability

Holistic wellness emphasizes the connection between mind, body, and spirit and an intentionality to the things you eat and put on/in your body. I’ve always skewed to the left of crunchy when it came to wellness and the products I use in my home, but in 2025 I’m cracking down on myself in a new way. No more making mac n cheese for dinner because I’m too dissociated to plan and cook a healthy meal. I get it, life is hard and the times they are doing as much as they can to crush our spirits, but we are the ones who get the final say on certain things within our homes, and we should be treating that responsibility seriously. Becoming an informed consumer of foods and home products will empower you to make better choices for you and and your family.

• Nutrient-Rich Diet: Focus on whole foods and balanced meals to nourish your body. Shop the outer aisles of your grocery store more often than the inner aisles, and check out your local farmers for things like produce, meat, and eggs. I haven’t bought eggs at a grocery store for years, and I feel so much better about supporting my local farmers.
• DIY Products: Make your own cleaning and beauty products using natural ingredients when you can. I have been growing my knowledge of DIY products for years and I honestly love making my own cleaning and self-care stuff. I haven’t bought commercial laundry detergent for over 15 years and it has saved me so much money! I also make my own facial serum and nothing has ever felt better on my face than this luxurious oil.

I think this topic can be unnecessarily polarizing. Some people’s approach is to tell others that everything they buy, use, and consume is full of toxins that are killing them and that they are the problem if they continue to support the consumerism surrounding these industries. This is, obviously, an extreme take and not helping to entice people to embrace more natural products.

I prefer to suggest that people just embark on a little bit of an educational journey of looking into the ingredients in mass-produced cleaning and beauty products, and the way foods are engineered in their part of the world. In the US, for example, foods are allowed to have many ingredients that are banned in the EU and the rest of the world. Why is this? We also know that many ingredients are being taken out of products we use on our bodies and in our homes by companies that offer “natural” versions of them. What are these ingredients and what is the argument for removing them? Then, what are benefits that natural products offer you instead?

Answering these questions can help clarify why you might want to start making small changes to lessen the chemical load of your body, or shop and cook with more whole foods rather than processed. I started with a couple home staples like my laundry detergent and cleaning spray. Then I learned how to make beauty products like toners, facial oils, and body scrubs. I stopped using commercial candles and home fragrance plug-ins and embraced diffusers and essential oils.

Each little change can add up over time to gradually improve your health and overall wellness, while also sending a message to companies that we are informed consumers and we will be shopping as such in the future. Little by little maybe we can change our homes, our bodies, and maybe even the world.

I will be embracing these ins and outs this year, but it’s important to remember that true fulfillment comes from within – and no one else can determine what will benefit you but you. By tuning into what genuinely resonates with us and turning off what doesn’t serve us, we can create more authentic, balanced lives. So how will you align your actions and lifestyle with your values in 2025? What steps will you take to find your community and embrace your passions and purpose? Let’s navigate this year from an empowered place where we are answering these questions for ourself and fully embracing the life that we create from that space of deep knowledge and acceptance.

• The Holistic Guide to Wellness: Herbal Protocols for Common Ailments  – excellent resource focused on health
• Grove Collaborative – I’ve been using Grove for years to order natural and eco-friendly products for my home
• Eden’s Garden Essential Oils – I’ve tried a lot of essential oil brands, and Eden’s Garden has consistently been my favorite for the quality, design, variety, prices, and company ethos. Plus it’s not an MLM.

Recs: If you’re looking for great web-hosting services – I highly recommend Hostinger, a great company that has made it easy for me to create and launch my new website.

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