How do we avoid harming and being harmed?

Those who accept the vulnerability that we will harm and we will be harmed walk softly, always looking for ways to alleviate suffering in the world rather than avoid it. 

We take conscious steps, we look ahead- we check behind. We make amends, we bring food, we change our behavior, we ask questions, we sacrifice, we change again, we find it wasn’t a sacrifice after all. 

It might seem like a lot of effort, but its actually less effort for the body and mind and spirit than trying to avoid harm and suffering all together. 

When we reject the vulnerability that we will harm and be harmed, we miss opportunities to soften the suffering. We try to control situations, relationships, and environments with the intention to avoid harm. We compound suffering with our lack of attention, with our refusal to accept its existence. Our bodies, our minds, and our hearts are not comfortable. ( and they pass that information on to the sensitive nervous systems of others, if not consciously). 

So, the first step towards any real deep healing of any kind is this acknowledgment. This practice of accepting the vulnerability of harming and harmed. This practice of the courage to look, listen, and feel. 

How to align with the Wheel of the Year for Resolutions & Stages of Change

This time of year elicits reflection and dreaming. Some folks say that is arbitrary, a reaction to our imposed calendar year end. However, the end of our calendar year also aligns with the seasonal shifts. In the Northern Hemisphere, the ending of the calendar year coincides with the start of Winter and the end of the celebratory post-harvest season. This is a time of quiet and reflection. As one Earth cycle comes to an end, there is a natural pause which allows us space feel and think.

New Years resolutions are notorious for bold beginnings and fizzled endings, often leaving one with a sense of failure. It is not the resolution which was inappropriate but our method of execution. Big changes require careful attention, not will power.

When we are successful in making changes in our lives we complete a full cycle of the spiral of change.

The stages of change are:

Pre-contemplation: Haven’t thought about it, do not know that change is needed or wanted

Contemplation: Recognize a change is needed or wanted

Preparation: Organizing body, heart, mind, environment, and spirit in support of change

Action: Taking tangible steps towards new behaviors, actions, or ways of being

Maintenance: Learning to sustain these new behaviors, actions, or ways of being

Relapse: Re-emergence of old behaviors, actions, or ways of being

All of these stages can happen at any time of year, and we can use the natural rhythms of life on Earth to support those changes we want to see in for ourselves and our world.

At New Year, or during Early Winter, we want to be gently observing the past year cycle and creating a vision of what we want to manifest in the year ahead. It is not the time for swooping changes or bold action- it is a time of observance. It is a time for accepting what is possible. ( Contemplation)

Late Winter and Early Spring are times for planning. We choose the seeds of change we want to plant and decided which need to be planted where, which will have barriers and what kind of supports our future garden will need. (Planning)

Late Spring and Early Summer are a time of action. Those seeds are starting to sprout and need constant attention and nourishment. ( Action)

In Late Summer and Autumn, we see the effects of our dedication and the manifestation of our dreams/plans. Now we will need to learn new skills in order to engage the benefits from all we have harvested. How will be preserve and persevere? Making changes is followed by learning to live sustainably with our new actions, behaviors, and way of being. ( Maintenance)

Relapse can happen anywhere along the way, and planning for relapse will help us minimize the impact on our forward direction. Change is a spiral, a cycle, just like the Wheel of the Year- when we embrace them they can help us create the world in which we want to live.

Autumn, Crafted.

Can you feel the shift? Autumn is coming and with it one of the biggest yearly transitional shifts for families. New school year, new activities, the shift of schedules,  stress from change. With all this comes a sense of questioning ourselves as mothers. Should we sign up for this? Will that be too much? Are they over-scheduled? Will we ever have dinner as a family again? How can I keep meals healthy? Yep. These questions run through our minds and distract us from the moment. They make us questions ourselves, and it doesn’t feel good. 

What if we answered these questions now? What if we crafted your autumn to meet your needs? What do you wish for this season? We can do that. 

Crafted Autumn Coaching Package: $255

5 (30 min) weekly sessions, email support, self-assessments and individualized resources.

The days are shortening, and space is limited. Please secure your registration.

Feminine Sovereignty

Sovereignty is directly connected to health and wellness. Sovereignty allows us to act from a place of confidence, listen to our intuition, ask for help when needed, and face conflict with courage and creativity. We are more likely to make choices that feed our wellness and when confronted with a barrier, we are more likely to address that barrier with ease. So, cultivating sovereignty in our lives will not protect us from all illness or misfortune, but it will offer us more options when illness and misfortune present themselves. 

We are all innately sovereign beings. We all have this pool of wealthy wellness within us. But, having sovereignty and enacting sovereignty are very different. We must enact our sovereignty in order to be leaders in our lives, our families, our communities, and our businesses. Feminine sovereignty, in particular, requires cultivation. And Feminine Sovereignty is what the world is asking for at this moment. Feminine leadership and empowerment look very different from the leadership and "power" we are familiar with in modern western cultures. Self- reign requires self-mastery and self-governance. This beautiful word, sovereignty, is indeed something we all possess and it requires diligence and dedication to activate. It is a practice, being sovereign.

Yoga, meditation, coaching, mindfulness, therapy, self-inquiry, inner-work these are ways we can support our practice in sovereignty and train our selves for a life of self-reign. With this gift of sovereignty, we can share our leadership with others. We can lead our own lives, our families, our communities and our businesses from a place of true feminine leadership. Feminine leadership is founded in compassion and cooperation, open-hearted courageousness and creativity. Fostering this inner-compass within ourselves is a gift to other women and the world. One sovereign woman takes the hand of another. 

Love, 

Sherene