Kristin Sven Larsen

Spiritual Side of Personal Growth

Posted on May 26, 2025 by Kristin Larsen

Various moments in life invite a call to access our inner capabilities. In those moments are growth opportunities. There is a spiritual side of personal growth that is often unrealized.

It is a continual learning process that never stops if it is allowed to develop.

Important attributes of personal growth could be habits and behaviors that assist with achievement or facilitate a desired outcome.

It is important to acknowledge that personal growth assists with learning new skills, completing goals, taking responsive action while embracing challenges that arise.

Personal growth is an important part of life. It necessitates “doing” what is envisioned in life.

Unrealized Side Personal Growth

What is the unrealized side of personal growth?

Awareness is one unrealized spiritual aspect of personal growth. Awareness initiates the inner path of authentic transformation when practiced and developed.

It can involve developing self-reflection practices, deepening intuition, and learning to maintain alignment with self.

A second unrealized spiritual aspect of personal growth is redefining and aligning to what success is through the lens of spirit.

Incorporating the objective of being into the process of doing infuses purpose into achievement. Alignment with values becomes an important consideration as the task of growth develops. Awakening to evolvement of inner self.

The third unrealized spiritual aspect of personal growth is to listen to your inner knowing. In that listening is trust and connectedness to the spiritual self.

The fourth unrealized spiritual aspect of personal growth is the embodiment of wholeness. The practice of awareness enhances the ability to balance ambition and alignment with oneself. The priority is placed upon honoring the soul side of performance.

Layering Personal Growth with Spiritual Growth

Using spirituality as a source for personal growth cultivates a deepening of the soul.

The presence of spiritual embodiment invites compassion and connection. Emphasizing understanding for others and self through empathy. One can develop a sense of unity and connection with humanity. This can enhance the strengthening of relationships with alignment to something greater than self through choices.

A pathway to inner peace and resilience is formed in the spiritual embodiment. This supports grounding in calm throughout uncertainty and challenges.

Cultivating Habits of Spiritual Growth

Spiritual growth habits that support personal growth are traditional practices that promote mindfulness, gratitude, and forgiveness.

Some practices may include:

mindful breathing
body scan
meditation
self reflection journaling
self compassion practice
forgiveness letters

Integrating some of these practices into your daily life can create a positive and fulfilling life. This can support both sides of personal growth.

Spiritual embodiment supports the evolving fulfillment of personal growth with the constructs of inner alignment.

The Inner Wound That Calls For Healing

Posted on May 4, 2025 by Kristin Larsen

Some days I wake up and I feel a need for personal growth in my day. Other days I can feel the inner wound that calls for healing.

That inner wound that calls for healing is trying to get my attention. As I listen, I try and decipher what kind of healing it wants.

The only way to truly know is to intentionally sink into presence. To be with the inner wound.

What Does The Inner Wound Want?

Does it want forgiveness from me?

Does it want my inner validation of love?

Does it want to be soothed and comforted from past painful memories?

Does it want reassurance that I will be ok and I am safe?

The past can slowly begin to manifest itself in daily life. That could be past wounds around time, safety, belonging, hurt feelings, physical and mental fatigue (burnout).

Maybe the fear that the feelings of past experiences are going to be “relived” again or will return.

Does it want to know that you are strong enough to get through these moments?

Comforting The Inner Wound

What the inner wound really wants is to be acknowledged. To be heard. To be understood. To know that it0 is cared for. The pain and hurt can still be present, but to know it is loved throughout the process of healing.

It doesn’t want judgement, silencing, avoiding or repression. It wants compassion and a supportive presence to affirm what it is experiencing in the moment.

Practicing Being Present With The Inner Wound

Being present with the inner wound means giving it focus and attention. Sometimes that may be difficult with life situations. It could mean setting aside time for the presence it wants and needs. It could be as little as 10 minutes each day. A possibility could be splitting up the total time commitment and distributing in various times of the day.

Times when you won’t be disturbed so that the inner wounds needs are honored and respected.

Allowing The Healing To Come

The healing comes when the space with the inner wound feels safe. A space where emotions can be expressed or released openly. A way that emotions can move around energetically. It could be expressed in many forms.

Compassionate meditation by holding a hand on your heart
Breathing and connecting to the safety of the breath
Self talk with positive affirmations and words of encouragement
Journaling to express feelings and thoughts
Taking a walk to move trapped energy in body
Connecting with the emotions in the body while laying down to notice and become aware of where they are

A space of inner healing begins with acknowledgement of the wound. The presence to express loving compassion for what is being experienced.

Unrealized Fierceness In Self Compassion

Posted on March 31, 2025 by Kristin Larsen

Self compassion is an important intentional daily living element in many life experiences. It is also important that another side of self compassion not be ignored. That other side is often the unrealized fierceness in self compassion.

What Is Fierce Self Compassion?

Fierce self compassion is making the choice to be an advocate for your needs through actions that supplement personal wellbeing in challenging moments.

Advocating for personal needs may be actions such as setting boundaries, saying no, protecting one’s rights and values that are important to them, becoming aware of and identifying your own unsupportive and harmful behaviors.

Why Fierce Self Compassion Is Unrealized

When the choice is presented to advocate for one’s own needs or protect personal rights of importance, fear creeps in and blurs the conviction of choice.

A scary thought that comfort and stability could be disrupted. The continued thoughts that judgement from others and self could emerge from taking the fierce action. The possibility that friction could dismantle the relationships. Deeper seeded beliefs begin to surface. “It will mean I’m selfish to honor my personal needs at this time.”

Fierce Self Compassion In Action

On both sides of self compassion there is an obligation to “be with” the feelings that are being experienced. Setting a boundary or standing up for yourself to protect your needs doesn’t have to mean straying from personal values that are important. It can take another form of expression that prioritizes love and connection instead of aggression and resentment.

Empowerment resides within the acceptance of feelings and honoring the kindness and actions associated with respecting aligned authentic expression.

Personal life examples of fierce self compassion might be;

Saying no to others or self when something doesn’t align with your values.
When you are not feeling well and make the decision to slow down, take a break and tend to your own needs to feel better.
The need to create a supportive habit for positive well being and be the motivated inspired energy required to follow through on the change.

While the tender-kindness side of self compassion focuses on soothing and accepting that state of our inner being. The other side of self compassion which is the fierce side, is more focused on tending to own needs to protect and motivate through actions of being-ness in the world.

The emphasis is suggested to be aware of balancing the tender kindness of self compassion with the advocation of one’s needs to maintain personal wellbeing.

The tender kindness of self compassion can be empowered with fierceness through a respected expression of self advocated importance.

Influence Of Aligned Inspiration

Posted on February 27, 2025 by Kristin Larsen

Who we are choosing to be in life can be a reflection of our thoughts, beliefs and values that we consider to be important. Someone can use the influence of aligned inspiration to maintain alignment to what is important.

It can be a source of inspiration that can thrust an energetic synergy into motion.

A stimulation to access a higher creativeness inside self.

Finding Aligned Inspiration

Everyday inspiration is all around. When someone is “closed off” from being inspired they can’t see it. They can’t feel it. They are unable to embody it.

What is first required is to allow for the curiosity of inspiration to be seen. A process that may call for an intention to be established. A commitment to an intention such as, “I am inspired.” Next, accepting curiosity to become aware of the details of inspiration all around you. Lastly, align with the inspiration that is an influence to your beliefs, values and thoughts you would like to have.

Obstacles to Aligned Inspiration

There can be many obstacles to having aligned inspiration. When it filters down to what gets in the way, it is ultimately lack of connection.

An alternate focus that detracts where the focus needs to be. The influence is no longer curiosity or wonder. It is an attachment to fear or unsupportive mindset. Influencers such as fear of failure, overwhelm, scarcity, negativity, unclear purpose.

The focus is directed towards navigating the inertia of thoughts that plead their reasoning for safety, comfort and understanding. A change in the inner being will help to shift the fears. To begin aligning to the spectrum of experiences that give inspiration the space it needs to radiate new visions of possibility.

The process might include becoming present with the experienced emotions, reframing failure, prioritizing self care and responsibilities, practicing gratitude, taking clear steps to become aligned with values and actions.

Sources of Aligned Inspiration

When inspiration is aligned it can come from many different sources. It may be a word that is read. It may be a thought that is shared. It may feel known because it is generated because of being in connection to a belief, value or intention. It may be a picture or drawing that invites connection to return through emotional senses. It may be a sound, frequency, or voice.
Being connected to a purpose while doing something in alignment to that purpose may instill inspiration on it’s own.

When you are open to aligned inspiration, it is always around you because it is inside you.

Inspiration is aligned when purposeful intention is given the space to be influenced by wonder.

Building The Habit of BEING Integrity

Posted on January 28, 2025 by Kristin Larsen

I am who I say I am. Being integrity to my words.

I am who I think I am. Being integrity to my values.

I am what I say I will do. Being integrity to my actions.

Being integrity is an important contributor to living into our full potential, performing at our best, uncovering aligned possibility, and living with continual passion.

One, or all of these areas we desire to live into most often seems to be what is wanted in relation to what is occurring in our inner and outer reality.

What does BEING inner integrity mean?

In my life I have found inner integrity to be a spiritual partnering with myself. It is comprised of attributes that hold a place for my intentions. These attributes include;

Accountability
Loyalty
Honesty
Discernment
Respect

Every way of being starts with accountability. Knowing and accepting there is a choice. In that choice is a reliance of knowing that I can rely on myself to make the necessary choice. Maintaining an appreciation for self throughout the process of making the choice with the ensuing consequences that follow, regardless of what they might be. Having honesty with self in all the moments that invite a choice into my focus. Holding clear discernment by initiating connection to presence. Giving self respect through kindness, compassion, dignity without feeling the need to compromise self worth.

Building the habits of inner integrity

If someone were to choose accountability to build the habits of inner integrity it might include embodying intentions such as courage, trust, compassion. There may be setbacks throughout the process of building the habits. It is important to take ownership of mistakes or choices along the way. Inviting compassion into the process can assist with being open to inner feedback without attaching self to any judgement that may or may not accompany the feedback. Pausing to reflect on the actions that are being taken to ensure alignment with values. Adapting and adjusting to the occurring habit changes by recommitting to the importance of being inner integrity with self. Shifting perspective to dedicate to a life long journey of each individual day opportunities for growth, healing and transformation.

Where to start in my inner integrity journey

There is no wrong place to start. It is a journey filled with exploration and discovery. The joy of acknowledging who you are becoming along the way. To determine where to start, a better question might be, “Who is the person I want to be on my journey of being inner integrity?”

Having a clear vision of what attributes would need to be strengthened to be what inner integrity means to self.

The formation of inner integrity begins with a chosen intention to accept accountability to have a soulful bond with self.

Accepting The Invitation To Slow Down

Posted on December 28, 2024 by Kristin Larsen

The reluctance to go slower obstructs what many people believe is the true definition of what being productive or efficient really is.

However, accepting the invitation to slow down can be the core basis of connection and efficiency.

Resistance To Slowing Down

One main reason that makes it difficult to practice slowing down is the mental reasoning that slowing down equals loss of progression or efficiency.

Within that are the expectations that things must be done quickly to overcome, get results, and move forward. If they are not done in this way, sometimes the meaning that is made of ourself reflects what could be concluded to be inefficiency and transforms into self judgement of how we are functioning. It starts to feel restrictive and counterproductive.

Exploring deeper into the resistance might reveal an unwillingness to be present with other factors in the experience.

A desire to move through the discomfort as quickly as possible without fully processing or “being with” what is being experienced.

Benefits Of Slowing Down

Many benefits of slowing down attribute to connection. It helps to open the choice to process emotions while acknowledging what is happening in the experienced moments. This can lead to seeing other perspectives that are commonly overlooked. There are glimpses of joy in those perspectives. Feelings of contentment and gratitude.

Reducing stress is a direct result of slowing down because of how it calms the nervous system stress response. An opportunity to reacclimate to functioning from a neutral plane of calm and peacefulness.

When someone embodies calm, perspective, and gratitude, there is often clarity that emerges which assists with one’s own trust in their inner guidance.

Ideas To Embrace Slowing Down

Steps for slowing down in life can be accomplished in many ways. It can be implemented in the tasks being completed, the intentions of BEING that are simultaneously within the tasks and integrity of functioning. The art of slowing down in the day can also be comprised of micro-habits.

Some ideas to help embrace slowing down are:

Begin with the routine when waking up. What will help to establish aligned intentions of slowing down from the moment the day begins?
Eating meals mindfully to fully enjoy various aspects of the experience.
Checking in with self throughout the day to be present with the current inner state of thought and emotions.

Inviting small moments of silence by disconnecting from cell phone use and other distractions that prevent the commitment to slowing down.

If you were to start by thinking of your day as opportunities for inner connection, you begin to appreciate the importance to the commitment of slowing down.

The intention of slowing down presents an opportunity for deep inner connection.

Letting Intentions of Our Being-ness Lead

Posted on November 28, 2024 by Kristin Larsen

In each moment there is a thought to how we would like to function. It doesn’t always mean functioning in the way we would like. An important factor in functioning in the way we would like requires letting intentions of our being-ness lead.

To allow intentions of our being-ness to lead means understanding what intentions are and what their importance is in day to day life.

What is an intention of our being?

An intention is an idea that you plan to carry out. In order to carry out the intention you must be committed to it’s action. To be committed to it’s action you must embody the true essence of the intention. The intention requires determination to follow through with accompanying actions. It has been conceived in the mind and becomes the focus of being. The being-ness of the intention is devotion to it’s embodiment within.

What role do intentions of our being have in our life?

Intentions act as our guide in life. When they are paired with our values, they form a powerful combination of navigating influencers that lead the way.

Anyone can have an intention. What makes the intention significant is that it coincides with the true way of functioning that someone would like. The epicenter of operation can originate from the intention. Life could be in chaos but living from the intention could be the difference between staying grounded and focused or letting anxiety and disarray be in control.

I feel that, “intentions are the backbone of operating in our reality, no matter what is occurring in that reality.”

Being your intentions

What will be required to BE your intentions?

A commitment, a dedication, being integrity to the desired intentions. An example would be if I choose to be compassion, then my thoughts and actions must originate from that intention. It could mean shifting perspectives or changing my focus from contexts that are happening that don’t align with that intention. It might not necessarily mean I agree with everything that is occurring in that moment. However, it doesn’t change the intention of compassion that I choose to be in that moment.

What gets in the way of being our intentions

In many instances our ego gets in the way. Feeling the need for safety in one or various forms. To affirm self worth, love or finding a feeling of safety in an experience. A need to prove or be validated is what the ego wants to regain control or feel it is in control of the experience.

Coming back to our intentions means comforting the ego when it feels threatened. Soothing it and letting the heart-mind to have a moment to heal and restore. Self compassion could be a door opening intention for that to happen.

Commitment to letting our intentions of being-ness lead

The commitment is a dedicated focus to being the desired intentions. It could be a daily practice that creates awareness. The awareness then forms a choice to follow through on the required actions to be the intention. In time, it becomes a habit.
Moments could arise that displace being the intention. Acknowledging the agreement to be integrity for the intention recommits to embody the intention again without much delay.

The dedication to live by a chosen intention is an embodied integrity, “to be.”

Trust In The Unfolding Journey

Posted on October 30, 2024 by Kristin Larsen

The journey is continuously winding through peaks and valleys. It meanders through all types of weather. Various points along the way moving towards each stage of destination. All these paths will appear and be reached throughout it’s own unfolding. The joy often resides in the trust in the unfolding journey.

Does it make the journey any less extraordinary if things unfold differently than what was imagined?

There are parts of the path that seem clear. The steps are visible. The momentum is fluent with motivating guidance to reach the envisioned destination.

Then there are other parts of the path that are unclear. The way forward is not visible. Each step feels like a struggle.

What makes the path seem unclear and feel like a struggle?

Self Limiting Barriers

Inherently, we want to know. We worry about the outer abstracts. The things that either define, validate or fulfill a desire within a self-made construct in which to accomplish or complete.

The attachments to an obsession that it must unfold in the way that is envisioned. The attachment transforms into inner statements of,

“I will be/I will have _____ if ______ only when “X” happens.

These barriers prevent the invitation to surrender to what is being created through the unfolding process. The limitations force a fixed definition that makes an outcome unworthy of being appreciated.

Not Knowing The Way Forward

What if the journey was the objective instead of the destination?

It becomes the objective when the pressure of arriving at a destination in a set time or exact way can be released. Setting intentions that open space to enjoy all parts of the journey. Trust that things will unfold as they will in their own way.

In the welcoming of trust and enjoyment are dedicated intentions that allow them to be openly accepted.

The dedicated intentions such as gratitude, mindful, patient, peaceful, resourceful, courageous, compassionate, etc.

Can you still be with the parts that are painful, challenging, while appreciating the journey for what it is?

Why does it have to be more?

What is creating the thoughts that it has to be more?

Where We Get Lost In The Process

Being able to trust and appreciate what is unfolding allows a view into what wants to emerge. What wants to emerge in ourselves, along with an invitation to what wants to emerge in our life.

What is the guiding belief or thought that it has to be more than what it is?

We want our experience to be more than it is, and at the same time, we acknowledge the potential of what it can be. It really doesn’t have to be more. Our focus is usually attracted to the perception that it doesn’t meet our expectations. Within that, we are also acknowledging the possibility that our own potential did not meet our expectations. Where the paradox presents itself is when our judgement of what is happening in our experience is right or wrong, and good or bad.

If we let go of this, what can be invited in?

Shifting Perspective In The Unknown

There is acknowledgement that awaits in each step of the journey. We don’t need to have everything figured out to appreciate the magic, mystery and wonder in the unfolding.

What are the gifts that the journey is offering?

What will help to see what wants to emerge?

What will help us to acknowledge our potential within what wants to emerge?

Examples might include;

the connection being made to the emotional and mental state within self
the learning that is assisting with growth and understanding into our own beliefs and perceptions
the perspective to see the opportunity that is available in the experience instead of dwelling on the perceived negative effects

Could it be a shift in self that invites transformation into a new way of functioning from the commitment to another inner state of being?

The opportunity to transform curiosity over fear. Having trust in the unknown. Letting go of control to be in flow.

To acknowledge what wants to emerge means accepting where we are at in the moment. Viewing the current moment as a part of growth and evolution in who we are becoming. There are opportunities to explore the inner questions that are circulating in the mind. Trust in taking steps in the unknown which may feel uncomfortable. Choosing opportunities that align with growth and evolution of self. Continuing to embrace the ideas that are being called into existence. Living the passion of the path that is unfolding with a purpose that combines the talents and abilities that we possess.

Opening up to the guiding light that illuminates the way to our truest self.

A shift in self happens when trust guides the readiness towards the embodiment of what wants to emerge within the core of our being.