“Pinning your heightened awareness to your internal experience is a major contributor to getting stuck.

Now you are in MetaLand, having thoughts and feelings about your thoughts and feelings. And then we STAY THERE. And then it starts to feel like you are living in two different places at the same time: desperately trying to engage in the world around you, but also trying to quiet your own mind.

And if your goal is to shush your head and body first so you can go back to paying attention to life... that's where we get stuck.

Because if you go at it that way, your focus is still eyes-in. NOTICE what's going on inside, give it a nod, allow your body and brain to do the things that it's doing, and then eyes OUT, and pin your focus and attention to what you want to see MORE
OF.

This will be back and forth in the beginning. As it should, because that's how the learning process works. You need to get back in synch with the world around you, so lock your involvement into LIFE.”

-Michelle Cavanaugh, LCSW

When we first begin our inner work, it’s quite common to experience very drastic periods of expansion and contraction. As we go along, we can (generally speaking) look forward to more fluid and easeful movement between expansion and contraction.

I’ve personally noticed that my periods of contraction now are actually closer to what I used to consider “good days.” Talk about progress.

Keep going. You will become more and more skillful at navigating these shifts. Meet yourself with compassion.

Building upon the previous note…

I’m thinking about all of you. And this has definitely been a trying couple of weeks for me. And it seems like for many of us it’s felt that way too.

I wanted to talk about this idea of expansion and contraction.

And for those of us moving through this period of discomfort: this is a period of contraction.

Every contraction is followed by an expansion. Every expansion is followed by a contraction.

It always changes and is always moving.

As a doula, I liken this idea to birth. The body knows that a contraction is what brings the baby down so the baby can be born. It’s this incredible process of contraction, tension and discomfort, followed by stillness, peace and rest. In the simplest terms, is what births babies.

It’s also what births new ideals, viewpoints, emotions and states of autonomic regulation.

The key ? is to move through these periods of contraction with intention, awareness and find ways of supporting ourselves through it (just like with birth). Sometimes we need external support. Other times we need to muster our own internal support.

Just as each day expands into daylight, and then contracts into darkness, we all have our own rhythms of expansion and contraction.

When we label them as “good” or “bad” that’s what confuses our systems and attaches meaning to them… when really they’re not “good” or “bad” it just is.

Just like night isn’t bad, and day isn’t good. They just are.

So, as you’re moving through this period of contraction (or expansion!) how can you support yourself?

PROMPTS:
What might I need during this time? More movement? Less movement? Journaling? What kinds of food?

How have I labeled these periods (expansion + contraction) in the past? Does that labeling change how I relate to them?

How can I relate to them, going forward, so that they are no longer something to be feared, but something I can surrender and allow?

I hope this is supportive for you all ♥️