Here we are, only in week two of the new year and for many I’m speaking with, and certainly astrologically, it’s been one hell of a beginning.
For my friends in Los Angeles who have lost their homes, it’s been catastrophic. My heart breaks for the unfathomable loss they are experiencing. LA was home to me for many years and the devastation there hits hard. So very sad.
Even if we’re fortunate enough not to be in a state of personal unraveling at the moment, many of us are keenly feeling the waves of volatility, uncertainty and anxiety in the collective, in our global family. The list of places and issues to be upset about is long. You have yours and I have mine and they’re all worthy of concern.
I’m asking myself this question and wonder if you’re asking your version of it, too: how do we stay connected, empathic, willing to feel the feels and shed the tears while endeavoring to also maintain our center, stay resourced, and continue to shine our unique light as part of the co-creation?
I hold that it’s a privilege and our choice to be alive in this time of great evolutionary turning. And let’s be real. It is no small task to bear witness to the destruction, to the patriarchal stranglehold on power, while simultaneously staying grounded in our sensual feminine body and holding fiercely to a vision of the world we know is possible.
But lest you forget, you’ve probably never been one to shy away from a challenge … even if you need a minute to get your bearings.
So Beloved, I’m reaching out to remind you (us) that taking exquisitely good care of yourself is job Number One. Is the big rock that has to go in first. Is the foundation of everything. Self care not just so your ass looks great in your jeans but because you being a resourced woman is one of the greatest contributions you can make to this world.
By the way, nothing wrong with wanting your ass to look great either.
I believe that you being your grounded, loving, sexy, sacred self creates waves of positivity that ripple out into the world, in ways we can’t even begin to comprehend. Self care, your way, is the foundation for your Shakti, generating balance, sustainability, and wholeness from which you can give your greatest gifts.
The world is in dire and desperate need of sacred feminine wisdom, the kind we carry. We need Shakti Wise Women who can think creatively, be strategic, love wholeheartedly, speak for our earth and her children, and anchor a frequency of ecstasy and gratitude as a reminder of how miraculously beautiful this life can be.
The root system for Shakti Wise Women is self care, the ways we come into integrity with our own body, heart, and soul. Also the ways we lose focus and then return, because that’s real too.
The collective may be in a frenzy of new year’s resolutions, but if you’re not feeling it, not riding that wave, or if you’re pushing yourself unnecessarily, then consider that perhaps there’s some deeper wisdom at work.
In my part of the world, we’re in the middle of winter. That’s what’s true. My garden is a bunch of dead-looking brown sticks in hibernation. Calling January 1st a “new year” is just a concept made up in the mind’s of men and arguably devoid of the intelligence found in nature’s rhythm. Spring is the earth’s natural time of new beginnings.
What would it look like to honor the season as you feel it in your own body? This may well be a time of “sacred pause” for you. Self care for you may look like rest, quiet, inward reflection, grief, communion with spirit.
You and only you get to define what constitutes self care for you. If sweaty workouts in the gym, abstaining from alcohol, and cutting out carbs is your winning equation, great. If volunteering at the animal shelter, making sourdough bread and listening to jazz turns you on, wonderful.
I invite you to consider the possibility that how you’ve been thinking about “self care” might warrant your curiosity and exploration, might be the place to begin.
Maybe it’s less about losing that elusive fifteen pounds and more about gaining pleasure from being in your curvy body. Less about fixing bad habits and more focus on the badass you already are. Less about deprivation and more about coherence, confidence, and moving toward rather than away from.
In sum, here’s what I’m offering you today, dear sister:
- Your self care matters.
- You channel an essential frequency as a woman of Shakti.
- Only you get to define what self care means to you.
- Maybe this is a time to revisit & refresh your definition.
- Honor the season you are in.
I pray that this new year blesses you with abundance, pleasure, and joy. I pray that you feel safe, loved, and know peace. We’re all in this together. May you be well, Dear One.
With love,
Lisa Schrader
P.S. If this message resonates, if you are hearing a call from within to pay attention and go deeper, here’s an easy way I can support you. I’ve curated several of my teachings in an affordable new self study course, “Your Self Care Matters.” It includes guided meditations, video/audio teachings and a companion PDF guide of Deepening Practices and other suggestions.
All on your schedule and at your pace. Get it here.
