Experience greater flow and ease during the holiday season and beyond

We all get caught up in the busyness and endless to dos of our lives. In the last few years our perception is that time has literally sped up. Technology is changing at lightning speed with an emphasis on making our lives more efficient with a focus on productivity. It has also contributed to our ability to connect in ways that weren’t before possible. Recently, social media platforms have been super helpful in disaster relief efforts by getting the word out and being vehicles of support. However, the plethora of options out there for information gathering resources is unparalleled. And overwhelming. This can cause those of us who are more sensitive beings to literally spin out, burn out, or shut down. The result can be information overload, over-stimulation, nervous system short-circuiting, and adrenal blow out. This gets amplified during the holidays. Rather than gratitude and connection, we end up feeling just the opposite. What if there was a better way to navigate these changes and transitions during this time of great expansion?

The good news is that there is a better way. And the better news is that we already know how to do it! Naturally, without needing to read another website or buy another book or purchase another device and it’s totally 100% free and accessible.

Here’s the secret: Slow down. Return to nature. Cultivate presence. Listen deeply to your own internal voice because it will tell you exactly what pace is perfect for you to operate at a premium (ie, with joy, ease and flow and with a reduction in stress and overwhelm). 

Here is the trick. You gotta want it. You gotta decide to do it. You gotta actually do it. The first step is that you have to be willing to get off the adrenaline rollercoaster. We can get energized by holiday drama, but it’s counter productive to attaining clarity and being in communion with our inner compass so that we can make decisions that are in alignment with our soul. The next step is commitment to self-care practices that nourish us. And finally, make the time to do just that, even if it is just a few minutes a day. Pick one self-care practice that is essential and make it a priority. 

Movement and forward motion and accomplishment are part of the human model. But so is rest and play and ease. We need stillness to allow for integration of expansive experiences, and the holidays occur during the time of Sagittarius, ruled by Jupiter which is all about E-X-P-A-N-S-I-O-N. In order for balance, we need both yin and yang, expansion and receptivity, doing and being. 

We need to fuel up if we want our car to reach its destination. When our focus includes that which nourishes our soul and fills our heart with joy, we step into flow and it becomes easier to return to simplicity, receptivity, and real connections with ourselves, each other, our plant and animal friends, and the planet. We need to keep returning to our heart space over and over again. Our lives kinda depend on it. Our Earth needs it. Our children deserve it. 

We create so much busyness in our lives that leaves us feeling exhausted and disempowered because it feeds the illusion that our sense of worth comes from how much we can accomplish. There is a beautiful story told by the poet David Whyte as he recalls a conversation with Benedictine monk Brother David Steindl-Rast. The upshot... "The antidote to exhaustion is not necessarily rest. The antidote to exhaustion is wholeheartedness.”

I invite you to be radical this holiday season and return to simplicity, slow down, and make your self-care practices non-negotiable. You will be better resourced and have more energy if you are not spread so thin and your family and friends will thank you! The best gifts we can give each other are our presence and attentiveness. It is so simple but it requires us to slow down, and allow for a moment of heart connection. To look at one another, to truly see and be with another person wholeheartedly is priceless. Can we be with what is without needing to fix or change things? Can we be a witness to someone else’s experience, whether it is one of grief or joy and simply be with that? It requires we let go of the busy model and open our hearts to the moment. It requires the courage to step out of our comfort zone so we can be open to where the magic truly happens. And it will help us expand time. 

Did you know that flower essences can be a wonderful ally during the holiday season? It is a time when many of us tend to overextend ourselves; we may give too much, stretch ourselves too thin, work longer hours, fit in more social gatherings. While these may be things we choose to do willingly and lovingly, it can lead to overwhelm, irritability, and exhaustion. Flower essences can aid you in remaining calm, present, centered and balanced by working on a vibrational level to help soothe your emotions, give a clear perspective, and replenish your soul. 

Our offering this month is Holiday Calm​, a combination of essences intended to bring calm to any stressful situation and to help combat burnout. The perfect balm when feeling tired and wired. If you are in need of support, grounding and patience during this season, let Holiday Calm come to the rescue and add a little peace to your world. 

Available in internal and external formula.  The spray formula (for external use only) contains water from Snowmass Lake in Colorado. At 11,000 ft, it was one of the most serene places I've been. The essential oils are orange, jasmine, clary sage, coriander, helichrysum, palma rosa, vetiver and meant to clear mental and emotional fatigue. Spray the environment and create an oasis of relaxation. May you wholeheartedly bask in the spirit of this wonderful time of the year, cultivate gratitude for what you already have and let go of the rest.

With infinite love and gratitude,

​Claudia