September 2026 By Kathleen Ginn

Welcome, to Health & Wellbeing Magazine’s Spirit Keeper monthly column.  This is the place where you will discover tips and practices for creating, developing and maintaining a personalised self-care practice as a Spirit Keeper.

As we enter the third year of this column, I am going to shift the focus to the development of specific characteristics using mindfulness techniques and rituals.  A Spirit Keeper has characteristics which can be described as soulful, spiritual, mindful and masterful. A true integration between mind, body, spirit and soul.

These characteristics are mastered and embodied through reflective inner work and action practice in the outer world.  I will be using the chakras as a guide.  By learning to embrace the positive and negative archetypal force of the characteristic, one can walk the middle road and have one foot in the world of spirit, and one firmly planted on Mother Earth.  As Gregg Braden describes it, walking between the worlds.

The specific characteristics are:

• Self-reliance
• Self-Care
• Self-Worth
• Self-Appreciation
• Self-Expression
• Self-Exploration
• Selflessness

These characteristics to me are sovereign powers which form the backbone to the personality of a Spirit Keeper.  One of the principles of moving from the wounded healer to the integrated healer is to come from a place of personal integrity.  One needs to be walking the talk and talking the walk.  What Ghandi referred to as ‘becoming the change you wish to see in the world’.

This month, September 2026, I will focus on the characteristic of self-worth and how this can be developed as a key characteristic of being a healing facilitator and Spirit Keeper.

Metaphorical Story : The Qualities of Self-Worth & Self-Esteem

The path of whispers was steep, its ancient route twisting like gnarled hands beneath Yasmina’s boots. She climbed up the mountain side with a heavy heart, carrying the exhausting weight of a question which had haunted her for months: Why do I feel like a fraud the moment I succeed, and why does a single mistake make me feel entirely empty?

As she broke through the treeline, the dense canopy parted into an emerald sanctuary. The forest glade where sages Dhrona and Mother Sela lives was alive and yet offered a calming place of refuge.  Golden sunlight filtered through the leaves of giant, guardian trees which stood like silent sentinels of ancient truth. The air was thick with the sweet, grounding scent of wild lavender and damp moss, punctuated by the bright, cascading melodies of hidden songbirds.

In the centre of the glade, a gentle fire crackled, its smoke curling toward the sky. Around the flames sat four massive, moss-covered stones, anchoring the space. And there, waiting for her, were the sages: Dhrona, with eyes as deep and calm as an alpine lake, and Mother Sela, whose warm smile felt like a woollen blanket on a winter night.

“Come sit by the fire, Yasmina,” Mother Sela murmured, gesturing to an empty stone. “We know what brings you up the mountain. Your spirit is tired from performing.”

Yasmina sat, the warmth of the fire instantly hitting her face. “I don’t understand,” she admitted, her voice catching. “I paint, I create, I win praise from the village. In those moments, I feel ten feet tall. But the moment the applause stops, or if a canvas is ruined, I feel utterly worthless. Am I dynamic, or am I hollow?”

Dhrona smiled gently, picking up a smooth, unpolished crystal from the earth and a finely woven, brightly dyed silk scarf from his lap.

The Metaphor of the Crystal & the Scarf

“You are confusing the tapestry with the loom, Yasmina,” Dhrona said, holding up the items. “For the creative healing soul, this is the great trap. Let us look at the two characteristics of spirit which live within you: self-esteem and self-worth.”

The Silk Scarf: Self-Esteem

“Look at this scarf,” Dhrona instructed. “It is magnificent, woven from your skills, your artistic achievements, your status, and the praise of the villagers. This is your self-esteem. It is your interior decorating. When the weather is fine and the crowd cheers, the scarf flows beautifully in the wind. Your self-esteem rises.

But what happens when a storm hits? If a project fails, if you face a professional setback, or if someone criticises your art, the silk scarf is dragged through the mud. It tears. It stains. If you believe you are the scarf, you will spend your life in a state of panic, desperately trying to keep it clean and admired.”

The Crystal: Self-Worth

Mother Sela leaned forward, taking the raw crystal from Dhrona. “Now look at this crystal, little one. This represents your self-worth. It was formed deep within the earth, long before anyone ever looked at it. It does not care about the weather. It does not care if the silk scarf is beautiful or torn.

Self-worth is your unshakeable foundation. It is the deep, internal truth you are valuable simply because you exist as a divine spark of creation. It is unconditional. It does not care about your bank account, your relationship status, or whether you ruined a canvas today. You do not earn this crystal; you inherit it by being born.”

“The executive who conquers the corporate world may have a scarf of brilliant gold,” Mother Sela whispered, “yet inside, their crystal is hidden and starved. They believe they are only loved for the gold they wear. That is why they fear the fall.”

The Spirit Keeper & the Imposter’s Shadow

Yasmina gazed into the flames of the fire as it danced and crackled. “When my scarf is bright, very often I cannot see or feel my inner crystal; it is as though there is a shadow which walks alongside me and it whispers I am a fraud. That I have tricked everyone into thinking I am talented.”

“Ah, the imposter’s shadow,” Dhrona nodded, stoking the flames. “It is a defence mechanism, Yasmina. When your external success outpaces your internal self-worth, a great divide opens in your mind-body. Your low self-worth says, ‘I am inadequate.’ The world says, ‘You are brilliant.’

To bridge that gap without changing your core belief, your mind invents a lie: ‘I must have tricked them.’ You then trap yourself in an exhausting cycle of over-working and perfectionism, believing you only survived because you burned yourself to ash. You become a prisoner to your own talent.”

Mother Sela reached across and touched and held Yasmina’s hand whilst she looked deeply into Yasmina’s eyes. “As a creative soul, you are called to be a healing facilitator and a spirit keeper. But you cannot hold space for the spirits of others if your own house is built on shifting sand. A spirit keeper must speak from the crystal, not the scarf. Healing happens when you teach others that they, too, are inherently whole, regardless of their own broken tapestries.”

Dhrona leaned closer to the fire, the amber light etching deep lines of wisdom in his face as he locked his gaze with Yasmina’s. “Your self-worth, little one, is the sovereign fortress of your soul, and you must guard its gates daily. Think of it as a deep, subterranean wellspring within your kingdom. If you do not tend to it, you will find yourself marching to the borders of neighbouring lands, begging for cups of water  –  living at the mercy of their praise, their criticism, or their shifting winds. When you develop your internal worth daily, you sink your own well into the bedrock of your existence. You become spiritually self-sustaining. No layoff, no cruel word, and no failed creation can ever starve a soul which draws its power from its own unshakeable, sovereign soil.”

The Sages’ Toolkit for Yasmina

“How do I change this?” Yasmina asked, tears in her eyes reflecting in the firelight. “How do I strengthen my inner crystal while still caring for my scarf?”

Mother Sela pointed to the four moss-covered stones surrounding the fire. “Take these four tools down the mountain with you, Yasmina. Practice them as daily rituals.  Remember to keep this a silent journey and allow the results to speak for themselves.  These routine rituals are designed for soul progress not pleasure.”

The Alchemy of the Firewall (For Self-Worth)

When a major failure or setback occurs, it feels like an assault on your mind, body and soul. You must build a psychological firewall.

• The Ritual: When a canvas is ruined or a door is closed, draw a physical line in the dirt. On one side, place a stone representing the event (“The project failed”). On your side of the line, stand tall and say: “The outcome was a failure, but I am not a failure. My crystal remains untouched by this storm.” Practice separating what happened from who you are.

 The Daily Receipt Scroll (For Self-Esteem & Imposter Syndrome)

Because your mind naturally forgets your capability and dismisses your wins as ‘luck,’ you must keep visual, undeniable data.

• The Ritual: Weave a small pouch or keep a journal called The Receipts. Every time someone offers genuine praise, every time a piece of your art connects with a soul, or you solve a complex problem for another soul traveller, write it down on a scrap of paper and place it in the pouch or journal. When the Imposter Shadow whispers you are a fraud, open the pouch and/or journal and read the objective data received from others.

The “Human Being” Canvas Audit (For Unconditional Worth)

Stop measuring your days solely by your productivity.

The Ritual: At sunset, do not ask, “What did I produce today?” Instead, paint or write down three things from your “Being” column. Celebrate your character and your existence, not just your output.

• Did you display curiosity?
• Were you kind to a stray animal?
• Did you find joy in the taste of your tea?

The Boundary Shield (For Protective Worth)

Saying “no” is an act of spiritual maintenance. People-pleasing is just trading your inner crystal to buy more silk for your scarf.

• The Ritual: Once a week, practice a low-stakes “No.” Decline an invitation or an extra burden that drains your spirit, without offering a mountain of excuses. Let your “no” be a simple, clean boundary. Watch as the world remains intact and feel the quiet strength of choosing your own peace.

As the fire began to die down into a bed of glowing, ruby embers. The bird song in the glade swelled, as if celebrating her awakening. Yasmina looked at her hands and at the path which would take her down the mountain back into the valley.  The climb had been arduous, but the descent would be different. She was not just bringing back her art; she was bringing back knowledge about her true self.

“Go now,” Mother Sela smiled, her voice blending with the rustling leaves. “Wear your silk scarf proudly when it shines but always remember to stand firmly upon your inner crystal.”

“Thank you both so much for being my guides and teachers,” Yasmina said as she stood and stretched.  “I am glad I now know the difference between self-esteem and self-worth.  I had always thought they were the same thing.  Now that I know the difference, I can appreciate why self-worth is considered a sovereign power.”  And with that Yasmina started her descent down the path of whispers to the valley below.  Feeling lighter in mind, body and spirit.

Each soul descends to Mother Earth on a quest for expansion and wisdom. Yet, when we fail to remain embodied and grounded, we lose our centre and drift away from our true alignment.  Without an internal anchor, life can feel less like a journey and more like being locked in a cage; leaving us at the mercy of socio-political and economic tides which threaten to erode our autonomy. These systems are designed to drain the very essence of our sovereign power: the profound truth that we are, first and foremost, spiritual beings navigating a human experience.

The chakra system acts a wonderful guide for working through the key commands of Know, Love, Heal and Free Yourself.  They are also a useful guide for reflective inner work when it comes to acknowledging the archetypal forces which exist within your own mind, body and spirit.

Self-Worth in the Healing Business

To step fully into your power as a healing facilitator and spirit keeper, you need to understand the subtle battle happening within your Solar Plexus Chakra (“Manipura”), the energetic seat of self-worth, personal power, and boundaries.

When your self-worth is low, the servant archetype takes the wheel. The servant archetype believes its value is entirely conditional upon being useful, self-sacrificing, and liked. It actively sabotages the warrior archetype, which represents the sovereign power to protect your energy, speak hard truths, and command fair value for your gifts.  Here is how this internal sabotage plays out in the daily life of a healing facilitator and spirit keeper:

The Sabotage of Clear Confrontation (The “Nice Healer” Trap)

• The Servant Archetype’s Behaviour: A client consistently shows up 20 minutes late, cancels at the last minute without paying the cancellation fee, or steps over your personal boundaries. Instead of enforcing the rules, you smile, say “It’s totally fine!”, and swallow your resentment.
• How it Sabotages the Warrior Archetype: The warrior archetype holds the shield of accountability. When the servant archetype folds to avoid conflict, you are denying the client a crucial part of their healing: learning to respect boundaries. Swallowed resentment acts like a poison in your solar plexus chakra, quietly eroding your confidence and making you dread your own practice.

The Sabotage of Over-Giving & Energy Bleeding

• The Servant Archetype’s Behaviour: A client books a 60-minute healing session, but because they are in deep pain, you let the session run to 90 or 120 minutes without charging extra. You absorb their heavy emotional energy, leaving yourself utterly depleted.
• How it Sabotages the Warrior Archetype: The warrior archetype understands a true healing facilitator must preserve their own life force to remain effective. By letting your boundaries bleed, the servant archetype communicates to the client’s subconscious that your time and energy are worth less than theirs. It replaces a clean, empowering healing dynamic with an enabling, codependent one.

The Sabotage of “Sympathy Pricing” & Financial Undercharging

• The Servant Archetype’s Behaviour: You set a fair, sustainable price for your healing modalities. But the moment a client hesitates, apologises, or mentions money is tight, you instantly discount your rate, offer it for free, or feel an intense wave of guilt for charging at all.
• How it Sabotages the Warrior Archetype: The warrior archetype knows a fair energetic exchange (“currency = current of energy”) honours both the healing facilitator and the seeker. The servant archetype sabotages this by operating from a scarcity mindset, subconsciously believing, “If I charge what I am worth, people will leave me, and I will be useless.” This keeps you financially stressed, which directly dims the radiant power of your Solar Plexus.

The Sabotage of Withholding Hard Truths

• The Servant Archetype’s Behaviour: During a session, you intuitively pick up on a deep, uncomfortable truth that the client needs to hear to break their emotional patterns. Because you are terrified of making them uncomfortable or losing their approval, you sugarcoat the insight or stay silent.
• How it Sabotages the Warrior Archetype: The warrior archetype wields the sword of truth with absolute compassion. The servant archetype sabotages the healing process by prioritising being liked over being effective. This reduces your profound healing work to mere people-pleasing, stalling the client’s true transformation.

The Solar Plexus Shift

A Note: The warrior archetype does not fight the client; the warrior archetype fights for the sanctity of the healing space. Moving into your warrior archetype energy means recognising and realising the importance of keeping your well full is not selfish, it is the ultimate act of service.  Strong self-worth supported by healthy self-esteem will enable a healing facilitator and spirit keeper to guide others towards their own healing and soul growth.

In the spirit of Yasmina’s journey to learn about self-worth, here are some mindfulness techniques and rituals to begin your own inner journey to transmute these energies into the sovereign power of self-worth.Self-worth is not something to talk about, it is something you do quietly and allow the results to speak for themselves.  Daily small routines will compound into a state of mental, emotional and physical wellbeing.  Become addicted to progress instead of instantaneous pleasure.

For healing facilitators and spirit keepers, self-worth is a personal and professional necessity. As a healing practitioner and spirit keeper, your energy is a sanctuary for others. However, constantly holding space for the seen and unseen can leave your own reservoir depleted, blurring the lines between your inherent self-worth and your external output.

Sovereignty is not about building a fortress; it is about anchoring so deeply into your own centre nothing external can shake your foundation.  Here are some sensory-based mindfulness techniques and rituals designed specifically to help you reclaim and manage your sovereign self-worth.

Somatic & Tactile: The “Boundary Stone” Ritual

When you spend your day sensing the subtle energies of others, you need a physical anchor to bring you back to your own skin as a boundary.

• The Element: Earth
• The Practice: Find a heavy, textured stone which fits comfortably in the palm of your hand. Before or after any client work, hold this stone.
• The Ritual: Close your eyes. Feel the temperature, the weight, and the rough or smooth edges of the stone. Imagine all the energy you have absorbed draining out of your hands and into the stone, which can hold it effortlessly. As you feel the weight, shape and texture of the stone, repeat the internal decree: “I return all energy which is not mine to its source. I recall all energy that is mine back to my core.”

Why it works: The intense tactile feedback of the stone immediately down-regulates a hyper-vigilant nervous system, shifting you from “holding space” to “inhabiting your own body.”

Olfactory & Breath: The Scent-Anchored Sovereign Breath

Smell bypasses the logical brain and speaks directly to the limbic system, making it the fastest way to rewrite a narrative of self-doubt.

• The Element: Air
• The Practice: Choose a specific, high-vibrational oil which you only use for your personal sovereignty (e.g. Royal Hawaiian Sandalwood, Frankincense, or Vetiver). Do not use this scent for clients or general space clearing.
• The Ritual: Dab the oil on your wrists and the centre of your chest. Close your eyes and take three slow, deep breaths.
  • Inhale: Breathe in the scent, visualising it as a golden light filling your chest cavity.
  • Hold: Let the fragrance saturate your cells, representing your unshakeable value.
  • Exhale: Release the need for external validation or the urge to “fix” everything and everyone.

Why it works: By keeping this scent exclusive to your self-worth ritual, you create a sensory shortcut. Eventually, just catching a whiff of this oil will instantly trigger a feeling of safety and self-possession.

Auditory & Vocal: The Resonant Bīja Mantra

Self-esteem and self-worth issues often live in the solar plexus (manipūra) and throat chakras, the centres of power and truth.

• The Element: Fire & Sound
• The Practice: Use your own vocal resonance to clear the energetic static of imposter syndrome or self-doubt.
• The Ritual: Sit comfortably. Place your right hand over your solar plexus (just above the navel) and your left hand over your heart. Take a deep breath in, and as you exhale, chant the seed syllable RAM (pronounced ruhm).
• The Sensory Focus: Don’t just listen to the sound; feel the vibration in your chest and under your right palm. Let the physical vibration shake loose any dense, stagnant energy of unworthiness. Repeat this 9 times.

 Why it works: The physical vibration of your own voice stimulates the vagus nerve, signalling safety to the brain, while the sound frequency clears the energetic centre of personal power.

Visual & Ritual: The Mirror-Gaze Cord Cutting

As a spirit keeper, you may inadvertently carry visual impressions or lingering cords from the spirits or people you assist.

• The Element: Water (Reflection)
• The Practice: Stand before a mirror in a dimly lit room, ideally lit by a single candle.
• The Ritual: Look directly into your own eyes—not past them, and not critically. Soften your gaze. See yourself not as the “practitioner” who does things for others, but as the eternal soul underneath.
  • Visually sweep your hands down your arms and torso, as if brushing away a layer of dust.
  • Look at your reflection and speak your true name aloud, followed by: “I am the sovereign keeper of this vessel. My worth is non-negotiable. I am enough exactly as I sit in this moment.”

Why it works: Deep mirror-gazing facilitates a psychological phenomenon where the brain begins to project the deeper, subconscious aspects of the self. It forces you to witness yourself with the same compassion you freely offer to the rest of the world.

Gustatory: The Elixir of Internal Nourishment

Sometimes self-worth needs to be digested and integrated physically.

• The Element: Water / Quintessence
• The Practice: Prepare a warm, grounding drink (like ceremonial cacao, warming ginger tea, or golden milk).
• The Ritual: As you prepare it, consciously infuse the liquid with intentions of self-love, boundaries, and sovereign power. As you take your first sip, hold the liquid in your mouth for a moment. Notice the heat, the spice, the sweetness. As you swallow, visualize this warmth coating your stomach – your centre of identity – and spreading throughout your entire body.

 Why it works: It turns the mundane act of drinking into a conscious feast of self-preservation. You are literally digesting your own medicine.

A Healing Facilitator & Spirit Keeper’s Reminder:

Your ability to channel healing energy, energetic information and commune with spirit is a capability; it is not your identity.

Your worth was fully intact before you ever helped a single soul towards their own healing and sovereignty; and it will remain fully intact if you choose to invest in daily small rituals which strengthen the solar plexus chakra and balance out the two archetypal behaviours associated with the chakra.  Sovereign self-worth means you are the ruler of your internal kingdom.  Wield your boundaries as gracefully as you wield your magic and gifts of spirit in service to others.

Photo by RAY LEI

Self-Worth & The Business of Healing

In the spiritual and healing arts, practitioners often treat business as a separate, colder reality from their practice. But in truth, your business architecture is the physical crystallization of your self-worth.

When a practitioner struggles with low self-esteem and self-worth, it immediately shows up in their numbers, their boundaries, and their calendar. Cultivating sovereign self-worth changes how you handle the “mundane” logistics of accounting, marketing, sales, and course creation, transforming them from energetic drains into extensions of your power.

Accounting & Financial Sovereignty

Low self-worth often manifests as financial avoidance, e.g. not looking at bank accounts, delaying invoicing, or feeling “guilty” for charging high prices.

The Sovereign Mindset: Money is an energy exchange. If you drain your financial reservoir to fill someone else’s spiritual reservoir, you create an energetic deficit. Charging properly ensures your vessel remains full enough to continue doing the work.

Marketing & Promotions without Energy Leakage

For a healing facilitator and spirit keeper, marketing can feel like “selling your soul” if your self-esteem is tied to external approval. When you anchor your worth internally, marketing changes from seeking validation to becoming the lighthouse lamp and issuing a beacon of light.

• Detaching from the “Algorithm” of Approval: If your self-worth is shaky, a low-view reel or an unsubscribed email feels like a personal rejection of your magic. Sovereign self-worth allows you to release content as an act of service, totally unattached to the metrics.
• Clear, Unapologetic Messaging: When you doubt your worth, your marketing language becomes vague, overly humble, or hidden behind spiritual jargon. High self-esteem gives you the clarity to say: “I solve this specific problem. If you are ready to heal this, here is how to work with me.”
• The Scent of Conviction: Spiritually sensitive clients can sense desperation or insecurity. Clear, grounded promotion feels steady and magnetic; desperate promotion feels leaky and repels the very clients you want to serve.

The Sacred Art of Sales

Sales is often the hardest hurdle for healing facilitators and spirit keepers because it feels like placing a “dollar sign” on a divine gift. Self-worth completely flips this paradigm through a concept called sovereign alignment.

• Shifting from “Convincing” to “Qualifying”: When self-esteem is low, you try to convince everyone to buy, even clients who are not ready or are not a good fit. When you know your worth, a sales conversation is simply an interview to see if their readiness matches your medicine.
• The Power of a Grounded “No”: If a prospect tries to haggle or demands exceptions to your boundaries, high self-worth allows you to bless them and walk away, trusting the universe has an abundance of aligned clients waiting for you. The trust you have in your soul leading your ship, is shown by following up opportunities presented to you as you walk through life.
• Holding Space for the Price: When you state your price, do you instantly follow it with a nervous explanation or an unprompted discount? Sovereign self-worth allows you to state your investment price and sit in comfortable, powerful silence. You are holding space for them to step up to the investment.

Course Creations & Promotions: Expanding Your Scale

Creating a digital course, a group program, or a retreat requires a massive expansion of your energetic container.

• Overcoming Imposter Syndrome: The moment you try to package your wisdom into a course, the inner critic whispers: “Who are you to teach this? It’s already been said.” Sovereign self-worth reminds you while the information might exist, your specific frequency, lineage, and transmission are entirely unique.
• Protecting Your Energy at Scale: If you do not have strong self-esteem, managing a group of 50 students can cause an empathetic blowout. You will try to personally heal every single person in the forum. High self-worth allows you to create structured containers where the course architecture holds the space, allowing you to teach from the podium rather than in the trenches.

The Sensory Integration: Business as a Ritual

To bring this into your physical business of healing practice, try shifting how you view administrative tasks by pairing them with the sensory anchors you already use:

The Financial Altar (Accounting): Monthly

Treat your bookkeeping day as a ritual. Light a gold or green candle. Diffuse your sovereignty oil. Open your spreadsheets not with anxiety, but with gratitude for the resource flowing through your kingdom.

The Broadcast Channel (Marketing): Weekly

Before writing an email or creating a promotion, hold your Boundary Stone. Ground yourself. Write your copy from the perspective of the version of you that is already booked out and fully actualized.

The Gatekeeper Protocol (Sales): Daily

Before a discovery call, use the Vocal Resonant Chant (RAM). Fill your solar plexus with fire so that when you state your pricing, your voice is an unshakeable, resonant pillar of absolute certainty.

Summary & Conclusion

A final thought: by working with the Solar Plexus chakra and its gift of self-worth, you are not just “thinking” about self-worth; you are weaving it into your mind, body and spirit as a way of living and being.  It is part of your personal and working life and helps to create structure to everyday living.  Without structure, your mental and emotional health would be all over the place.  Embrace your sovereign power of self-worth.

Next month …

October 2026 I will be focusing on the characteristic of self-appreciation and its qualities as a healing facilitator and Spirit Keeper.

Until next month. From one kindred spirit to another – be safe, be well, be authentically you.

In gratitude

Kathleen