Do you have a dysregulated nervous system? Then you need this.

If you want to heal a dysregulated nervous system, trauma, anxiety, chronic stress or insomnia, and you’re not working with land and nature spirits, you’re missing out on essential support in your healing journey.

One of my favorite books that discusses the detrimental effects of chronic nervous system dysregulation is Why Zebras Don’t Get Ulcers, by Robert Sapolsky. I’ll give you the quick summary: Humans experience cumulative worry, stress and rumination that come from living in a world of human ego BS and systems of oppression. When we don’t resolve conflict or fully process the stressor (like a zebra would run away from a lion, shake it off and go back to grazing), the chronic nervous system arousal and physiological stress response manifest as slow accumulation of damage in the physical and mental bodies, leading to heart disease, cancer, depression, etc.

Land and nature spirits can help teach us how to respond to stressors in a healthy way. Stressors are an inevitable part of living in the world, but we can manage them without detrimental effects if we know how to process them out of our systems. Let’s look at the stressor of a zebra encountering a lion (this model is based on The Power of the Herd, by Linda Kohanov):

1. Feel the stressor (see/sense the lion). Fully experience the stressor and allow it to move through the body, activating the physiological stress response.

2. Receive the message behind the stressor (my life is in danger).

3. Change something in response to the message and return to a place of safety (run away).

4. Release the stressor and move on (shake it off and go back to grazing).

The time it takes to move through those four steps varies in every situation, but ideally, we move through the whole cycle and release the stressor. However, many humans get stuck at any of those four steps, which leads to chronic nervous system dysregulation. Stressors can get stuck in people as:

1. Suppressors/stuffers: People who value logic over feeling and suppress emotions before they arise, creating stagnation in the body and building toward a “rock bottom/red flag” moment, or people who are already dysregulated, avoidant or otherwise dissociative, and are numb to the stressor in the first place.

2. Expressers: People who sit in the feeling space without getting the message behind emotion, drama kings and queens, people who continually emote without learning from the experience, leading to energy burnout and nervous system fatigue.

3. Sufferers: People who never act out of fear, perceived obstacles, judgement, and never change their circumstances in response to stressor messages, living in a state of paralysis and possibly perpetual victimhood.

4. Grudge-holders: People who hold onto stressors even after the danger/threat has passed, creating chronic stress and disease in the body.

Collaborating with land and nature spirits can support healthy nervous system regulation, mental health and emotional peace, healthy sleep and organ function, and recovery from stress and trauma. Here are some of the reasons why land and nature spirit allies are essential support for nervous system healing:

• Being connected with local land spirits, living temples and ley lines helps you feel more grounded, resourced and regulated. Your nervous system can “blueprint” off of the Earth grid and currents of energy to create more flow, release stagnation and bring more healthy energy into your system.

• Grounding and connecting into Gaia through local land spirits can help you feel supported and protected, which will make it easier to safely open yourself to feeling and sensitivity. When we’re holding trauma or nervous system activation in our bodies, we often shut down sensation and body/emotional awareness as a safeguard. While this is a temporarily protective mechanism, it’s not healthy long-term. When we feel safe enough to let ourselves feel, we can process and release the feelings.

• When we open ourselves to connect with nature spirits, we often receive wisdom and messages that are helpful for our journeys. If you’re processing heavy emotions and grief, Hawthorn can support you with heart healing. If you’re feeling overwhelmed by the shadow, Owl can help you see clearly in the darkness. If you’re struggling in your relationships, Beaver can help you anchor into family and community while maintaining healthy boundaries. Having strong allyships with nature spirits allows us to ask for support from their wisdom and expertise.

• Land and nature spirits help us move out of overwhelm, paralysis or frenzy, into aligned and sustainable action. If you experience dysregulation as hyperactivity, franticness, mania or you can’t sit still, land and nature spirits will help you slow down to the speed of Earth and regulate yourself to healthy, sustainable cycles of movement. If you experience dysregulation as lethargy, fatigue, paralysis or fear to take action, land and nature spirits will help you create momentum and movement of energy that feels supported and aligned. Land and nature spirits are adaptogenic allies.

• Land and nature spirits help us de-center the Self and connect to the web of life all around us. When we remember the part that we play in the grand symphony of aliveness, it can recontextualize our experience, remind us of our belonging, encourage empathy and compassion, and evoke forgiveness and gratitude.

Do you want to…

• …create a functionally purposeful allyship with Gaia to support your healing journey?

• …work with the powerful energy of local sacred sites and natural temples on the land where you live?

• …receive guidance and support from your nature spirit allies for the purpose of healing and transformation?

• …attune and regulate your nervous system to the healthy, thriving energy grid of Gaia?

Sacred Ecology begins July 26. Register now!

Your Intuitive Birthright

“Wow, you are so intuitive! You must have just been born with that ability.”

I regularly hear some variation of this comment from clients, students or people who get a taste of my work for the first time. My answer usually begins with, “Well, yes and no…”

We are all highly intuitive beings. Each one of us was born with the ability to access this innate knowing.

When you first entered the world as a tiny human, you arrived with no filters in place. You experienced everything as a clear channel. Completely open to all sensory input, you made no distinction between how this information came into your awareness. Touch, emotion, sight, thoughts, taste, energy, sound, vibration… you experienced them all without any preconceived notion of what was “real,” or any hierarchy of some senses being more valid than others.

As you grew older, you started to become aware of how you received information, and maybe felt that you “weren’t normal.” Maybe your family was afraid when you told them that you saw beings that “weren’t there,” or when they found you having conversations with thin air. Maybe your sensitivities were dismissed as invalid, or no one believed you when you shared what you intuitively knew to be true. Maybe you were diagnosed with anxiety, or ADD/ADHD, or some mental health condition. Maybe you were medicated.

You still felt the vibrations and were sensitive to the thoughts and energies of other people, but without the consistent validation from those around you, you began to let this intuitive awareness fade into the background. You built your understanding of the “real world” based on the commonly understood five senses. You allowed yourself to become numb to your intuition.

But these hidden parts of ourselves don’t always stay quiet in the background. Maybe you always knew that this innate sense was still there, waiting to be revealed. Do you find yourself knowing things that you couldn’t possibly know? Are you seeing, feeling and sensing things you can’t otherwise explain?

Is your intuition waking up and demanding that you claim that which has been yours since birth?

Join us for the ongoing Sensory Intuition class series (first class takes place on Sunday, March 26th) and learn tools and techniques to reawaken your innate intuitive abilities. Now is the time to cultivate the knowledge and skill to easily and gracefully access your inner wisdom. There are no prerequisites for this class, and all levels of energetic experience are welcome. Whether this is your first foray into the magic of your intuition, or whether you have been a professional psychic for years, there is something for you in this class series to further grow and refine your abilities. Register now to reserve your space.

Renewing the Practice of Self-Care

Sweaty, sporting a new gaping blister and beginning to feel the stiff prickle of lactic acid in my legs, I arrived home from my intense morning workout to read a text from my man friend that said he had just been offered a ticket to Burning Man. Immediately, I felt a rigidity to rival that of my weary thighs spread across my chest, up through my neck and into my face, forcing my lips into a frown and my brow into a forbidding crease.

Noticing the turmoil of mixed emotions that tore through me upon reading this simple message, I registered with some surprise that, while I was excited for my man friend and happy that this opportunity had fallen into his lap, the hungry feeling that made my chest crawl uncomfortably was none other than envy. Forcing myself to focus on the happiness I felt on his behalf, I texted back a congratulatory message and went about my morning, preparing to see a client. I brushed aside the rising emotional bubble, told myself that I had too much to think about and needed to focus on my work, and what was I envious for, anyway? I hadn’t planned on going to Burning Man this year and I have other projects that take priority.

My man friend and I spoke on the phone a few hours later while I made my way through slow-moving traffic. As I drove past the exit to my old neighborhood and saw the trail where I used to run along the water stretching out into the distance, sharp pangs of longing and loss punctuated the envy that bubbled up like a sour taste from where it slouched, heavy, in my gut. I swallowed it as long as I could and tried to stay fully present with him in his excitement, but when it felt as though I would choke or have to scream and cry, I finally admitted my feelings.

As this confession poured out of the part of me that feels like an ugly, demanding child—the part that I’m reluctant to reveal to anyone, let alone to a new relationship—I heard myself say that I wanted to receive a gift like that, something that would allow me to go on vacation and have someone take care of me and not have to the person who does the caretaking. I heard myself acknowledge that living a life of service is something I love, and that offering healing and holding a container for the well-being of my community is inherent to my role as a Shaman. And yet, in that moment, I wanted nothing more than for someone to acknowledge all of my hard work and struggles and reward my enormous efforts with a trip to Burning Man.

I indulged in a moment of piteous self-assessment as I sat on the highway surrounded by semi-trucks. My eyes burned from staying up too late writing the night before, my legs were stiffening into hard masses and my fresh blister stung with the drop of sweat that rolled down my ankle. I had just completed an energetically draining session with a very challenging client and had several more hours of work to accomplish when I arrived back at my temporary home. I felt my shoulders roll forward in response to the tightness that flashed across my chest and throat and sent sharp tears to prick the corners of my eyes.

Reflecting on this conversation hours later, I know that I will always live a life of service and will continue to offer myself and my work for the well-being of my community. The fact that I had such a strong reaction to my man friend receiving a wonderful gift tells me that I have been severely neglecting my own daily self-care lately. I felt these realizations creep across my brain like gentle friends coming to soothe my grumpy, demanding inner child. I have been pouring so much energy into my work and single-minded focus on my business that I have not nurtured the part of me that loves to have adventures, meet new people and play. Rather than wishing that someone would come rescue me with a vacation to the desert so I can take a break and receive from others, I must offer myself the care I deserve so I can live sustainably from a place of balance and empowered fulfillment of my own needs. I felt my breath slow and deepen, my shoulders softening as I articulated the thought, “I must fill my own energetic cup with nourishing care and joyful experiences in order for me to truly offer myself in service to others.”

Ultimately, I am the source of my own joy. I am my own best resource for happiness. When I find myself wishing that someone would swoop in and offer me those things, I ask myself these questions: What steps do I take to ensure that my energetic cup is full? How can I actively nurture the health of my body, mind, emotions and Spirit? If I feel as though I need validation for my work, how can I acknowledge my own efforts and recognize my amazing achievements?

I commit to renewing my healthy habits of simple, daily self-care to nourish myself on every level: physical, mental, emotional and Spiritual. I commit to honoring the needs of my inner child to ensure her continued health and happiness. I commit to filling my own cup so that I may offer myself to the world from a place of overflowing joy and fulfillment.

Many blessings,

Michelle

Michelle Hawk offers 4 easy ways to practice your daily self-care on every level: physical, mental, emotional and Spiritual. Cultivate your own health and well-being and feel more centered. You are the source of your own joy.