The collective energies of this time are quite heavy, confusing, activating, or demotivating for many of us. How are we meant to engage with the world when all that has seemed secure or stable is shifting at its foundation? It can bring up a lot of feelings to take seriously the visions we see for ourselves when simply imaging our shared future brings up insecurity or a sense of hopelessness. Or maybe the vision is so still and quiet that we are not able to make direct contact with its contents. All of us have a contribution to make at this time, and getting a sense of clarity on what animates us from a deeper place will give us the necessary energy to meet life as it continues to shift and change.

The modern world brings with it an onrush of stimulation that can be challenging for highly sensitive folks. While many of us need much more care than we have access to or are able to give to ourselves, with support we can make our way toward understanding our truest needs and learn to prioritize them in the midst of our demanding lives.

How much of our lives is happening beyond the realm of the conscious? As we move through an ordinary day, how often do we find ourselves going through the motions, acting out the long-worn habitual grooves that have been dug deep through their repetition, ease, or habit? When we can look sincerely and lovingly at our lives, we have the potential to make space around those old stories of who we are and what we are capable of and step into new ways of being and relating.

Whether or not we were raised within a religious belief system, we exist inside a larger culture where dominant religious values are woven into the very fabric of daily life. While coming to terms with the impact of personal or collective conditioning can be internally disorganizing, getting aligned with our own value structures and giving ourselves grace as we learn to operate from them can offer us a sense of homecoming. There are opportunities available for engaging with nourishing rituals of relating to the larger forces that resonate with us, from deepening existing practices to developing new rituals.

Although it is a wound many of us share, processing trauma from sexual or gender-based harm is a very intimate journey. Such traumas can leave their imprint across the whole of our lives and are often carried in silence, shame, doubt and self-blame. Allowing ourselves to lovingly encounter the depth of our experiences, along with our responses to them, at our own pace and within a compassionate container, can be a healing balm.

Our lives are bound together, and how we experience the intersections of our identity within the common sphere has profound impacts on our well-being. While the work we do internally may not directly change the entrenched systems of the outside world, allowing ourselves moments to touch into spaces of support, ease, creativity, and connected healing inside can be a much-needed renewal. Although the suffering of the world is ongoing, we all deserve to prioritize developing a loving relationship with ourselves where we can learn to feel safe and held and connected.

There are moments in our lives that change us forever; some we take on with intention while others are thrust upon us. Our spiritual, mental, emotional and physical responses to these trajectories are so personal to us, no matter how the outer world may perceive them. Making space for processing the moments that have shaped us allows for the fullness of the experiences to be perceived and held with the care they deserve.