Finding Ground
A quick energy reading, & other notes from December...
Traditionally reserved for rest and communion, today, December marks a time of heightening: of appetite and expectation; of consumption and noise. The pressure to make up for lost time, the so-called restart button of the new year…these sentiments are all governed by the lowest, survival-oriented emotional states (see: Hawkins’ Map of Consciousness).
Because we’re outgrowing our attachments to, say, fear- and guilt-based programming, it’s no wonder this month’s cultural rituals felt a bit flat, maybe even self-gratuitous. I don’t mean for this to sound ungrateful, but to point to the direction in which we’re heading — where our decisions are guided by love and inner knowing, not learned behaviors of shame and lack.
In this month’s energy update, Lee Harris touches on the limbo of our current moment, of transitioning into an entirely new way of being (remember: Pluto is now in Aquarius):
On any given day, you might find yourself letting go of old patterns and behaviors while simultaneously having a new pattern that you are building start to emerge. It can be quite disorienting as an experience… You're not quite sure where the ground is.
Many find themselves disengaged from external realities but deeply attuned to their inner worlds. Solitude becomes necessary; so, too, the capacity for patience and deep surrender.
Lee refers to this as a state of ‘readying’ — not uncommon for the season we’re in.
He continues:
As the world is going to change and continue to change, many of us are intuitively feeling and knowing what's coming and therefore preparing for it. Not necessarily in a fear-based way, simply a natural evolution.
Borrowing from Kabbalistic teachings, we might also interpret ‘readying’ as a process of purification — clearing out negative, outdated programming from our vessels to create space for the soul to more fully come down. Purification in this sense is not so much an event as a concept, one that we can embody through intentional and consistent spiritual practice.
All will be necessary as we proceed…
Morning walks
A non-negotiable at this point. Perfectly enjoyable with a dog or tea, maybe most enjoyable alone.
Talking with strangers1
Being further north
There’s a lot to be said for living in a climate similar to your ancestors’; our bodies are calibrated to thrive under those same conditions…
“The Problem of Reading” by Moyra Davey (also: “How Should One Read a Book?” by Virginia Woolf)
Documentation (within reason)
I’ve been enjoying taking a slower approach, documenting meals, situations, etc. with a digital camera rather than my phone.2
Consistency in daily life
Flaubert: “Be regular and orderly in your life, so that you may be violent and original in your work.”
Printing things out
Encourages both slower reading and a sense of importance (try printing out your emails and you’ll see what I mean).
No laptop on lap
EMFs/fertility (also try to avoid using it while charging)
Long-term visioning
Superior to goal setting and different than daydreaming. Excellent to do around a new moon.
Peace and simplicity > trying to be something you’re not
“I wear my boring outfit and I am free.”
Cardio
Important for our life force and our brains. (For woman, it can be timed with our cycles so as not to overly exhaust the body.)
Activating the awareness soul4
Hard Tail Forever rolldown leggings (out of stock, but similar here)
I’m planning on doing an extended review of natural fiber activewear — send me your requests?
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Good writing on healing (she doesn’t even mention the word “heal” once).
Letting Go by David Hawkins
Remarkably simple, remarkably life-changing.
Letting go
A.k.a., where I’m writing this post from.
Thank you for reading, and cheers to all that’s ahead,
❤︎ Lily
Related reading:
At Whole Foods a few weeks ago, I met an impeccably dressed older woman named Ann. We both agreed that she was dressed how I would be at her age and I was dressed like how she was at my age. She was wearing a Lilith waxed cross-body tote.
As
writes in her slow tech pamphlet, having to pull out a camera, take the photo, then upload the photos to whatever device creates a feeling of friction that makes the whole act feel more deliberate.Discovered at the Midway Airport chapel while traveling for the holidays. Forever intrigued by both airport chapels and airport yoga rooms (Midway has both).
Building on a concept of Rudolf Steiner’s. As Paul Chek puts it, “In order to go from the intellectual soul to the awareness soul, we must ask ourselves: ‘Is it really true?’”
This involves an examination of one’s personal cosmology, separate from religious dogma and the ideas of those around us. To me, this feels like an aspect of the readiness that Lee touches on above. (Full podcast episode here.)
just wonderful