Q&A's to rewild the self
Coyote! Coyote! Coyote!
As I grow older I have found it harder and harder to swallow certain truths. Whether it’s bad news from a friend, or the loss of my favorite sports team, I just can’t seem to digest it! I react hot hot hot, and then when my anger subsides I am left with sharp pains in my gut, sweats and a melting into the floor feeling. I am exhausted by the process of it all- the upswing of fury and then the way I am dropped subsequently after. If that’s not bad enough, I’m also having the worst time digesting any foods even when I’m not in a tizzy!
Where can I find my own spoonful of sugar to help all this medicine go down?
-Fried Egg on a Sidewalk
Dear Fried Egg on a Sidewalk,
After we experience difficulty (trauma, stress), we quietly and expertly confer with ourselves in order to adjust our outcome in the future. Because our world can be so violent and oppressive, this can manifest as a deep hardening within. We don’t even realize it until our entire core- our liver, spleen and our gut- have become as energetically hard as the stone gollums of lore. Thus, we brace ourselves against all impact, and suddenly the softness (think spring blooms and bunnies) doesn’t heal us in the way it used to. All becomes a battle uphill, struggling to move our stone core one inch at a time. With this, we can experience difficulty digesting, sluggish blood, fury, weakness, fatigue, and even anemia.
Sometimes as a part of this defensive mechanism, we turn to things that ease our discomfort (without ever turning to fix the true problem at hand). These things sometimes are good for us, like a cup of
chamomile tea and the latest romance novel your best friend let you borrow, or could be hard on our already taxed system like overindulging in alcohol or food that we know isn’t good for our bodies (for me, nachos always win). While I do recommend the soul-good things that heal the hardness, I also gently suggest doing those things that especially heal us in the now and in the future. This can be as simple as adding a new ritual to your self-care regiment- a bath, a day of silence or solitude, regular trips into nature, etc.
For you, I would suggest a restorative bath. Baths are conventionally soothing, but can also be a place for ritual and deepest of healing. To add extra serenity, you can take the flower essences listed in a blend for an entire moon cycle, starting with the new and ending with the full. All good things to you, my crispy ovo friend!
-Qiyote
Radical Softening Ritual Bath
Draw yourself a bath as hot as you can comfortably handle. Light some candles- preferably white or pink. If you have any Rose Quartz, Garnet or Turquoise, feel free to kiss them and place them in. Throw in a few handfuls of Epsom salt, asking it to bring you back to center. Add
Rose petals,
Violet leaf,
Rosemary leaf,
Clary Sage Essential Oil,
Lemon or
Sweet Orange Essential Oil, Ginger Essential Oil, Dogwood flower essence, CA Wild Rose flower essence and Arnica Flower Essence. Kneel in front of the bath (or sit or stand, if that works better for you). Close your eyes and put your hands over the water. Think or say or sing blessings to the water, or if you feel drawn to, the entities, spirits or god(s) or your choice. Step in with intention and soak for at least a half hour. Allow it all to melt away. Remember what it feels like to release all and feel free to come back this space mentally when you begin to feel Gollum-like again.
