Summer Itch or Summer Glitch?
Spring and Summer energy is about rebirth followed by growth. Time with family and friends, soaking up longer days and increased energy from the Sun. This newness with increased vitality is the foundation of the memorable experiences that we co-create during this time. Stay present to the things that make you feel good and alive, whether that be picnics, outdoor time, soirees, concerts in the park, whatever it is that makes you feel invigorated in your daily routine, allow your inner child to play and to discover, weaving passion into everything you do.
We have a need to use our time to self-reflect and self-analyze, but we also have a desire to be outward. Our conflicting desires pull us in both directions which often creates exhaustion, working in double time, even triple time.
From the dozens of people and clients I’ve spoken with over the past few weeks, many are reporting experiencing a hard time finding the energy to complete even the most basic tasks. Some believe it’s itching for warmer weather, others think it’s the cumulation of being cooped up indoors. Either way, many people have reported experiencing: more intensified anxiety, frustration and lethargy. The overarching result is taking a toll on many people’s productivity, accomplishments and sense of purpose. A steady diet of repetition and daily routine— or lack thereof, can dull a person’s imagination and sense of feeling valuable, decreasing someone’s motivation. Often this starts to filter down to even the most simplest of To Do’s, which we sometimes need a jump-start to engage in the first place, like doing laundry or cleaning the house. Research shows, when we don’t have a specific goal or sense of working toward a target it’s easier for our brains to coast on autopilot or relax-mode. What we need during such times is to persevere when there is a less visible incentive, like you’d see at work when we meet a deadline. These factors are all visible. There are also non-visible factors that can act as major contributors to our general state of success. No need to fear however, once understood, we can use these factors as tools to bring us the results we seek with minimal effort.
Several elements that are less considered yet are important contributors to the issue of fatigue and lack of desire, or completing even the smallest tasks are equally as essential to understand. This is why it is taking so much more time, money and energy over the past few months to complete something that use to take no time at all . . .
Here are a few things that we can do to help bring balance during those times of high stress and less function. There are invisible factors that greatly contribute to your well-being during difficult times:
Collective energy is about understanding that the emotions even permeate the air(waves) and can affect us on a mass scale, even at great distances. To better explain this, let’s look at the scenario of a country during a time of war. Even if we are not living in that country or do not have a direct connection to that place of origin, we can still experience the worry, anguish, fear and grief of those inhabitants. In fact, when there is a high concentration of people experiencing particular emotions, the intensity of that area can be felt across oceans because it permeates the air, even on a global scale. According to Quantum physics, it is also said, we transcend space and time. This is a perfect example.
Fear of the unknown is one of the most destructive and encompassing emotions one can experience. This vibration of fear is debilitating and can even be fatal. Fear not only affects the body on both emotional and physical levels but also spiritually, it hinders your Spirit. In classical Chinese medicine, fear is the emotion associated with the water element— the kidney system and bladder systems. When we feel fear, it literally descends energy down the body, which correlates to that sinking feeling you experience during times of fear. In extreme cases, one can have a tendency to lose control of their bladder, hence why children often have accidents when they get scared. Fear also affects deeply the psyche of a person. This is due to the scenarios we construct in our heads, often much more terrifying than we normally would feel in most cases. All that energy weakens the kidney system. This emotion is especially sinister because it works in silence, trickling deeper and deeper, until it penetrates our bones relentlessly introducing more and more stress-responses in our body. Chronic fear can result in feelings of insecurity, aloofness and an absence of willpower.
Amount of trees in a given area. The new push to utilize biofuels instead of fossil fuels has had immense popularity in the past several years, especially in the arena of sustainability. In addition to being natural barriers, trees provide shade, shelter from high winds/ weather and also absorb toxins lingering in the air. In addition to measuring pollutants, trees also provide measurable relief, such as: soaking up negativity and absorbing heavy and bad energy floating in the environment. To further explain, trees not only draw in physical pollutants but also emotional energy in the airwaves. How often do we find ourselves feeling so much better after a walk in the park? So by design, trees are like a vacuum, allowing the energy to be pulled in and transmuted by Earth’s natural healing design. In fact, studies showed that people living in cities or areas with less density of trees often have more health-related issues and more anxiety than those who don’t.
Since people are creatures of connectivity, our human-ness in this moment is begging for more contact, more spontaneity. As humans, we are constantly and organically sharing and exchanging energy, filling, fueling and absorbing energies of others, even places. Many of us have felt the change of this through quarantine or periods of limited interaction in some form or another. As time becomes more precious and meaningful, so do the relationships we keep. Ask yourself, what does this relationship provide in the way of emotional, spiritual, growth or discovery for me. How do I feel in their presence? Listen, as your body doesn’t lie.
Solutions to balance the energy of summer glitch or quarantine itch:
Change your routine weekly and be flexible. To keep things fresh, it is important to make certain changes on a weekly basis. Small updates can actually remove blocked energy and open up some new refreshing perspectives. You don’t have to change everything, but shifting something in your apartment, like the furniture, a row of books on the shelf, something that is noticeable. This can actually shift the energy of the entire environment. It can also take the energy out of autopilot and bring you into more awareness of the energy occupying your space. Regular changes can keep both the head and heart actively engaged. It also allows our personal energy to keep the flow in our space energetically fresh and in motion, avoiding stagnation. When the energy is flowing, based on ancient feng shui, this helps the energy in our lives also consistently stay in the flow, allowing for more growth and opportunities to come our way.
Change your location. During these times of quarantine it may not be that easy; however, get out of the house. A simple act of moving outside of your normal space will do you a world of good, propelling your brain into high speed. Often familiar environments become synonymous with our patterns. We become so conditioned we don’t even consider our habits. Think about how many times you sit in front of the TV to watch a movie and automatically grab those chips or pretzels, whether you’re hungry or not. It’s simply just a routine response to our environment. Welcome in change, rev up your brain for new behaviors that may better suit you and your progress.
Set smaller goals and trick your mind into accomplishing them. Regardless of the size of the activity, setting your mind to finish a task and making attempts to complete it will raise levels of dopamine in your brain, increasing your feelings of satisfaction. In turn, this feeling makes you want to do more and more. Just think about how good it feels to cross off an item on your to-do list, that’s dopamine at work. In fact, the more your brain experiences the feeling of achievement, the more it releases neurotransmitters, making it easier to try and reach the same feeling. Viola! start small, your brain doesn’t know the difference and the results are equally as rewarding.
Think of quarantine as one of the biggest focus groups ever created. Use your observation and feelings as guidance for tuning into the frequency you desire. This is an opportunity to shake out what’s no longer serving you and tune into new perspectives. Use this time to grow yourself and water your inner garden. This is the present moment for all of us to remember that not only are the flowers blooming and bees buzzing but so are we… sometimes all we need is a gentle reminder and push which can catapult us to new heights.