Stretched Thin

This month has very potent and extreme style energy sitting directly in the both/and paradigm. Extreme highs, extreme lows, with the purpose of bringing us back into balance. We are being stretched thin as a way of purging out all the unnecessary energy, emotions, belongings, focus, ways of relating, so we are left with only what is absolutely necessary.

The image I received was a frame drum that is made of animal skin pulled tight over the frame. There's nothing extra, just the two objects frame and skin held together by the third object of string. The trinity coming together to hold it all tightly. If it's not tight, the drum won't sound. If the conditions later are right, the drum won't sound. When the drum gets wet or moist, it won't sound. As my husband was told at a drum shop once, you must care for it the way you would care for a woman, gentle and nurturing, tender. "She must be warmed up," the drum maker said. We are learning to find our rhythm, to hear our own song, to notice where we are weak or strong, soft or balanced, paying attention or ignoring what's in front of us. The truth is speaking all the time, but we so often aren't listening. We get swayed into stories that others tell us without touching in with our own knowing. We get busy and move too fast to realize what's happening. We trip over ourselves, get sick, fall down, and still we don't listen to the signs that our body is telling us. The earth is screaming at us to pay attention, and still we don't slow down. Still we try to work toward the financial bottom line and make shareholders happy, for what? We will have no world left if we don't pay attention.

This is a deep call to let everything that hurts or doesn't make sense reveal itself and come to the surface so we can realign, repurpose, and find what matters in it all. Like with all retrograde seasons, this is a time of disintegration to reintegration. Fights may be high, but the intention is low. Get back to what matters. See each other more clearly. Say what needs to be said. Listen. Understand. Be courageous in seeing the truth. It's not about being right, it's about being honest and being real. Revealing your true nature. Seeing others.

The other thing about drums, they create resonance and rhythm. They help us find our way back home. If you have one, break it out. I like to do what I call "drumming my home." This is a practice of starting in my most sacred place, kneeling on the ground with the sound of the drum. Finding it like the rhythm of my heartbeat. Then I stand up, I feel the full rhythm in my body. I open my eyes and begin to let the drum talk to me. I look around the room and listen to what the objects in the room have to say. What is the energy of the room, what does it need? Then I move around the house doing this with each room and come back to my sacred place. Needless to say, I haven't done this in a while and it's long overdue! This is a steadiness practice that can help with all aspects of grounding. And chanting practice, of course! I've just begun another 40 day cycle. You can join me on insight timer and track your progress, or purchase the course on my website here.

Beyond all of that, we have 6 planets in retrograde now, so review energy is on steroids —

Venus Retrograde: July 23 to September 4 (Love, Harmony, Relationships)

Mercury Retrograde: August 24 to September 16 (Communication, Travel, Technology)

Pluto Retrograde: May 11 to October 22 (Generational and Collective Cycles)

Saturn Retrograde: June 18 to November 4 (The Father, Teacher, Taskmaster)

Neptune Retrograde: July 1 to December 6 (Higher Octave of Venus, Merging & Oneness)

Jupiter Retrograde: September 5 to December 31 (Expansion, Amplification)

Take good care of yourself. This is not for the faint of heart.

Things to consider this month —

Take it easy — This is not a time to push. Make space. Make room. Clear. Clean. Go slow. Breathe. Take extra time to get ready. Cancel plans. Free up your schedule. There will be plenty of time to come back to it later. Now is the time to be with what's happening and nature yourself along the way.

Love your people — Take time in your slowing down to notice who's around you, supporting you, and give them a thanks. Share your vulnerabilities with them, and listen to theirs. This is a time for community as we adjust to the changing collective energies. We are all being upgraded, and also challenged, so remember that when tensions are high. We're all under the same stress and just trying to feel our way through.

Observe — A friend just sent me a post this morning that so resonated for this energy. One of the suggestions was to observe. Take the witness perspective. It's time to slow our pace, collect the data, observe, let what needs to fall away go without resistance, reaction, or panic. Easier said than done, I know! I'm struggling with it too. But this is the time to reach for your practice tools. We are so much stronger than we think we are! We've been taught to rush and panic, which just drains our energy and distracts us from gathering our power. As a dear friend once advised, "get pregnant with it." What he meant by this was to bring the question, the concern, the worry, down into the belly for gestation. Let it grow and flourish. It will tell you what to do if you give it time. This is another truth we have been taught away from. We believe there is no time, and so we must rush. But it's just at the moment of stress that we must slow it all down and witness. For help with this, see my Becoming the Witness Yoga Nidra on Insight Timer.

Oil of the month — Frankincense, the oil of TRUTH has come for us this month. This gentle, calm oil is the perfect medicine for what ails. Frankincense is the masculine, the sacred divine container that protects us and the feminine in times of strife. It allows the feminine to move as it must, slowly and delicately, offering space and time for what wants to be created. From Essential Emotions: "Frankincense reveals deceptions and false truths. It invites individuals to let go of lower vibrations, lies, deceptions, and negativity. This oil helps create new perspectives based on light and truth. Frankincense recalls to memory spiritual understanding, gifts, wisdom, and knowledge that the soul brought into the world. It is a powerful cleanser of spiritual darkness. Frankincense assists in pulling the "scales of darkness" from the eyes, the barriers from the mind, and the walls from the heart. Through connecting the soul with it's inner light, the oil reveals the truth." I hadn't read that when I heard that was the oil. You can't make this shit up!