Good Morning + Good Night

It's October.

Fall is a the gift you receive on the East Coast. October has a golden light, perfect sleeping, lovely clothing options, luscious apples, pumpkins, flowers and full glorious harvest. It’s spectacular.

I appreciate the obvious shift to a slow down, perhaps because I am / have defaulted to speeding up.

But not yesterday. Yesterday was glorious. So many people (rightfully) probably bandied about on hayrides and pumpkin picking and fall festivities. But I woke up tired. Old school, not sick, nothing wrong, tired.

Do you remember when there was a time you could simply listen to the body’s communication? Oh, you need rest. Thanks for telling me.

I felt a moment of guilt when I made the decision to stay home. But I looked at the calendar and another do nothing day was nowhere near the plan-able future. We have a busy week ahead of school activities and client work. Then I looked about at the pumpkins we picked a few days ago on another glorious day, and I thought: Isn’t this the stuff that I teach others about? To listen?

So, we did nothing at home.

That nothing looked like this: a mountain of chocolate chip pancakes, popping up a shade tent in the backyard that became a fort, in which I laid down as my son: “worked on the cables and rebuilt the structure.” We built a fairy house for the winter so the fairies “won’t get rained on in the cold.” We ate lunch outside. We laid on the grass in our fort for quiet time. My son got bored for a bit. I cooked dinner. We did the kind of nothing that leaves expansiveness for the everyday joy of living, and the intimacy that only comes from unstructuredness. It was so delightful.

I rested so well that night that I awoke today more that restored. That’s what happens when we listen, I tell and remind myself.

I am going to share two night time rituals with you.

One, when my son goes to sleep we put “dream dust” (mamalani’s hiamoe powder) on our beds. It has become quite the routine. We get to pick our dreams.

“What do you want mama?”

Many nights I wish for excavators or pancakes, or I pull something from the day. But today, as I had watched myself become more energized by the choice to honor my body’s need for release and integration, I said: “Joy.”

My son answers, “Here you go, Joy,” as he sprinkled the powder on my bed. Then he says, “I want Joy too.”

I tell you my heart lurched at how badly I want that for him, too. He fell asleep holding my hand, effortlessly. He was tired. We honored our rhythm.

I woke up so rested this morning, I was perplexed. Was it the innocence of Joy? Was it the pure intent of listening to what my body needed? I think so. It’s the most revolutionary act we can have to listen to ourselves.

It has the difficulty and the grace. It is where our gauntlets lie waiting for our fortitude and where our wings wait for us to rise. It’s all right here.

Before I go, I wanted to tell you the other nighttime ritual that I do several times a week and I have noticed a difference. It’s the neti pot. I follow it up with this Aromabliss amazingness: Nasya oil (which I use every morning).

In teaching Step Into the Spiral (my online class for energetic practices during chaotic times), we have spent a good deal of time talking about clearing and moving energy. Basically, when you get rid of the residue it is so much easier to hear your Self. So much. And, honestly with the world the way it is I was having some sleep issues (which pre-parenting had never been an issue for me).

I knew the sleep interruption was happening because there was simply too much in my mind. How to empty it though? I thought of the neti pot because: it clears the nasal passage way, which is the imprint of every breath we take. Every breath carries the tonality of the moment. So if I am reading too much dismal information, or scrolling away mindlessly, all of those images are being imprinted into my subconscious and traveling the passageways of my breath as I consume them. I talk endlessly about the need to clear the kitchen table after a meal, so too do we need to clear the overload of information of our day.

So I extend to you the information of setting an intention to clear your mind and invite peace. Warm some distilled or fresh as available water (I use my berkey), add some salt, and practice this very ancient art. Follow up with Nasya oil and tend to this body vessel that takes you through your day. Invite in the quiet peace of restoration at night and see what arises within.

Welcome October!

Ps.

I know this is a whole other vibe, but this song kept playing in my head and I welcome back the subtleness of innuendo and human joy.

PPS. Have questions? Leave them below!