The word soulful is a big part of the name behind my blog, but I have to admit that I have done no plausible research before choosing it for my web domain. Actually, I am still wondering how did I come up with it in the first place? Was it inspiration, spiritual guides whispering into my ear or a simple incident with no deeper meaning? I’m not quite so sure. What I do know though, is that I had no hesitation about it, nor did I need anyone’s validation or advice before choosing it. I knew it was the right name for my blog because it conveyed the purpose behind my writings.

For those of you who have read a few of my posts, you must be wondering what exactly am I trying to convey with the name YourSoulfulGuide. You can look at it as a diary which follows the adventures of Julsie Nova – covering various subjects, from travel to nutrition, and portraying her life lessons and reflections, whilst taking in consideration one major topic – The Human Soul. It is in no way a faultless spiritual guide of a guru, but on the contrary, it is a portrayal of life experiences of a 29-year-old woman living in Paris, and travelling around the globe, whilst making mistakes, discoveries and observations. Her life experiences are meant to inspire readers to distinguish ‘right’ from ‘wrong’, ‘good’ from ‘bad’, and ‘beneficial’ from ‘unwholesome’. Julsie Nova wants to guide her readers to listen to their gut, to choose pure intentions, and to live open-heartedly and consciously. Even if it’s not that easy. Even if it takes a lifetime to master.

You have obviously understood that I am her – I am Julsie Nova. I live. I love. I make mistakes. I fall. I rise. And most importantly, I am honest about it all. About my good and my bad. About my light and my darkness. And in my opinion, that is exactly what ‘soulful’ stands for – it is embracing the good and the bad in oneself and in others whilst making conscious steps towards the good. It is learning to distinguish between light and dark, agony and joy, illness and wellbeing. We are always presented with a choice. Be it between hurting another/oneself or giving a helping hand, and between nurturing our body/soul or intoxicating it etc. – we always have a choice, and we are fully responsibile when making that choice. Unfortunately, as humans, we are sinful and we are constantly challenged by circumstances filled with lustful temptations. However, by learning to listen to our intuition, we can also learn to avoid that which is toxic for our inner and outer wellbeing.

I was curious to know what other people think about my blog and specifically about the term soulful. What emotions does it inspire when reading it, writing it or saying it out loud? What meaning does it hold for those who pay attention? In order to inspect, I have challenged my Instagram followers to give their opinion. Because let’s face it, the same word can mean different things to different people. Here is what I found out:

• @GABIBELOVSKA says that being soulful is “having a kind substance to their being and character”.
• @MYKELSTEVENS thinks that “soulful is our true identity as humans.”
• @IFTIKHARQAYUM defines “soulful as something that brings meaning and sense into our lives – because without a soul even food would be tasteless and bland.”
• @JARED_COPELAND says that “a soul is a vibrational frequency that exists inside of all of us.”

I agree upon all of the above definitions. Indeed, food would be tasteless without somebody putting their soul into cooking, as much as our lives would make little to no sense without us having a soul.

A soul is an invisible force that cannot be defined in physical terms, yet it’s existence is acknowledged and felt by mostly everyone. And to be soulful means to rely upon the guidance of our intuition (our higher self) and to strive to live through kindness, honesty and transparency, thus vibrating through a higher vibrational frequency.