Soul Recovery: The Art of Building a Healing Nest For Yourself

The other day, I was wandering around the local park early in the morning. The sky was uncharacteristically dark, and the light sprinkle of summer rain brought out the tangy, sweet, and earthy smell of the Australian eucalyptus trees and wildflowers. 

It was one of those peacefully atmospheric walks that remind you that all of nature is thrummingly alive. I’m used to bleached and dulled landscapes from the harsh Australian sun, but this influx of rainclouds brought out the soul of nature without (and within) me. 

As I was making my second lap around the park, my eyes caught sight of an empty bird’s nest hanging from a branch:

Suddenly, the thought struck me, “THIS is what I do. I help people in their cocoon stage of healing – to build a nest of safety within and without themselves. Then, take small baby steps into the world. I want to help them recover, nourish, and nurture their souls.”

This was one of those moments of ‘Divine intervention’ where clarity suddenly hit me like a lightning bolt. Because the truth is that I often struggle to pinpoint exactly what I’m helping people with these days in my work. 

I mean, I’ve been doing this for almost 14 years. I’m practically a centenarian on the internet, and there are very few people out there who have been running a website or online body of work for this long. Most fade away.

I feel like I’ve gone through so many deaths and rebirths and identity shifts that I’m often left wondering, “What now? What next? Who am I in all of this?” But something within me – within the two of us, Mateo can affirm this – has held on.

And it’s all to do with the soul. Soul loss. Soul searching. Soul purpose. Ensoulment. 

Correct me if I’m wrong, but I believe the soul is something that humanity has lost touch with. Soul loss is something that ordinary people like you and me struggle with each and every day because society is built to sever, isolate, and dissociate us from ourselves (and each other + nature).

The more soul-starved we are, the easier we are to control.

That’s a big reason why we created the Soul Work Compass – to help you come home to yourself and find the core truths of who you are so that you can live an authentic, purpose-driven life. Check it out here if you’re interested in finding out more.

But soul recovery is also simple, humble, and mundane. I’m going to offer you some inspiration below.

40+ Tiny Things That Help Me to Recover My Soul …

“…there are at least two ways to care for your soul: Discover moments in the past when your soul got stuck on a particular issue, and try to work it through. A second way is to find those activities and resources that will nourish your soul in the present: craft, art, play, friends, animals, travel, gardening, service…” – Thomas Moore 

Soul recovery, as the brilliant psychotherapist and former monk, Thomas Moore, points out, has two sides. One is the more serious ‘soul work’ side (self-love, inner child work, shadow work, etc.). The other is more playful and embodied. I’ll be exploring the latter here.

The soul means many things – but here I’m referring to it as one’s life force energy, one’s divine spark.

When the soul is sick, starved, empty, or lost, you feel it as anxiety, depression, fatigue, illness, and all manner of ‘evils.’

When the soul is recovered, you feel alive, fresh, free, joyful, at peace, creative, expansive, and connected to yourself, others, and life.

Trauma cuts us off from our souls, and so does modern life. This is why soul recovery is so essential – we need it to reconnect with a sense of health, joy, and wholeness again within ourselves.

To inspire you, here’s a list of tiny things that help me recover my soul in hopes that it helps you to take steps towards recovering yours:

1. Handwriting things (yep, old-fashioned pen to paper!)
2. Gazing at the stars at night
3. Soft words of kindness to myself
4. Micro meditations of 5-10 minutes
5. Small cat naps
6. Going for leisurely walks in nature
7. Old things: old books, old music, old objects
8. Appreciating tiny beautiful moments like a dew drop on a pine needle, the sun illuminating a leaf, someone’s laugh, or a child’s smile
9. Handbaking food like pizza or pancakes
10. Smelling freshly baked bread
11. Micro rituals like hot tea after dinner or reading after breakfast
12. Orienting to whimsy, magic, and mystery
13. Reading second-hand books
14. Resting on the earth or ground
15. Going outside and letting the sun shine on my face
16. Watching the trees sway and leaves quiver in the wind
17. Pausing and just breathing
18. Walking barefoot on the earth 
19. Deeply inhaling freshly ground coffee beans
20. Taking slow, indulgent sips of herbal tea
21. Silly dancing to music alone or with a loved one
22. Pulling tarot or oracle cards
23. Soft things: blankets, wool, pillows
24. Cloud and bird watching
25. Smiling at strangers
26. Saying kind words to myself in the mirror
27. Strolling through the public library
28. Watching crackling fireplaces
29. Flowers of any kind, especially wildflowers 
30. Appreciating objects of beauty: stained glass, vintage wallpapers, ornate lampposts
31. Lighting a candle before journaling
32. Compassionate self-hugs during meditation
33. Slowing down and tuning into the body
34. Writing in the early hours of the morning
35. Warm showers or baths with scented oils
36. Raindrops rolling down windows
37. Inhaling the beauty of rainbows
38. Watching the moon at night
39. Whimsical and atmospheric music
40. Cuddles on the couch with a pet or loved one
41. Humming or chanting ancient mantras
42. Quiet prayers to higher powers
43. Hikes and walks in wild places

Obviously, this list isn’t exhaustive – it’s just a taste of the humble but beautiful art of soul recovery.

Connecting with your soul again and nervous system healing go hand in hand, so if you’re familiar with somatic healing, you’ll notice that many of these tiny practices help you stay in a parasympathetic ‘calm’ mode.

Next, notice that nearly everything I’ve shared here is free or mostly easy to access. You don’t have to be financially or emotionally privileged to benefit from most of these practices. 

I’ve also excluded things like “gazing into my child’s eyes” or “smelling my toddler’s hair,” as they likely won’t be relevant to most people reading this (though they are true for me at this point in life).

Finally, take note of what isn’t on this list, namely, technology. Spending time in various ways with ‘loved ones’ also appears on this list, but for those in the cocoon stage of healing (where you crave a lot of solitude), it’s not always desirable or accessible. Healing alone is still valid at this point, so I hope you still find plenty of ideas here.

Tell me, what helps you to build a healing nest for yourself and recover your soul? In other words, what tiny experiences or practices put you back in touch with your energy, vitality, and inner self? I’d love to hear below. You never know who you may help or inspire by sharing! 

🪺 Building Your Healing Nest 💜

Soul recovery is both simple and profound – it's the art of reconnecting with your life force when trauma, loss, or the chaos of modern life has severed you from yourself. If the practices in this post resonated with you and you're craving deeper guidance on your healing journey, I want to introduce you to our Supporter Membership.

For over a decade, the two of us have been creating a sanctuary for souls navigating their own Dark Night – offering practical wisdom on shadow work, inner child healing, and soul recovery without the spiritual bypassing. By becoming a supporter (starting at $9.99/month), you receive weekly soul guidance, shadow archetype insights, and direct access to ask questions as you build your own healing nest. 

And here's the beautiful part: your support keeps LonerWolf free for the thousands searching for hope in their darkest hour. It's healing that ‘pays it forward,’ creating a circle of support that flows from you, to us, and out into the world. Learn more here.