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Time to be Slow
This is the time to be slow,
Lie low to the wall
Until the bitter weather passes.
Try, as best you can, not to let
The wire brush of doubt
Scrape from your heart
All sense of yourself
And your hesitant light.
If you remain generous,
Time will come good;
And you will find your feet
Again on fresh pastures of promise,
Where the air will be kind
And blushed with beginning.
John O’Donohue, Irish poet and philosopher
[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]We are in a deep place of transition, moving from an old paradigm that’s crumbling to a new shift in our consciousness. The emergent ways of being are suspended on the outside of our peripheral awareness, not quite within grasp or even comprehension at this time. Often it feels downright depressing tinged with a malaise that makes it hard to feel motivated and upbeat. As the poet David Whyte said, “Apprentice yourself to not knowing,” and I feel this is truly the path that we need to assume right now. It seems to permeate all aspects of our lives from the political, social and environmental chasms to our own deep transformative processes. What will be distilled from this time of isolation and unrest? Can we move beyond the insistence of making things “normal” again? There is an insidious trauma that marks us all, whether we’re aware of it or not. So how do we move beyond coping into transformation?
It’s time to reflect on a deeper soul level and shift patterns of mental behavior, allowing the heart to lead the way. My chiropractor recently shared that most of his patients have very stressed nervous systems right now and they’ve “left their bodies,” which is a survival mechanism from the shamanic perspective. I invite you to look at where you are leaking energy. Are you losing yourself listening to the news, checking social media, watching too many movies? Do you find you’re uncharacteristically drinking too much or binging on sugary foods and carbs? How can you sit with your loneliness or unease in these changing times?
Some of the self-care shifts that I’ve found invaluable are listed below. What have you found to be helpful during this unusual year of change?[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]
- Start your day in self-care or reflection such as journaling, self-massage or my favorite morning ritual is Chinese tea and contemplation.
- Begin a daily practice: Qigong, yoga, Taiji. I am now beginning a Qigong daily gong-traditionally 100 days but I’m not counting- until the end of 2020. Try to do at least 15 minutes of qigong and it will reset your nervous system, improve immunity and instill a renewed sense of calm and purpose.
- Walk or be outside daily if you can, especially for those in the northern climates with winter encroaching. Enjoy the beauty and solitude of nature.
- Pick one day where you are Totally off of media- including your phone!
- Embrace your loneliness but don’t collapse into it.
- Meet with friends in person and enjoy companionship.
- Experiment and cook nurturing new meals.
- Self-pleasure with baths, massage, self-cultivation.
- Create more sensual moments with your partner.
- Create! Art, music, dance. Explore.
- Read and get absorbed. I’m currently engrossed in the fantasy trilogies of Juliet Marillier.
- Laugh. We don’t laugh or hear as much laughter now so find and share joy again.
- Dream. What do you want to create? How do you want to feel? Allow your imagination to take you on a journey.
- Start a new project or hobby that brings passion into your being.
- Do something that you’ve never done before or that you’ve wanted to do but have been afraid to try.
- Invite magic into your life, like you did as a child.
- Dive into the Mystery.
[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Qigong online:
I was going to begin teaching online this fall but decided to wait until next year. Too much is happening on so many levels that I need to focus at home. I will be launching different workshops and a certification program in spring so stay tuned.
I’ll send a newsletter out shortly on my new Sexuality Coaching which I am doing online now. I’m still doing my intuitive and medical intuitive readings. I miss the soulful women’s qigong circles and hope to see you virtually next year and hopefully in person as well!
Just remember to breathe through all of this chaos. Take time in nature, be in silence, dance, reach out to friends and family; focus on what’s really important and leave the rest.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]
This is the Mystery
That calls you into its depths;
That invites you to allow its darkness
to enfold you.
Can you stay? Can you open to its revelation?
Can you enter into this undefined place
Beyond all thought
Beyond all understanding
Beyond everything…and yet so intimately close.
Can you sing holy holy holy
as you walk in the deeps of terrifying Unknowing?
Can you let the Mystery have Her way with you now?
Peggy McAllister
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