Virtual Empathy Ltd - Rogue Shaman

01/10/2025

24/09/2025

I used to wear my busyness like a badge of honour. I associated how much I could get done in a day with accomplishment.

Oh how times change. Now I measure how much of a successful human I am on how much I can kick back in a day.

And by that I mean how in tune I am with what I actually need, to be able to calm my nervous system after a busy few days at work and home. How much I can quiten my mind and connect back to myself and my body.

Getting out of my head, and tuning into the authentic version of myself that remembers how to play and see the beauty and wonder in life.

Not the version of myself that has to tick off everything on the list to be able to relax.

Today was a "successful day".

After watching a film I had a leisurely bath with epsom salts and essential oils.
Then I took dogo out for a two hour play in the woods.

I love how he's so unruly. . . Walks are on his terms. However, it enables me to let go of the need to control or rush. Giving me the opportunity to stop and just look and be. All while he has a sniff of the trees, takes his one hundredth wee and rolls around in animal p**p! It was also a chance to listen to my music and even have a little dance. Only the trees were watching so why not.

After that it was a quick breath work session and meditation before the kids got home.

And tonight chatting with my family and floating under the stars in my garden tub.

Could you do with slowing down a bit? Is there space in your schedule for you to allow yourself to just be and reconnect back to who you are?

We hear so much more in the quiet. We see so much clearer in the stillness.

15/09/2025

Would you continue to play a song if you did not like it? Or would you skip that track to get to a song you do enjoy?

I have officially completed my twelve-month Shamanic Initiation programme and will be starting my second year in just a couple of weeks.

Last Thursday, I should have ventured into the wilderness to spend four days with my beautiful Shamanic sisters.

To find myself.
My truth.
To push my personal boundaries and limits.

And I did find myself.
I remembered.
I saw and walked my path of truth.

But it was not in the wilderness.
It was within me.
In the dark depths of my soul and at the very edges of my body.
And in the softness of my gentle energy.

And what I realised is this: I am not broken. I do not need to prove myself any more.

That truth came to me in the most unexpected way. I was hoovering in the kitchen of my old house, which is over one hundred years old. One of the modern tiles lifted, and underneath was a beautiful old-fashioned original tile. That moment resonated so deeply. It showed me that I do not need to cover myself with modern layers to be acceptable. I only need to dig deep enough to see and accept the wonder and beauty that has always been there. I even tried to put the new tile back in place. But it cracked, refusing to cover up what had been revealed.

It is no coincidence that I am also part way through a twelve-week intuitive deep dive with a trusted friend, a psychic intuitive. This journey has been focused on recognising self-sabotage and learning acceptance of myself. She was the one who helped me see that the thought of an initiation in the wilderness filled me with worry and fear. Because I was going against what I actually needed.

Being a sensitive, empathic, neurodivergent, midlife woman is who I am. I accept and embrace this now.

The biggest lesson of this year has been about boundaries. Pushing them. Defending them. Respecting them. And understanding that just because I can, does not mean I should.

So my initiation was not spent around the fire, sleeping under the stars and being showered with rain. As beautiful and transformative as that could have been.

It was spent in the sanctuary of my home.

Standing strong on my own, without my Shamanic sisters physically beside me. Yet I know they held me remotely and energetically in the circle, and for that I am deeply grateful.

It was spent in my true sovereignty.
Honouring my limits.
Respecting my truth.

With my four-day “home-stylie edition” initiation, I found the gift of balance.

I meditated. I journalled. I walked in nature. I nourished myself with wholesome foods. I also shared wine and chocolate. I laughed with my family and friends. I rested in my soft bed. I floated in a hot tub under the stars and the rain, cocooned in warmth and safety. I worked with herbs in my kitchen, listened to soul-enhancing music, read my books, rummaged for treasures at the local car boot, and curled up with my loved ones to watch a film.

Because life is about balance. Not punishing myself for being imperfect. Not worrying that I am not good enough or acceptable. I am ready to let go of the constraints I hold against myself and others. I am ready to live without constant worry. To live with joy, excitement and acceptance.

And that also means I no longer have to tolerate or be around those who do not align with me energetically, or who cause me harm — intentionally or otherwise.

It is not only about balance within myself. It is about walking both paths side by side. Living as both the Shamanic seeker and the everyday human. One foot rooted in the grounded realm of home, family, work and daily life. The other stepping into the otherworldly realm of spirit, ceremony and connection. Both are needed. Both are sacred. I no longer have to choose one over the other. They are blended in every moment.

By finally listening to what my body, mind and spirit truly wanted, I received the gifts and learnt the lessons.

My nervous system has carried enough in this lifetime. There have been too many dark nights of the soul. Too many moments where I agreed to, enabled, or endured what did not feel right.

This is me stepping in.
Stepping up.
Claiming my life.

I am not here to do what I feel I should in order to give the perception of strength. I am here to do what I actually want and need. And with that comes true strength.

My ability to understand the power of choice has returned.

Because she has always been here. That feisty, non-conformist powerhouse who challenges and goes against the grain.

And she is back. Not from a place of fear, struggle or pushing through.

But from love. From connection. From empathy, joy, strength and truth.

With a twist of witty real talk and a raw sprinkle of “This is unapologetically me.”

Much love, always,
Rachael — the Rogue Shaman

15/08/2025

Do you ever feel guilty for "doing nothing". For not being productive enough?

It's drilled into us to go one hundred miles an hour. At least I feel I conditioned myself in this way. No putting blame on any one or anything here. This is the life we live in.

I don't go at the pace anymore but I still notice the lingering guilt.

I tend to have a niggling feeling at the edge of my subconscious telling me that I've not accomplished or achieved enough this day or this week. What that is exactly that I'm supposed to have achieved I can't actually tell you.

But what I can tell you is that those statements are a pile of cr@p.

Let's break my week down 👇

I've deep cleaned my home and washed many loads of clothes for a start. Completed a big fortnightly shop and cooked many nutritious lunches and dinners for my family.

But more importantly than this I've chosen rest, time to decompress, joy, connection, mind expansion and spiritual development.

As a family we embarked on an amazing family holiday last week, visiting the beach and forest and taking boat trips. Then we attended the Soul Revolution festival, from which we returned on Monday.

Since then I needed quiet to decompress and transition back into my home life.

But I still laughed and talked with the kids. Treated them at the shops. Went for a family walk. Helped my son cook his favourite meal and my daughter her favourite dessert, teaching them as I go. Enquired into what my daughter would love for her birthday and started the purchasing and preparing in the background to make it magical as well as my mother in laws birthday. I cared for my mother-in-law in a respectful and gentle way every day.

We've loved on, played with and walked our dog.

I've bonded with my husband over lazy mornings and late nights.

I floated and napped in my hot tub.

Taken much needed afternoon granny naps (one of my fav hobbies)

Read many books, listened to many podcasts, watched documentaries. All expanding my mind and soul.

Treated myself to lazy meditations, sound bath sessions or relaxing ASMR videos. All resetting and rebalancing my body.

Listened to music and had private little bedroom dance offs with my mirror. Bringing up the energy levels.

Attended an ADHD educational session online, to help me understand my new diagnosis.

Attended a life changing EFT session with my beautiful healer friend. Mind blowing as always. But more on this later.

Attended an online New Earth Circle with my Shamanic mentor.

Attended a Shamanic Initiation zoom call in preparation for our five day actual off grid Initiation (Yes, I am Sh*tting myself).

Given myself pampering showers, body brushing, lymph node drainage massages, tapping sessions. And Filled out my gratitude Priestess journal.

In this witness state I'm calling out that part of my subconscious that tries to drag me down. Tell me it's not enough.

I'm choosing to re-write that old story. To celebrate my ability to recognise what I need and deliver it. Even if that's just taking a nap. I needed to decompress after our week away and that's exactly what I did, in a loving way.

I may not have invented the next breakthrough in Metaphysics this week.

But I've put many building blocks in place for my future. A gentle flowing future filled with JOY, LOVE, ABUNDANCE, GRATITUDE. Not burn out with a frazzled mind and body.

So I see you sneaky guilt and lack in self belief. I thank you for attempting to keep me safe. But quite frankly you can now do one. I have a hot tub to float in as I dream away and reconnect to the beautiful outdoors and endless possibilities. An art project filled with JOY to busy myself with and a yoga class to melt into with my daughter tonight.

Back to work tomorrow. And I will soon be dreaming away wishing I was back in the gentle sanctuary of my home. Back to university in October and I will soon be pinning for a day to just let it flow in a state of beautiful self care.

If you are experiencing these feelings of guilt too. Take an honest look and ask yourself what you really achieved this week. And be proud of that. Whatever it was.

We've all spent too long running around, burning out and missing the gentle beauty in slowing down enough to hear, see, feel.

And if you need an extra helping hand see Sam Youngz who is the master of helping you recognise and achieve your self care goals and slowing down before burn out takes root.

12/08/2025

Six wise women
Six seeds planted
Six descents nurturing a ripening return to wholeness

Over the next 18 months, I will walk alongside 6 incredible women.
Each is a mirror, guide & keeper of keys.

This isn’t just a mentorship journey.
This is my Persephone journey.

A descent into my own underworld.
And a return with treasures I buried long ago.

When I first felt the call to deepen these parts of myself, I sat with the question:

Was it possible? Could I hold it all? Would it flow? Fear surrounded this question, momentarily. But the answer came not in logic, but in knowing.

It hit me like an intuitive wave.
A powerful pull from the solar plexus.

Then I saw it. A number I knew in that moment was sacred
To me.
To women.
To the energetic realms.

During a recent weekend’s Shamanic gathering, I heard her name:

Persephone.
The mythical goddess of the underworld, whose story has long echoed through my own.

Her descent. Her unraveling.
Her loss of autonomy.
The push & pull between surrender & reclamation.
Her return to power.

The 6 pomegranate seeds she ate.
The 6 months she lived in shadow & light.

Her journey is my own in many ways.
And so, I said yes.
A full-hearted, soul-led yes to this fully immersive experience.

Will I cope?
I’ve come to honour & respect how quickly my mind transforms basic thoughts into fully formed, embodied insights.
This path will stretch me, but it will also root & return me.

And so, I begin.

🌑 The Shamanic Guide
The first woman is my Shamanic mentor.
Together we have journeyed through myth, death, rebirth, and remembrance.
Now I walk my second year with her & fellow priests & priestesses. This time not just learning, but co-creating sacred practices. Becoming.

🌿 The Wild Earth Weaver
The second is a land whisperer. A wild soul.
She will help me root even deeper into Earth, honouring my connection to nature and the ancient feminine wisdom that lives in the land.

💗 The Body Intuitive
The third is the embodiment of somatic safety & flow.
She will help me de-armour. To remind my body that it is safe to open again.
To let love in, without flinching.

🔮 The Spiritual Alchemist
The fourth is a dear friend & gifted healer.
With her, I’ll dive into the subconscious & soar into the higher self.
EFT, intuition, & the kind of trust that only deep friendship can hold.

🔥 The Mirror of Magic
The fifth is a fellow Shamanic walker.
We met at the edge of a new beginning.
There’s something powerful waiting to be co-created between us, both familiar & entirely new.

🌹 The Embodied Feminine
And the sixth... she was my biggest YES.
She embodies strength, sensuality, softness, and certainty.
She is what I aspire to remember in myself.
She brings the joy & passion. And that’s what ties it all together.

Because life without joy,
Service without joy
Is not a full life.

This path is sacred.
Personal. Archetypal.
And I am ready. Almost.

If you want to check out these six amazing women and their offerings click the links below 👇

Ruth Cato
Weaving Wonderment
Beau Lyla Oliver
Sam Youngz
Lana Robinson
Jane Mary