getting comfortable with what is foreign

Foreign is never comfortable. The work of Candance Pert and others tells us that we are literally craving, in our very cells, what is familiar.

It's not because what is familiar is good for us and what is foreign is bad for us. And in fact it often works the other way around. It's just how our bodies work.

It is hard not to be following the news this week, and actually I am not one of those 'pink paint' people who advise turning away from what upsets us. I know so many people who tell me they don't watch the news because they don't want to see any bad news and this is exactly the way of thinking that brings this bad news to our door so we can see it.

We are, as a collective, working through a transit of Saturn (limitations, time, boundaries) in Sagittarius (big picture, foreign travel, people at a distance, immigration) so it is not surprising that the current events in the world are being shown through the lens the media is presenting to us.



We also have Neptune in Pisces dissolving boundaries and illusions and offering us greater access to compassion and imagination. We have Jupiter in Virgo enabling healing through work and service.

I live in New Jersey where the Governor is announcing a halt to Syrian refugees (not that we welcomed many in the first place) including five year old orphans!

We can raise the collective energy by raising our individual energy.


First, we need a grief process. And by we, I mean us, as individuals and by us, I guess I mean me. But maybe you, too. Time doesn't heal wounds - it's what we do with the time that does the healing. Time just covers up the wound and then later the slightest injury to that area and the trauma is re-engaged. We are all walking around with PTSD. We need to go deeper. I need to go deeper. I need a grief process - will figure this out.

Second, we need to embrace what is foreign. Yes, maybe even just because it's foreign. If we want to awaken this energy in the world we need to awaken it within ourselves.

We can do simple things like trying different international dishes. We are going to a new Indian place for dinner tonight. Yes, hubs will probably be kicking and screaming and demanding Mexican, but I am steadfast.

We can talk to people from different countries and cultures EVERYDAY - if we are on Facebook this is easy. We can join a Facebook group at the click of a button. Bridges are built without steel and muscles. And maybe they last longer.

We can do something we have never done before - anything, something foreign to us - to help to shift this energy for the collective.

We can listen to foreign music. We can hear the words with our heart.

We can have compassion for whatever is different and doesn't fit in ... yes, including ourselves and those parts of ourselves we have been battling with. It's time to lay down our arms.

I find it helpful to pay attention to what I am paying attention to. Recently I have been noticing my mutterings and the lyrics to the songs that get stuck in my head. I had the song Waterloo in my head for at least two weeks and have been having problems with my shoulder and arm again for about a month. Recently I bought one of those foam rollers and heard myself say yesterday, "I feel so much better when I lay down my arms". Instantly I knew exactly what this 'battle' was and am in the process of letting the whole situation go - so I can lay down my arms, give up the fight and win when I lose (waterloo) and heal my shoulder!

Besides trying new foods and talking to new people and listening to new music we can take action by writing to the people making decisions on our behalf and exchanging money, time and energy with groups we believe in - just like I am still working my shoulder with the foam roller and acupuncture while I release my attention from the 'battle'. We need both Saturn (the material realm) and Neptune (the astral) to achieve balance and make things happen.

We may not have the answers right now. But we won't get into the energy of the solution by looking at the problem.

Let's try something different.
xo all

2 comments

DancingMooney said...

"Time doesn't heal wounds - it's what we do with the time that does the healing. Time just covers up the wound and then later the slightest injury to that area and the trauma is re-engaged."

That is such a powerful, and so true, message Cat.

And, my husband would always try to win with Mexican too, lol... but we do love Thai though. ;)

Having a weird dizziness thing these last few days. Might be a slight ear infection, blood sugar, or dehydration thing, I don't know... just hoping it goes away soon!

xo!

Catherine Ivins said...

Did you have a cold a couple weeks ago? I once had a weird dizziness, the doctor asked me if I'd had a cold, I had. She said google Epley Maneuver and try that. I did and it worked. I've had it a couple times since, the maneuver usually works. It doesn't always follow a cold though but did for me that first time ...