Fall is here! I am very happy about this. Fall is probably my favorite season. There is something about the crispness in the air that I love, as well as all of the beautiful colors that come out during this time. The energy of fall makes me feel vibrant and alive. My body feels invigorated by the changes that fall brings, as well as the bountiful harvest foods that nurture my body during this time. Teague says that fall is a great reminder of how beautiful the process of letting go can be, and I couldn't agree more.
Those of you who know me, know that I am all about the Chakras. When I first started doing this work, I found that I have a pretty good understanding of these energy centers. Learning about them was like a remembrance of what I already knew. I think my affinity for them is another reason I love fall so much. All the trees change from green (heart), to yellow (solar plexus), to orange (abdomen), to red (tail bone) and then to brown (feet & earth). They are reminding us to move through each stage of release, starting with the heart. I find that everything starts with the heart. It is the center of the energy system, and the intentions we hold in this center are the most powerful. The heart chakra acts as our bridge between the spiritual and physical realms. All healing starts in the heart, and the most powerful of healers are centered here. For me, my best work happens when I am centered in my heart.
The other day I went for a beautiful hike just outside of Moab. The first half of the hike was a straight up climb, and as I started up I was immediately aware of the heaviness in my chest. As I kept going I started to feel nauseous. My first thought was that I'm totally out of shape and that I need to exercise more often. And while I probably do need to exercise more often, I realized that the heaviness in my chest was actually emotion, and the physical movement of my body was making me aware of it. This is the beautiful thing about moving our bodies, especially in a place of nature. A lot of us avoid and resist physical movement because it makes us aware of our emotions, and then there are some of us who do the opposite and use physical movement to avoid the emotion.
Physical movement is such a beautiful thing when it’s balanced with other aspects of life. If we use physical movement to drop into our hearts, we can discover so much about ourselves, and we can send emotion and pain out of the body through the movement. On my way back down the mountain, I slipped and fell into this perfect rock chair. I sat there for a moment a little stunned, then I realized immediately that the universe was telling me to slow down, stop and listen. So, I just sat there. And I listened. And then I felt. And then I cried. And then I started to pray. I was immediately surrounded by my guides, angels and loved ones. It’s in a moment like that, when I truly know how blessed I am to be so connected through my awareness and my gifts. I can’t even describe the joy and the relief I feel when I finally stop and listen. I could burst with the emotion and gratitude I feel for spirit.
I am extremely passionate when I talk about the heart and our emotions. I know that my purpose is entirely heart based. I love emotion and I love to FEEL. The most beautiful things always come out of the energy of emotion. When we allow ourselves to be vulnerable, to feel our emotions, the gifts we receive are virtually endless. Brene Brown talks about how emotion and vulnerability are the birthplace of joy and creativity. They are the birth place of real and lasting connection. The purpose of emotion is to guide us back into alignment with our own spirits. We will not grow, we will not expand if we do not keep our emotions flowing through us. I cannot tell you how absolutely CRITICAL it is to FEEL. And I mean EVERYTHING. Rainbow's aren't made with just one color. We need the whole spectrum of emotion to create a rainbow.
There are a lot of empaths in the world who feel victimized by their sensitivity to other's emotions. I used to be one of them, and I still have to stay conscious enough not to fall into the trap of victimization. I'll tell you why this is. We are in an emotional dark age. For so many years our emotions have been suppressed, denied and shamed. Everyone resists emotion to an extent. Empaths are meant to change this. The purpose of an empath is to act as a lightening rod to ground other people's negative emotion. If an empath is unhealed in their own emotional body or in any kind of denial about their emotions, then they become like an emotional sponge sucking up all kinds of emotions that never get rung out. It is pure torture to be a sponge that only absorbs emotion and never lets it go. An empath's work is to be in a constant state of emotional awareness. We must embrace emotion, learn to heal our own emotional trauma, so as not to constantly be a match to other's negativity.
I used to think that because I'm empathic, I need to hide from the world 50% of the time to re-charge my batteries. Now, I realize that this belief was dis-empowering, and came from my own fear of losing myself in other people. When I am truly centered in my heart, I know I can do anything. An empath who has learned to integrate trauma through emotions and has become much more whole because of it, has the ability to hold an incredibly high frequency of energy no matter who they are around. Think of Jesus walking into a place filled with lepers and not getting leprosy. When our frequency is that high we can actually transform the negative energy and emotions of others.
There is a misconception that when we open our energy centers, we should only open them so far, otherwise we become vulnerable to others negativity. This is untrue, and we are actually much more vulnerable to others when we close our energy centers. Opening ourselves as wide as possible is owning our space, our power, our expansion. We also make ourselves a larger target for the universe to bring us what we desire. What we really need is to open our hearts as wide as possible, to feel as deeply as we can, and to expand ourselves greatly. This is how to really live in your power!
I feel the most joyful when I am connecting with other's through feeling and emotion. When I embrace the flow of emotion, I experience a beautiful equilibrium within myself, I understand myself, and I am able to truly be there for others, to see them, to understand them and to assist them in their healing. These are the most joyful and purposeful moments of my life. I am in deep gratitude for them, for my heart, my spirit and my emotion.
