Returning to our anchors
Coming back to ritual and rhythm
We talk a lot here at the Academy about letting go of ‘shoulds’, of rules that don’t suit, and of the unhelpful stories we tell ourselves. This process of shedding and discarding can be incredibly powerful, but it isn’t a quick fix or instant cure, and even when you’ve been doing this work for many years, it can still be a struggle when these thoughts and beliefs return.
Here’s an example. Throughout winter, I (Eleanor) kept up a daily sacred practice that included using my planner, sometimes pulling an oracle card, often listening to music, and getting up a little earlier to make space for all this. I also spent time journalling each new and full moon, and at the Wheel of the Year festivals. None of this took a huge amount of time, but it felt grounding, intentional, purposeful.
Then in mid January life got a bit hectic, and various health issues flared up, and I didn’t want to do any of it - suddenly I had lost my anchors, and my immediate response was: I feel guilty. As someone who likes to ‘walk the talk’, I was ashamed that I couldn’t (and didn’t want to) keep these practices going, despite the logical part of my brain knowing that it was ok to pause, rest, and return when I felt ready and able.
So I continued to reassure myself, trusting (most of the time) that this was the process, that I wasn’t failing at being ‘wild’ if I didn’t follow the once-nourishing rhythm I’d carved out. A metaphor I often turn to is that of the inhale-exhale, and while winter had been an inhale to honour and stay true to purpose and vision, I needed to exhale for a moment, to catch my breath and reassess if these anchors were still giving me what I needed.
And now, a few weeks later, I find myself edging out of this phase of intensity, instinctively feeling drawn to get my journal back out, change up my lunar altar with the new moon, and begin again.
Podcast episodes that might help if this post resonates:
Trust
In this week’s episode we chat about trust, and what we need to be able to cultivate a sense of trust in self, in others, and in our future.
Sacred
In this week’s episode we explore different views of what it means to be sacred, and consider what living a sacred life might look and feel like.
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I need to learn this again and again. I'm starting to accept that I ebb and flow. Rather than being shocked every time the ebb happens. It's a slow process of learning and unlearning. And it's hard to see the progress sometimes but even being able to notice this now is progress.