Elyse Preston is an Abundance Coach and Human Design Guide based in Baltimore, Maryland. She supports visionary changemakers to experience more energetic well being so that they can increase their self-understanding and social impact.
“ As you describe that level of living from your core desires, that is soulful abundance.“
What to you is soulful abundance?
Elyse: Soulful abundance is really all about rooting into the truth that we already contain everything that we need in order to have the most abundant, nourishing, supportive, expansive life possible. And for us to be able to really sink more deeply into that truth, it's not about chasing outside expectations or orienting our lives towards what others may be prioritizing. It's all about really dropping in and tuning in and listening more deeply and intimately to our own soul, to be the guide for our lights and our way forward.
How did you get into soulful abundance?
Elyse: It's kind of been an outgrowth of me learning more about my own unique soul gifts and my own design because I actually started my career in the nonprofit and youth development sector. I spent about five years working in that world and just experienced a lot of burnout, a lot of stress, and overwhelm working in direct service. I started off actually in yoga and mindfulness space. That was kind of my entry point to entrepreneurship. I wanted to figure out how to make that jump from a side hustle to an actual business and translate that into full-time work. And that's what led me to the spiritual entrepreneurship coaching community and what led me to dive deeper into astrology and human design. Part of the aspects of my own design that come up so consistently for me is, as a being, my soul is really here to support myself and others with having unconditional trust in the universe. And support others by leaning into the infinite abundance that exists within us and around us.
If you were to work with someone that went through so much trauma, what are some steps that you would lead them through?
Elyse: I think all of us are deeply craving that feeling of being seen and heard and acknowledged and understood. Being able to create that level of safety so that people can start to open up, start to believe in possibilities beyond what they've seen in their own lived experience and create the space within themselves to see things differently. That really feels like the very first step, because when we do experience trauma, our nervous system, our body contracts to keep us safe, to protect us. And so there's a level of tending and care and love that needs to be offered for us to be able to soften and open and feel safe to expand and do things differently and approach the world in unknown ways.
How would you explain material abundance and soulful abundance to someone completely new to this work and they're wanting abundance?
Elyse: I think that I would invite people into a conversation about their core desires. And create a little bit of a visualization and say, “Imagine yourself, five years in the future really embodying the expression, the reflection of your core desires. Who do you want to be? How do you want to feel? What do you want to be contributing to the world? What kind of communities do you want to be a part of? Kind of describe that for me, paint a picture for me. And how would that allow you to feel fulfilled in your world, in your life?” As you describe that level of living from your core desires, allowing your powerful essence to be expressed to the world, feeling fulfilled, that is soulful abundance. And that feels different. Feel how you feel in your body when you're in that visualization versus just saying, “I won the lottery and now I have $32 million.” It's just more of a shallow material gain. And those things can feel different to you as a way to start to be introduced to those concepts.
What is one of the things that have stopped you on your journey to get to where you are today and how has that shaped you?
Elyse: I have a deep belief that in order for me to belong, in order for me to be lovable, I actually need to dim my shine and make myself smaller. Because if I fully show up, if I fully shine, it's either going to turn people off, it's too much or it's going to threaten or intimidate other people. I've had certain experiences in my younger years where that was really activating for people. And I received that response and so it made me want to be smaller. But now at the point where I am in my business, that sneaky subconscious belief is actually really limiting and preventing me from being able to fully take a stand for the things that I'm passionate about. Fully show up and my brightest, most radiant, most authentic way, because that limiting belief is swimming in and says, “Don't do all that or you're not going to belong, you're not going to be lovable, people aren't going to be into it. And so just dial it down a little bit.”
What do you feel like has been helpful for you to get through your limiting belief?
Elyse: Two practices that I'm sinking more deeply into now are connecting with my body and connecting with my ancestors. And so it's actually kind of interesting also reflecting back to my younger years, how this fear around being too big and taking up a lot of space is connected to my experience with puberty and my body. I went through puberty really young. I was so much taller than everyone because I had fully gone through puberty and I was like five foot something in fifth grade. And so I would do this thing where I would hunch my shoulders and try to make myself look smaller next to other elementary schoolers around me. My mom used to call it my turtle shell, she'd be like, “Elyse, don't do your turtle shell today. Make sure you stand up.” And I'm like, “I don't want to, because then I'm just so big and I'm out here. I don't belong in elementary school. I just don't feel okay here.” And so a practice that I have really been enjoying is abhyanga. It’s a self massage and with each body part I'm using a really sweet body oil, being able to also give love to that body part, like, “Oh my gosh, like, thank you so much arms. I love you guys. Legs, feet, you're amazing. Thank you for carrying me through the world.” I am so appreciative. I'm so grateful. Having some loving practices on the physical body. I also started working with a new coach, her name is Ash Johns, and she does work that's at the intersection of ancestral healing and conscious business. So I've been just doing some work to connect with my ancestors and there's some energy that’s been carried through from my father's maternal line that's very much rooted in this energy of conformity and obedience. And so I've been doing some ancestral healing around this as well, which is like shedding and letting go and releasing so that I can embody that authenticity more.
What can you share around soulful abundance on an ancestral level?
Elyse: This is definitely a new space for me to be diving into and it feels really exciting because I'm honestly tapping into and just unlocking parts of my own intuition and spiritual gifts that I was completely unaware of just because I haven't really done this work before. And I do think that it is really important for folks to know that this journey is going to be so unique and personalized. My own experience has been super sensory and embodied. And so when I'm connecting with my ancestors, I'm not actually really hearing anything or seeing anything. I receive really targeted, specific tingles or sensations or messages in specific parts of my body. And it's been really powerful to then do a little bit of exploring through different books and tools and modalities, and also like trusting my own, knowing and intuition around what that means. For some folks, they're going to receive their guidance through actual clear cognizance. Like there's going to be knowing that just drops in. And other people might be seeing things as they're connecting with their ancestors. There's no one right way and that you get to go on your own personalized journey. All of us are such deep spiritual, intuitive beings and our ancestors and our spirit guides want to communicate with us in the ways that we can best receive our messages. What are some of your superpowers? What are the ways that you, in the natural course of your life, connect to your intuition? Your ancestors may likely be able to tap into that and connect with you in that way.
Learn more about Elyse Preston
Her website: https://bemoreconnected.net/
Follow her on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/be.more.connected/
Join her Facebook group: Be More Connected Community
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