Embrace Fear, Breathe Love
For the uncertainty of it all right now, saying, "don't panic" or "try not to worry" and actually not doing so during what is likely everyone's first experience of this magnitude may be easier said than done over these past few weeks. Even the most level-headed of us are feeling some amount of anxiety or worry. And some of us may not feel full-blown panic, but we do have genuine concerns that can create anxiety...for health and safety of loved ones, for possible or certain loss of income, for our own well-being. We have information overload at a whole new level, with lots of unanswered questions and intense messages of caution in our faces every moment we "plug in". And I guess the first thing I want to say is, that's ok. Trying to ignore or shove down feelings because they don't feel good won't help us cope any more effectively, right?
In no way do I attempt to minimize the seriousness of a pandemic event. And I'm definitely not advocating that we allow ourselves to stay in anxious states as we navigate our way through this. My intention is, however, to continue to choose how I show up in the world (even if now showing up looks different and I don't know exactly what I'm doing on things like Zoom and YouTube!) I'm a firm believer that fear, worry and anxiety are useful only in as much as they are part of our physiological warning systems in situations of life and death. Beyond that, we as humans have tended to carry them over into the mental health aspect of our being and as a result, the consequences are things like that pit in our stomachs, higher blood pressure as our bodies don't know how to handle the false alarms of "fight or flight"we set off , headaches, and various symptoms of the absence of peace and presence in our current moments. Without more mindfully tending to ourselves and others with more compassion, we can become/stay pretty spun up. Not a comfortable way to be.
I'm also a firm believer that there is power in collaboration...collective effort, and the energy it creates. Many of you who work with me know this already. Even when it's just two (practitioner and client), we work collaboratively when we do healing work. It's very similar with the energy of the world right now. We've allowed the voices of media and leaders to become so loud as they sound the alarms of caution (and we do need cohesive plans to follow to flatten this curve), with very little balanced energy coming from voices and spaces of compassion, kindness and love. I have no doubt it's bubbling up, but it seems it's going to happen more from outside of the systems that organize our day to day, because media is using its power and influence in a very focused way that excludes this energy by and large.
So, this short video was inspired a little over a week ago after intuitively feeling the intensity of the collective energy of fear and anxiety (even those of us who don't think we're intuitive/empathic can feel this energy gripping at us). The way I am choosing to show up is to do what I can to perpetuate peace and calm despite the uncertainty that has seemingly overrun our world for now. I offer you 15 minutes of what I hope will become a tool that you use to enhance your own feelings of peace and calm...
I'd love to hear from you to know how you are doing as well. And if you have other strategies that are bringing you a sense of calm, please let me know and I'm happy to share out on the Facebook page.
May you stay safe, calm and well. <3 ~ JJ
PS- As of now, the plan shared in the last newsletter is still in effect. The studio is closed to 4/4, but I am offering pay-as-you-can/donation based energy healing sessions to anyone who feels that they or a loved one would benefit. You can learn more about those here.