Soul Food:
Weekly meditations for www.skirtmag.com

Let go of judgment. Instead of spending mental and emotional energy rating every event or person in your life as good or bad, simply observe. This state of acknowledging rather than judging frees up your energy for creating positive things in your life and manifesting your true desires.

Make art, not lists. Put down the “how-to” book and start doing it. It’s easy to hang out in the safety of planning a project, a story, a painting or a performance. The real fulfillment comes from the process. Take baby steps out of your head and into action.

Stop saying "I’m sorry." Count how many times you say it in one day. It’s such an over used phrase that we often say it without truly meaning it. Yet its implication of fault is still present each time it is spoken. Ask yourself, "Am I really sorry? What exactly am I sorry for?" Honor the power of your thoughts, words and voice by only saying what you mean and meaning what you say.

Replace every negative thought with a positive one. This empowering exercise shines light on the control we often forget that we have over our minds. Listen to your thoughts, and be kind to yourself. Our self-talk can be brutal in ways we would never talk to another person. Gently replacing negative thoughts with positive ones begins the shift towards treating ourselves as we want others to treat us. Negative thoughts are rarely true, but instead are simply old bad habits or beliefs that no longer serve us.

Don’t spend time complaining about people in your life who bring you down. Move these people out of your life. You’re responsible for your own happiness. If you find yourself feeling resentful of the time and energy someone is taking up in your life then it may be time to release the relationship. While it’s not easy to change social habits, the time and space you open up will be filled with new opportunities for growth.

Don't worry about it. If you have a situation or problem you can't seem to find a solution for, stop worrying about it for a set amount of time. A day is a good time frame to start with. Every time you think about the situation surround it with love.

How do you surround something with love? There's no wrong way to do it. Some people visualize love as a glowing warm light. It may seem silly at first, but the point is to stop thinking, judging, analyzing and forcing a solution. It's also a great way to learn that worrying doesn't solve the problem and to learn to have more control over your thoughts.

Worry creates stress, which decreases your body's immune system, taxes your mind and depresses your spirit. When you surround a situation with love, you open yourself up for guidance from your own intuition and whatever powers you believe in.