What are you still carrying?

As I was writing this blog, I was getting ready for our Sacred Seasons Late Summer event, so the energy of Late Summer is very fresh in my mind. I realized that maybe some of you need this energy right now, too. 

In Traditional Chinese Medicine, Late Summer is connected to the Earth element and to digestion. And yes, that means our physical digestion, but it goes so much deeper than that.

We are constantly digesting life. 

We digest experiences, emotions, conversations, information, relationships, changes, disappointments, excitement, fear, and decisions. All of it. 

And sometimes we take in far more than we ever give ourselves the opportunity to process. 

I don’t know about you, Ingrid, but this summer went by SO fast for me. I tried to fit in so many things, and as I started preparing for Sacred Seasons, I realized how little space I had actually given myself to digest everything that had happened. 

Although, if I’m really going to call myself out, this isn’t just a summer thing for me. This is always me... 

I take in WAY too much information. I move quickly. I think about the next thing while I’m still doing the current thing. I have ideas upon ideas upon ideas. This is exactly why I look forward to Sacred Seasons each quarter. It helps me chill out a bit and brings me back to center. 

Because our overwhelm is often just undigested energy. 

When we don’t give ourselves time to process what we have experienced, we can begin to overthink.

We feel stuck.

We replay the same stories.

We carry emotions forward that really belonged to something that happened weeks, months, or even years ago. 

So since I’m working on this myself, I figured maybe a few of you would like to work on it with me. At Sacred Seasons, these are some of the questions we were sitting with: 

• As I look back over this past season, what am I still carrying that feels unresolved, heavy, or unfinished? 
• When I think about that, what emotion, belief, or story comes up for me, and where do I feel it in my body? 
• What am I ready to stop carrying forward, and what would I like to feel or believe instead? 

I encourage you not to rush through these. Sit with them. Notice what comes up before your mind immediately tries to explain it, justify it, fix it, or make it go away. 

When I answered these questions myself, I realized there were many things I was still carrying that I hadn’t fully processed. Things happening in my life and around me that had created more fear and uncertainty than I realized. 

Our awareness helps us to decide whether we want to keep carrying something or finally allow ourselves to process it, feel it, learn from it, and move through it. 

A little side note: I was recently told that some people didn’t realize I currently have openings for private sessions. I do. So if something is coming up for you as you read this and it feels like you could use some help shifting the energy around it, please make an appointment.  Sometimes we can process things beautifully on our own. And sometimes we need someone willing to sit beside us, ask the uncomfortable questions, lovingly call us on our bullshit stories, and help us see what we can’t quite see from inside of them. 

If you’re looking for community, connection, and a reason to get out of the house and reconnect with just how beautiful, powerful, and brilliant you are, I’d love for you to join us for our next Energy Hygiene Dinner Talk. We’re creating a space with like-minded people where you can connect, learn, and feel supported. This month, I’ll be talking more about energy hygiene and relationships, and how the people in our lives can impact, drain, strengthen, and reflect our energy.