A Time of Rebirth and Growth + Spring Garden Tips
In less than a week, we officially enter the season of spring: a time of rebirth and growth. As always, Shakti in the Mountains initiates a new schedule for every season. Below is a link to a printable, one-page schedule for this spring. I encourage you to take a look, register early for your must-go-to events, and pass the schedule on to a friend or five. More and more events are selling out, so please do not wait too long to secure your spot.
Since we are entering the season of rebirth and growth, I want to share some tips for the garden. These tips reflect what will be happening soon in the Shakti Garden…
Feeling along the edges of my comfort zone.
As we shift into a new season, I am feeling along the edges of my comfort zone. I wonder if anyone else is feeling similarly? There is some anxiety around pushing beyond the boundaries of what is familiar, and there also is frustration from feeling confined. I imagine this push-pull is how a snake feels before shedding its skin.
As far as I can tell, the liminal space, which generates this push-pull sensation, proceeds all major, if not minor, transformations. It seems both anxiety and frustration are necessary for change. Every time I experience the discomfort which comes from change I tell myself, next time, I won’t wait for pain to make a move. And yet, all major growth in my life has been rooted in a desire to stop my suffering…
Women’s History Month: Celebrating Women Who Tell Our Stories
Happy Women’s History Month! The theme for this year’s Women’s History Month is Celebrating Women Who Tell Our Stories. May we all choose to share stories of women (living or dead, famous or not) who shape and impact our lives.
One special date during Women’s History Month is International Women’s Day which occurs this year on March 8. Shakti in the Mountains is celebrating this day with a craftivism project (drop in between 3 and 5 pm) and a program which includes a potluck dinner (5 to 7:30 pm).
The program is curated by four students from the ETSU Public Health Doctoral Program. These wonderful women have planned an incredible evening for us which includes…
Why accountability is a good thing.
One of the advantages of working with a coach, a therapist, or a mentor is developing a relationship in which you trust the person to hold you accountable to your goals, your values, and your purpose.
I realize that some people may not want to foster a relationship in which being held or holding another accountable is desired. Fair. Not all relationships must include accountability as an important and necessary criterion. I would argue; however, that relationships which do not include being held responsible for one’s decisions and actions is not a relationship in which growth can easily happen.
Why accountability is a good thing: let me count the ways (pun intended)…
I believe there is a community for everyone.
In preparing for this Saturday’s Exploring Our Wild Roots (it is not too late to register), I read the following passage from Dr. Estes’ Women Who Run With the Wolves:
See to it now that you spend less time on what they [family of origin] didn’t give you and more time on finding the people you belong to. (p.166)
…when an individual’s particular kind of soulfulness, which is both an instinctual and a spiritual identity, is surrounded by psychic acknowledgment and acceptance, that person feels life and power as never before. Ascertaining one’s own psychic family brings a person vitality and belongingness. (p.172)
Finding people who acknowledge and accept you is powerful. People who see you as you are and who value what you are provides a confidence that is unshakeable.
Increasing your capacity to navigate change.
I suspect one reason change, no matter how badly you want things to be different, is difficult is because in order for change to occur, you must say goodbye to something.
You want a new job, then you have to say goodbye to the current job.
You want a relationship, then you have to say goodbye to being single.
You want the wisdom which comes from age, then you have to say goodbye to youth.
No biggie, you say. I didn’t like my old job or being single, and youth is overrated. I hear you. What also may be true is…
Protocol for Balancing Care for Self and Care for Others
Happy Imbolc! Today marks the halfway point between Winter Solstice and Spring Equinox. On this day, you are invited to turn your thoughts toward spring and ask yourself: What would I like to grow in my garden this year? This inquiry includes the garden outside as well as the garden inside.
Last Sunday, I co-facilitated a Witch’s Hygge: an event where women gather to talk, to craft, and to eat. During the circle, we asked the women to connect with a dream, vision, or intention they wished to explore in the upcoming year. (A very Imbolc-type question) After the responses were shared, I asked the women if they noticed any themes or patterns in the responses. One woman said…
Time Sickness: The next time you catch yourself saying you are “busy” try this…
Recently a colleague and I were discussing a reoccurring theme among the people to whom we provide counseling: a theme best described as “time sickness.” Time sickness is a term originally coined in 1982 by Larry Dossey, author and physician, who defined time sickness as:
“The belief that… time is always slipping away, that there is never enough of it, and that we must go faster and faster to keep up.”
This definition of time sickness reminds me of the three money myths Lynn Twist outlines in her book Soul of Money. They are:
Encouraging unity within ourselves and among each other.
This week feels like a fresh start. On Friday we experience a new solar cycle and on Saturday we begin a new lunar cycle both in the sign of Aquarius.
One way to acknowledge these new beginnings is to look at the context in which they are happening. Both the solar and the lunar cycles occur in the middle of the winter season, a time of the year when growth is dormant and focus is inward. Winter is the opposite of outward expansion, rather winter invites us to go within and listen.
Another consideration to enhance our understanding of this time of year is to…
A Quick Practice for Getting Back into Alignment
Thirteen years ago, when I was naming the center, I considered “Shakti Power.” I wanted the center’s name to convey the benefits of connecting with and using Shakti energy. Even though I chose a different name, the intention behind “Shakti Power” continues to inform the work I do at the center.
Imagine my delight when I discovered…