The prolonged stress of physical distancing, a looming pandemic, a tumbling economy, and long-overdue conversations about and attempts to redress the racist systems in American culture has a lot of us feeling off balance. I recently had to start making some larger lifestyle adjustments simply because my ‘normal’ methods of supporting my own mental health…
Category: Self-Care
I am a lifelong insomniac with mild narcolepsy. I do pretty well with the falling asleep part, but once I’m there it’s tough to remain. Because of that, when I do finally slip into deep sleep, my REM phase or dreaming phase can be intense. Cue mild narcolepsy. My brain has problems shifting the gears…
In what should be a surprise to absolutely no one, I was a theater kid. My life in high school revolved around two big productions every year: a drama in the fall and a musical in the spring. My theater classmates and I sacrificed blood, sweat, tears and countless hours for each of our shows. …
A little over 20 years ago, I joined the Marine Corps. Yeah, most people make that face when they find out. I know it does not seem terribly likely. It is, however, 100% true. What can I say? At age 18, I desperately needed the structure and discipline of the military. To be utterly frank,…
Start with this moment, this space, this exact point in time. Take a deep breath in and let it out on a sigh. Relax your jaw. Roll your shoulders and then reach your arms up overhead for a stretch. Now, let’s talk. The work of metaphysics, simplified, is the direction of energy by mind and…
Many pagans experience the blessing and challenge of being tuned in to the emotions of others. Even when we do not consider ourselves to be empaths, most of us are more empathic than your average person. As a result, when there’s a strong emotional current running through our immediate community, it’s difficult not to pick…
I grew up in Frederick, a large town located in Western Maryland. I personally love the place – it has a beautiful historic district, a wonderful linear park that runs through much of the city, excellent restaurants, a vibrant theater district and lots of mom and pop stores that make shopping interesting. It also had…
When I read last week’s blog on Major Arqueerna (‘Magic and the Physical Art of Release’), I was practically yelling ‘YES! EXACTLY!’ over my morning coffee. In the blog, Annie talks about how practicing Yin Yoga has supported their spiritual practice – in particular, some of their Shadow Work. One of the soapboxes I frequently…
This is the age of overstimulation – of so many concerns vying for our attention that intellectual, emotional and focus burnout is a daily occurrence for many people. When we look at the needs of the world, or even just our individual countries, it’s easy to become overwhelmed: poverty, climate change, war, illness, natural disasters,…
We stand in the Underworld right now – that space between Samhain and Yule where darkness, quiet and inner work reigns. We carry the burdens of the past year with us and some of them are incredibly heavy. One of the things I hear from people constantly these days is that they’re tapped out. A…