Tag: healthandwellness

BOOK, Harmonious Health 4 Life, Soul Notes, Write Pray Recover

Living with Lupus And Thriving in Recovery – Love, Wendy

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Living with lupus requires a great deal of determination and patience and willingness to listen to what your body needs and what it’s asking for…especially when you are an otherwise active person and your body just…S-T-O-P-S…

And if that isn’t enough to embrace…when you are living in recovery from prescription drug addiction, as I am, it is even more of a mindful experience where I must choose only what will promote my wellness, as I do not accept any prescriptions that contain codeine and the like as that was my addiction…

So in the past 13 years of my “Wellness In Recovery…” I have learned many alternative solutions to soothe chronic pain and anxiety which I choose every time…and I am open to an integrative approach, as I write about in my book, Write Pray Recover:A Journey To Wellness Through Spiritual Solutions and Self Care.

For me, as I continue to heal from a serious Lupus flare, I am choosing non-narcotic prescription meds that my rheumatologist has prescribed including steroids, in conjunction with my holistic practices such as gentle stretching, yoga poses, gentle walking, and of late, learning a little bit about Qi-Gong. One of my mantra’s is “Mindset over Movement…Movement over Medication.”

In addition, I do a significant amount of breath work to literally breathe in, or lean into the pain rather than tense up my joints and muscles where my body is able to relax as I use my mantra, “With each breath and step I take, I am healing.”

Organic foods, hydration, meditation/prayer, and surrounding myself with loved ones are just as important in promoting my own wellness.

My ongoing recovery from addiction and my desire for thriving in wellness is my most important intention and purpose. It is the foundation of my life.

Lupus is so unpredictable and this flare was triggered by a disc herniation and nerve impingement. Lupus invaded all of my joints and muscles, and halted any movement of my body…and in the moment that I realized that I could no longer move freely…I surrendered. (Read Chapter 13-“Surrender:The Peace of Knowing”) in my book.

I am moving slowly these days with purpose. Lupus is slowly subsiding…I am regaining my strength…And through the stiffness and heaviness, I choose to move. I am able to move. I set an intention to move and to be cognizant of how much my body is able to sustain…and then I rest accordingly.

I use deliberate breath work, and I listen and feel what my body has the ability to do each day…and sometimes it changes throughout the day…and I honor whatever that looks like.

For someone else, the right balance of care may look different, and I encourage you to find what resonates with you under the “umbrella” of healing, and implement it into your daily practices.

My wellness is my most important tool…through self care of healthy practices and a mindset of “With each breath and step I take, I am healing.”

From my book, Chapter 4:Self Care…“Think of it as you would your bank account. You must continue to replenish your bank account as your bills come in each month, otherwise your account becomes depleted, or even bankrupt. You must think of your wellness account in the same way! We have so many demands on our time and energy each day. If we do not replenish our wellness account, and we continue to “give out” our energy to all of the demands, we will go into debt, energetically, and become physically, mentally and spiritually bankrupt.”

“We must make the time for ourselves, through healthy practices, to experience wellness.” Wellness is ALWAYS a choice. My choice is to always live each day through healthy practices that support my health and wellness goals year round so that my body remembers exactly how to heal when I experience a flare. The brain remembers the rhythm of resilience, and it signals the body to return to balance, peace, and healing.

“Self care is the actions that we take to achieve wellness, and wellness is where we stand in our power!”

“With each breath and step I take, I am healing.”

Love and blessings,

Wendy

Author Bio

Wendy Blanchard, M.S., INHC is an author, speaker, and Integrative Nutrition Health Coach specializing in holistic wellness and recovery. She is the author of Write Pray Recover: A Journey To Wellness Through Spiritual Solutions and Self Care and is currently writing her second book, Soul Notes. Wendy is passionate about guiding others to sustainable wellness through spiritual solutions, self-care, and integrative practices.

BOOK, Soul Notes, Write Pray Recover

Foolish Games:Soul Notes – Love, Wendy

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You can never build trust with someone who runs from accountability.
And…you can never grow with someone who sees boundaries as a personal attack.
They don’t reflect…they deflect.

They don’t communicate…they react rather than respond constructively.

Never allow what someone else brings the table be the only thing you have to eat.

And…strive to be respected, rather than to be liked.

Love and blessings,

Wendy

BOOK, Soul Notes, Write Pray Recover

Stillness in a Turning World:Soul Notes – Love, Wendy

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Reflection
This Soul Note was written in the early morning hours, when pain and uncertainty had been my unwelcome companions for many days. My body felt fragile, my heart was tender from recent loss, and yet… the quiet of dawn reminded me that even in struggle, every moment is a gift.

Stillness is not the absence of movement — it is the presence of awareness. I realized that life keeps turning whether we are ready or not, but we can choose to anchor ourselves in the now. In stillness, gratitude blooms. In stillness, we heal.

Stillness in a Turning World

Each day is precious.
Each hour is precious.
Each moment is precious.
Each second is precious.

Experience each one fully — in its presence, in real time.
Direct your energy into each fleeting moment.
Direct, and redirect.
Experience every experience in wonder… in awe… in gratitude.

Savor.
Contemplate.
Experience.

Even as the world turns and time moves on,
the soul can remain still — anchored in the now.

Seconds turn into minutes… into hours… into days… into weeks… into years…
in an “untimely manner.”

Ask yourself, “How can I re-direct my experiences and thoughts into the present moment?

Mantra: Between the stillness and the passage of time…I breathe, and I experience each moment.

Love and blessings,

Wendy

BOOK, Soul Notes, Write Pray Recover

Chasing to be Chosen – Love, Wendy

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Chasing to be chosen is a trauma response.
Your nervous system is running on an old program where you thought you had to earn someone’s love. You’re confusing inconsistency with connection. Sometimes, people idealize the other person or the potential of the relationship, overlooking the red flags of inconsistency.

“In some cases, inconsistent behavior can be a form of manipulation, where one person is keeping the other “on their toes” to maintain power and control.”

Take back your power. YOU are worthy in every moment without anyone else’s validation.

Familiar doesn’t mean healthy. It may feel like home when you haven’t felt anything different in relationships, including with your caregivers as a child. If it felt like chaos and dysfunction, that’s what “home“ feels like to you… this is your comfort zone…where you feel safe.

So when they pull away, it feels like you are “homeless.” And when they come back, even if it’s for a second, your “home” is actually a dopamine rush that settles your mind and nervous system only for a minute until they disappear..again…and they will.
It’s an addictive cycle of chaos…of control…certainly not love.

Set healthy boundaries to protect your overall wellness. You are not responsible for their inconsistent, dysfunctional behavior.

A true connection is built on mutual respect, consistency and an eagerness to support the other person in fulfilling their needs and enhancing their well being…reciprocity…not causing them constant confusion and dysregulation of their nervous system.

Rather than romanticizing, or excusing their behavior, create a grounding anchor mantra where you speak the truth of their harmful behavior. This is your boundary and clarity statement — it keeps harmful energy out.

Your brain can’t hold both “he loves me” and “his behavior is harmful to my well being” in focus without blurring them. This separates them so you stop merging them into one person.

The minute you begin to replace the romanticizing with the TRUTH of their inconsistent and harmful behavior, you guide your brain back to the truth of the “relationship.”

Suggested Mantra: The man I loved exists only in moments. The man I must protect myself from is the one who always returns.

Love and blessings,

Wendy

BOOK, Soul Notes, Write Pray Recover

From Wound to Warrior:Soul Notes – Love, Wendy

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My silence is not born of anger,

but of evolution.

Like the sunflower,

I have turned toward the light —

the light of my own becoming.

Through inner work and a growth mindset,

I have learned that I am worthy

of a love that meets me

with the same depth, energy,

and generosity

I have always given. 

Mantra: Like the sunflower, I always stretch toward the light that nourishes me.

Love and blessings,

Wendy

BOOK, Soul Notes, Write Pray Recover

Masking Kindness – Soul Notes – Love, Wendy

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What/WHO is hiding behind the mask???!!!

Sometimes people wear kindness like a mask…pretending at their discretion during performances to gain trust, attention, or control. But during intermission…we can peek behind the curtain and observe the seams unraveling, and the truth oozing through the facade.

What may appear as care on the surface can sometimes carry an undertone of control. Not all gestures are rooted in love…some are rooted in fear, insecurity, or the need to be seen.

Vindictiveness keeps us stuck in toxic patterns…in performances that mask old wounds.

True peace comes when we listen to others’ perspectives of the situation and recognize the illusion so that we can step away as a form of self-care, and honoring our own boundaries.

Reflection: Where in my life have I mistaken performance for a loving presence?
Mantra: I walk in peace…hand in hand with truth.

⸻

The soul is never fooled by appearances.

⸻

What True Kindness Is

Kindness is a spiritual practice—
One recognized not by fleeting gestures, but by authenticity and consistency.
It arises from spiritual alignment, guided by unwavering truth.
True kindness doesn’t shift with the crowd or disappear under pressure.
It holds steady, even in silence. Even in conflict. Even when no one is watching.
Integrity is innate…not performative.

Reflection: Where in my life have I mistaken niceness for true kindness?
Mantra: May I walk in kindness that is authentic…not performative.

And I wish you all…kindness, empathy, and true compassion. It is what we all deserve.

Love and blessings,

Wendy

BOOK, Harmonious Health 4 Life, Soul Notes, Write Pray Recover

What’s Your Story? – Soul Notes – Love, Wendy

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Our minds are always speaking at us…to us…chattering words and stories that are on a loop of repeat, and that which we have internalized. 

The stories you tell yourself shape how you feel, how you see others, how you witness your environment…and how you behave.

These inner narratives can either promote joy and wellness using dis-cernment…or they can promote dis-order, dis-ease, dis-appointment and dis-illusion…

These stories can also influence the choices that you make…it can make you question your worth…

Today, ask yourself…”Which of these narratives serve me? Are they fact or fiction?

Am I just used to telling this story so often that I have come to believe the narrative that was perhaps originally spoken by someone else? Which stories are keeping me stuck? Do I want to continue to tell this story? How does it make me feel as I share my story? What would a gentle rewrite sound like, look like, feel like?

When we understand that our inner dialogue is created by our instilled beliefs, judgments, memories, fears and even our hopes, and that they are not necessarily truth, we take back our power to be able to write a new narrative. 

When we recognize that these stories are subjective and interpreted by our experiences, our culture and even our emotions…we have the awareness of their origin, and have the opportunity to take the first step in our own transformation.

And…transformation does not suggest that we ignore the reality of our experiences. It suggests that we choose a wider lens where we observe ourselves in our experiences with self compassion and even curiosity as to the possibilities of the meaning of these experiences. 

When we use forward thinking and use discernment to internalize meaning…we provide ourselves with a narrative of a “growth mindset” versus a “fixed mindset” or, where “A fixed mindset can physically prevent you from learning from mistakes, while a growth mindset can empower you to perceive mistakes as learning”…where change is a choice.

Ask yourself, 

“What narrative do I want to tell myself moving forward? How does this new narrative support a growth mindset and my well-being?”

Mantra:
I am learning to use discernment for a more forward thinking, wider lens of my experiences that promotes self nurturing, self compassion and self empowerment.

Love and blessings,

Wendy

BOOK, Soul Notes, Write Pray Recover

Turning Trauma Into Tender Triumph – Soul Notes – Love, Wendy

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No matter how much goodness we build or beauty we experience, past trauma doesn’t simply disappear. It remains—a quiet imprint, a reminder. But our trauma is not meant to define us. It is meant to be recognized, validated, and integrated.
In this sacred space of healing, it becomes not a weight we carry, but a tool we can use to make wiser, more compassionate choices as we move forward.
We can live with caution born of wisdom, not fear born of pain.

Allow yourself to accept your traumatic experience and allow it to become a tool as you move forward. We have a choice to live again while simultaneously acknowledging our experience.

Ask yourself,
“What trauma have you allowed to bleed (no pun intended) into a new relationship or situation that has tainted the outcome? What tools can you apply in order to stop the bleeding and to heal?”

Mantra: “I acknowledge my experience of trauma, and I still choose to live, love, laugh, and learn.”

Love and blessings,

Wendy

BOOK, Soul Notes, Write Pray Recover

Their Behavior is Their Language – Soul Notes – Love, Wendy

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Choose to no longer become entangled in their behavior, their chaos, their distortion.

Do not speak their language.

See it clearly through the lens of discernment and compassion…

What they cannot or will not say with words,

they say with misaligned behavior.

I observe …I do not judge another’s inability or unwillingness to communicate effectively,

even at the cost of their own dignity.

This reflects my compassionate lens.

I see through behavior to the root of trauma… to disorder…

Without excusing it, and without allowing it to invade my peace.

When someone thumbs their nose at my boundaries again and again,

I now recognize it: symbolic defiance, a testing of strength,

a bid for attention through manipulation.

I do not engage or play.

I stand in my power.

I’ve taken my peace off the board.

Maybe they seek connection…

Maybe it’s passive aggression…

Maybe it’s just a cry to be noticed.

Either way…I honor the wound from afar.

Their “language” is a learned survival skill,

the truest reflection of their inner world…

disorder, self-judgment, self-loathing.

I no longer internalize their language.

They are the only one listening.

Their behavior is an overt reflection of low self-worth…

a desperate attempt to be seen and heard,

even at the cost of their own dignity.

And so, I say with calm compassion,

“Play on… read on…

Solitaire.”

Love and blessings,

Wendy

copyright © 2025 Soul Notes/Wendy Blanchard