Welcome to The Modern Spiritualist! I’m happy you are here. In the northern hemisphere, as we move into warmer weather, it got me wondering about how we can best use the springtime to launch ourselves into the new year.
The spring and autumn are both times of transition. From an animist perspective, the earth and its seasons are just as alive as we are. It has life processes that cycle throughout the web of life, and we, as humans, move and change with those cycles.
What does transition really mean as we move into spring? How do we welcome things in, and leave things behind in a good way?
This time of the year first gets me thinking about the nature of ‘Change.’ Specifically, the fact that change is the one thing that we can count on, and yet, as humans, we are so resistant to change. This is despite the fact that alongside our resistance, we have a deep craving for change.
The seasons themselves are a good example of this concept at work. I live in Los Angeles. Here in Los Angeles, the season changes are very mild. And here in Los Angeles, what you hear are constant complaints from people about the lack of weather change. At the core, people here crave that change of scenery that brings one into the landscape of the seasons. They miss that sense of attunement with nature when we must observe and adjust ourselves based on what the weather is doing.
And yet, when I find myself traveling to other places, there are complaints about snow and a desire for the summer…unless it is summer, when people decide it is too hot, and they crave the cooldown of autumn.
What if there was another way? What if, instead of being desirous of what is currently unobtainable, we decided to sink deeply, and become intimate with, what the weather in our portion of the world is doing?
All of us in the northern hemisphere are entering spring. That means that we are all entering a period of rebirth. This is when the trees, flowers, and animals come to life. This is mating season. This is when foxes are bringing new litters of pups into the world. This is when we all wake up.
We are also, in February, still transitioning out of winter. Winter asks us to let things die. We hibernate, we process old emotions, we let go of old baggage, and we prepare new faces for spring.
So, how do we do this in a good way? More importantly, how do we do this in an intentional way? How many of us connect with, and respond to the seasons around us with awareness, presence, and responsiveness?
Do you, or is the way that you move through the seasons largely unconscious? Or, do you notice yourself having resistance to weather changes? Do you constantly wish that you were in a different season than the one you are in?
Make note of these things without judgment. We are all here to learn how to be better humans, day by day, hour by hour, and awareness without judgment is the first step.
Consider regarding the seasons as something alive - something with wisdom that we all partake in together.
Now, from that perspective, imagine in this moment that spring is your greatest ally. Imagine that spring is behind you, supporting all of your best goals.
In Chinese medicine, spring is associated with the element of Wood. The Wood element can be understood as a kind of movement or momentum. It is the energy of a seed that has just sprouted its first stem, and is about to burst out of the soil for the first time.
Consider the feelings of this seed and sprout. It’s young, tiny, vulnerable, and filled with hope about the future.
All of us enter the springtime this way. It is a time of new beginnings, which can be scary. We might have goals and big hopes for those goals, but we might also feel tiny, vulnerable, and naive.
This is because we find ourselves right at the crux of this transitory period. Some things still need to die. Some things are waiting desperately to be born, and we find ourselves caught in the middle of these waves.
Spring can cause even more strife if we did not move through the winter in an intentional way. Winter is all about internal transformation - letting go of who we were so we might become something better.
There are higher reports of depression in the wintertime. There is a reason for this. Winter is a time of grief. But when we turn away or choose not to process that grief, it gets carried with us into the spring.
And yet, that doesn’t stop the spring energy from asking us to come out of our shells and closets, ready or not.
We can stand at a great precipice of grief and restlessness, with things left undone, and things still to begin.
So, if we find ourselves here at this precipice, what do we do?
I encourage you to really open your minds and allow new ideas to flow. Consider your current ways of thinking and assess if those beliefs are serving you.
Wrapping up winter in a good way means taking stock of old narratives, limiting beliefs, and personal identities that are outdated, and therefore causing you needless suffering.
Closing out winter means identifying what didn’t work in the previous year, and finding ways to make adjustments in the new year, based on who you are now, and what you want out of life.
You could make a list of everything in your life that you are happy with, and everything you are not.
For everything you are not happy with, begin asking questions to get to the root of the issue.
Were there actions you could have taken that you did not take? Was the inaction based on fear? How can you, in the springtime, walk with your fears in a way that allows you to take better actions?
Did you spend your time in the winter authentically and on your terms? Or did you compromise yourself in a way that didn’t allow you to deeply connect with the root of who you are?
Springtime offers us a great opportunity to connect with ourselves in a new way. We can connect with ourselves as that little seed that just sprouted its first stalk.
We can wipe the slate clean, look at ourselves as if we are brand new, and ask ourselves:
Who am I?
Where do I stand?
What do I stand for?
What am I going to do about it this year?
For those of you willing to ask yourselves these questions and answer the call of your soul, you might realize that you’re going to need a little extra help getting things in order.
My new class, Energy Body Mastery, begins this spring on March 2, 2023. It will run online every Thursday for 8 weeks.
In this class, we learn how to balance our energies, how to gain control of our own energy fields, how to conduct deep and accurate self-inquiry into the nature of ourselves and our personal struggles, and find new ways to address and solve our problems while increasing our ability to meet our wants, needs, and desires.
If you find yourself struggling with anxiety, depression, hyperactivity, or lack of clarity, this class can help.
It is only $75 for the whole 8 weeks, and this is a ONE time offer. This class will never be offered at this price again.
Have a lovely spring, everyone!
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