Your Closet is an Altar

by Helena Grant | Sep 26, 2018

It started happening early on – my clients would say:

“I feel like you are doing more than just helping me figure out what to wear…”

And it’s true. But I didn’t really understand all of it until recently.

The fact is, my work comes from a deep place of believing that every woman everywhere deserves to look and feel beautiful and powerful every day.

It is this belief that drove me to launch H.GRANTSTYLE and what spurred me to create my online offerings (BE YOUR OWN STYLIST and Capsule Creation Crash Course).

And recently I realized something…you can take it or leave it.

There’s spirituality in the process of getting dressed.

When you wear something that represents who you are, who you want to be, the Universe responds in incredible ways. When you celebrate your beauty with clothes you know look good, your body and mind align.

You empower yourself by integrating the inside and the outside.

And it doesn’t have to be expensive.  It doesn’t even have to involve new clothes – the best way to initiate this is with a shift in perspective. By making the choice to decide you will honor your beauty, and celebrate it.

I believe that a woman’s closet is her “altar” –  it’s a place where her expression of beauty starts every day and it represents a density of symbols – the brands she loves, the things she believes about herself. Your closet is also the one thing in your life over which you have complete control; there is ritual involved when you put on something that makes you feel unstoppable.

And when you feel unstoppable – that’s when you become one of those women who people always say: “WOW, she always looks fabulous!”

In my opinion, this can happen every day whether it’s a Little Black Dress or a pair of jeans that fits just right, even yoga pants can illicit this internal feeling of empowerment and an external reaction of compliments.

Whatever you wear, it needs to FIT you both literally and figuratively.

And as for the “altar” part? That’s where we get into the logistics of organization and merchandising your closet so it looks like your favorite boutique, a topic we cover in a dedicated module of BE YOUR OWN STYLIST.

But all of this takes effort – at least in the beginning as you are setting up to #DressIntuitively (side note: will link to challenge evenually).

It’s so easy to say: “It doesn’t matter how I look.”

I actually hear this a lot. I try not to get too perturbed but, when you say it doesn’t matter how I look, this is what you are really saying:

It doesn’t matter = I don’t care

I don’t care = I’m not worth it

I’m not worth it = a crime against yourself

You are ALWAYS worth the effort. You are BEAUTIFUL. Let your inner goddess shine. Watch and see how differently people respond to you – watch and see how differently your respond to yourself.

Photography by Sonya Highfield

3 ½ Minutes to find JOY: Journaling to the Hummingbird Within

by Helena Grant | Feb 10, 2020

The Hummingbird, whose medicine is JOY, represents your inner royalty; JOY is at the heart of ruling your kingdom, of rising above any situation, of overcoming challenges with ease. JOY fuels the ability to be emotionally agile; to hover, move forward, backward, up, down or sideways. When we have JOY in our lives, we can live with EASE.

In this exercise, you will spend 3.5 minutes a day for 6 days writing to the Hummingbird within – that tiny space with the capacity to hold something magnanimous; your inner JOY as it relates to the ways Hummingbird moves in the world and where you are in life (hovering), where you have been (backwards, sideways, up and down) and where you are going (forwards).

To assist you in accessing the joy-filled Hummingbird space, consider getting in touch with your younger, well-prepared self – the self that enthusiastically throws herself into experiences and is not afraid to express the full spectrum of her emotions.

JOY can be found anywhere, experienced at any time. Often our JOY can appear to be unmoving as if in a state of torpor to survive the winter of our chilled hearts.

Hummingbirds can rest and perch and even withstand the cold temperatures but they cannot be confined; trapped JOY perishes as quickly as a hummingbird trapped in a cage.

Instructions: 

1)   Set a timer for 3 ½ minutes

2)   Write freely in your magical diary

3)   Consider structuring the entries in the form of a short letter addressed directly to Hummingbird

4)   Use the below prompts (one per day) to assist if you feel stuck

 Our emotions, and how we respond to them, can be as nimble as Hummingbird when JOY is fully honored, ignited and expressed:

•     Hover  – take a pause and feel nourished by where you are right here, right now. Where is your JOY? What brings it to you? 
•     Backwards – employing hindsight we can honor a time in the past when we felt joyful. Write to hummingbird about how you hold those images and moments dear to your heart. Express gratitude.
•     Up – a chance to look down from a perspective of above; what JOY does Hummingbird see from this vantage point? What opportunities are there?
•     Down – write to Hummingbird about a time you doused your JOY for what you thought was the benefit of someone else. 
•     Sideways­ – was there a time your JOY was expressed in a way that made you or others uncomfortable? Was it misplaced because it wasn’t fully expressed?
•     Forward – commit to Hummingbird your intention to spread JOY within yourself and share it with others

Integration

On the 7th day, after you have spent time addressing and uncovering the JOY inside, take what has been stirred up and turn the energy towards your closet, where clothes offer an immediate channel for expression.

Spend just 3 ½ minutes looking at or even just thinking about your current closet.

Ask yourself:  what clothing inspires JOY in you? Is there something you don’t typically get to wear that you wish you could? A Sequin romper? A silk robe? A pair of panties you think are only for “special occasions”?

Build your outfit for the day around this item and commit to embodying JOY in your fullest expression, even without speaking, and experience how your heart sings a new tune. 

Or perhaps you recognize it as a melody your heart sang before you grew accustomed to denying yourself access to the JOY, the Hummingbird, within.

Once these exercises are complete, notice how Hummingbird begins to again make the joyful sounds in your life – a buzzing feeling in your heart like wings beating 50 times per second.

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A personal note:

This practice is adapted from a dream I had the night before I would be officially saying good-bye to my father’s house. For months I had put every ounce of me into spending his final moments with him, to planning his service, delivering the eulogy and then moving out of our home of 20 years. My entire being was exhausted, my business was on hold and I hadn’t seen my daughter in weeks. This dream reminded me that whether we are in the rut of our mundane lives or even in the depths of grief, JOY remains and begs to be set free.

Helena Grant is a Life Stylist on a mission to help women live the lives they desire and deserve by exploring channels of creativity, wellness, spirituality and material abundance. She works 1:1 with clients to find profound, lasting and fully-embodied happiness. CLICK HERE to discover ways to work directly with Helena.