Bubble What
Today’s Full moon is in Aries. I’m feeling this as a moment in which the energy released by the last new moon in Libra is now asking to be dealt with. It’s like the new moon presented some questions, the past few weeks have turned up some answers, and this full moon is asking that you take stock of what’s come up so you can decide what to commit to, and how to proceed.
There’s also something pushing us to break through. Everyone I’ve encountered in the last few weeks seems to have worked really hard to integrate all the craziness of the last few months, and wonderfully enough, everyone seems to be taking it in stride. There is an awareness of what has been dealt with, worked through, and accomplished... even if the experience has been harrowing. “Thank goodness that round is over!”
But there is something else happening simultaneously, something that feels like acceptance, “Now that all that is over, look at where I am right now. There’s no revelation. There’s no fanfare. I’m not even sure what happens next but (sigh!) here I am.”
Acceptance - In the midst of natural disasters, extreme elections, and geez, everything else - if you feel it, that is pretty amazing in itself. I say it a lot, but I am amazed that any of us can get through the day, let alone accept that day as it is. But that’s the thing about acceptance - it’s not emotional. There’s no feelings involved. You either accept or you don’t.
In my healing practice acceptance is associated with the root chakra. The root is the energetic center at the base of the spine, the tip of the tailbone, the perineum, the taint. If the chakras were a string of christmas lights, the root would be the plug, and Mother Earth would be the socket.
Physically the root is associated with survival - the preservation of the entire physical organism - as well as the organs of excretion and the process of elimination. Emotionally it has to do with feelings of security and safety. Mentally it has to do with self-preserving or self-defeating beliefs - the ideas you learn or develop to preserve and prolong your existence.
Existentially, the root is pretty stark. It says, “I exist.” When I work with clients who have trauma in their roots the opposite holds true: they are usually hard pressed to believe that they are even alive. They lack a certain vitality. They sometimes act as though their life were happening to someone else. This is because the root is so black-or-white. There’s very little emotion in there, as emotion is usually associated with the sacral (2nd) chakra. The root is much more primal, even animal, evaluating most situations as life or death, period. So even if the root is just “off balance” the experience of it is more like, “OFF”.
This instinct can be problematic if you’re trying to have a relationship, or do your job, or forgive someone. The root doesn’t make a lot of room for complexity. But that’s it’s function. Let the heart or the mind (4th and 6th chakras) do all that, just don’t let the root make you an animal, desperate for survival. When you use the starkness of the root’s consciousness effectively, it can help you to see your life SIMPLY.
How to activate the root? Acceptance, duh.
I give clients an exercise when their root is wonky - To draw a dot, then surround that dot with words and phrases that remind them of the people places and things in their life that matter to them at this moment. What are the most important circumstances in your life? Job, family, friends, hobbies, vacations, crippling anxiety, unprocessed trauma, addictions. I ask them to go nuts, to let it all out, and to keep the items as close to the dot as possible. The end of the exercise is to draw a line around all these words and to take in the whole mass of circumstances. Look at the whole picture, and accept it as it is. And that’s it. It sounds simple but it’s very powerful. It tends to ground the plug and turn the lights on.
Why? Because when you get it all out and draw a line around it, you are cultivating basic acceptance. The moment you have even a drop of acceptance, guess what happens. RESISTANCE IS NEUTRALIZED.
Yup. The fidgety bastard cousin of acceptance is resistance. I used to think it was struggle. But struggle is natural; avoidable, but natural. Resistance is a waste of time and energy.
Technically, resistance is anything that is not acceptance. And that's where the starkness of the root becomes awesome. If you are doing anything other than accepting, you are resisting. Sometimes resistance is ok. Even rejection. If something is not good for you and you know it, push it away, don't let it in! The problem comes when we are UNCONSCIOUSLY resistant. When you don't know, for whatever reason. Maybe stuff has piled up and you're overwhelmed, maybe you are low energy and in a foul mood. Maybe you're sick. It's all fair game. But if there is unconscious resistance anywhere in your existence... you're wasting time and energy. All the resistance in the world will not yield acceptance. The good news is, just one drop of acceptance neutralizes an ocean's worth of resistance.
I’m offering a 3-dimensional version of the above acceptance/grounding/root chakra exercise. Because it’s 3 dimensional, there’s an added component in there - about how you’re relating to the circumstances of your life. Once you know how you’re relating, you’re basically assessing your level of resistance. Once you know how much you’re resisting, it becomes much easier to accept. Let me know how you the practice vibes with you.
An EdibleSpirit Practice for Cultivating Acceptance
Close your eyes, get settled, and take three deep breaths, in through the nose, and out through the mouth.
Imagine yourself surrounded in a perfect, spherical bubble. Spend a moment visualizing the thickness of the bubble, the light, opalescent hue, the simultaneous delicacy and durability.
Invoke the present circumstances of your life. Imagine the most pressing events that have just occurred, that are occurring, or that are about to occur. No big deal, just use the power of your mind to call up the present circumstances of your life. Don’t judge, go with the first stuff that comes up.
As the first set of circumstances arise, imagine the whole event floating up to you INSIDE ITS OWN BUBBLE! The entire kaleidoscope of people, places, and things, feelings, thoughts and beliefs - all the associations with these circumstances are swirling around inside the bubble. As it gets close to you, you can see, hear, feel, and sense the entire situation in the bubble. Spend a few moments just observing the various elements.
Now imagine the event bubble floating closer until it lands on your bubble! As it lands and touches your bubble, notice your immediate reaction. Do you want to pull this bubble to you? Do you want to push it away? Do you not want to do anything? Then go deeper, ask yourself - HOW AM I RELATING TO THESE Circumstances? Am I pulling them to me? Am I pushing them away? Am I touching them lightly? Or am I not engaging at all? Try not to get into complicated feelings, stick with these very visceral responses - pulling in, pushing away, touching gently, or doing nothing.
Once you get a sense of how you are relating to those circumstances, awesome, good job. Now, simply ask yourself, “What is the most effective way for me to relate to these circumstances?” Pulling in, pushing away, touching gently, or doing nothing. If you’re unsure - PRACTICE! Imagine swatting the event bubble off your own bubble. Imagine pulling it into your own bubble. Imagine gently touching the membrane between the two. Imagine sitting, doing nothing at all.
Which feels right? Which feels best? You can cycle and explore and try different options. You can go through the whole process with another set of circumstances. You can also imagine relationships, conversations, and work projects inside the circumstantial event bubbles. You could even imagine an event which hasn’t happened yet.
The whole point of this exercise is to objectively observe how you are already engaging your life’s circumstances, maybe even subconsciously or unconsciously. Once you have an awareness of how you’re already relating, you then get to decide whether that is the most effective way. You can make your unconscious behavior conscious. Sometimes you’re doing nothing when it’s really time to disengage. Sometimes you’re drawing something to you that you’d really rather do nothing about. Going through these steps will give you a handle on where you’re at regarding basic acceptance or resistance. You get to decide how to proceed from there.
Happy everything, everyone.
All my love
MD