"Not everything that is faced can be changed, but nothing can be changed until it is faced." - James Baldwin
Eclipses can reveal what is hidden and bring secrets, repressed emotions, and unhealed wounds back to the surface. They can also force us to confront things that we haven't fully dealt with, and to reassess whether the systems, organizations, and relationships in our lives are serving us.
Just like we have to digest our food, we also have to digest our experiences, thoughts, and feelings. If we don't, they will keep surfacing. When something keeps coming back up in our lives, whether it be a relationship pattern, a repetitive thought, or a recurring injury, it means that we haven't fully processed it, or that our true needs in the situation remain unmet.
Digestion involves transformation, integration, and elimination. In a fast-paced world where we are often required to multi-task, disregard our own needs, and move on quickly to the next thing, we don't always have the time and space we need to metabolize and integrate. This makes it hard for us to eliminate, or let go of, what isn't for us. It also makes it hard for us to move on from relationships and places that aren't serving us.
Digesting difficult experiences takes time and support, and it is harder to move through the three stages of digestion when we have internal and external pressure to simply let go or move on. We have to be willing and able to feel our feelings and to hold space for the difficult things in order to really move on. James Baldwin famously wrote,
"Not everything that is faced can be changed, but nothing can be changed until it is faced."
The next ten days would be a good time to look into the shadows and hold space for anything that is resurfacing. Spend time in quiet reflection and do your spiritual practices. Allow your body to digest anything you haven't been able to fully metabolize. Get clear about your needs and listen to your body's wisdom. If an old wound is reopening or a pain pattern is resurfacing, it is an opportunity for you to meet an unmet need, and to build new systems that enable you to thrive. This could be a time of painful endings and of moving on from people, places, and practices that aren't able to hold space for your light and your shadow. Remember that endings are also beginnings, and as the poet Andrea Gibson wrote in their poem Spelling Bee Without Stinger:
"I love myself is often spelled g-o-o-d-b-y-e."
In sadhana this week we will practice locating the source of our power within our own bodies in order to develop the strength, courage, and wisdom to move on from systems, relationships, and experiences that do not serve our highest good and towards the people and places that enhance our brilliance.
I'm also accepting new clients and just shifted from a part-time schedule to a full-time schedule at Lotus! Read about my practice philosophy below, and reach out if you'd like to chat about how we can work together to reconnect with your body's wisdom and heal the root causes of your pain (be it physical, emotional, or spiritual).
Eclipse season is also a great time for rest, integration, and healing. If you could use some nurturing and a deep nervous system reset that will leave you feeling rested and relaxed, treat yourself to CranioSacral Therapy.
