Baby, it's just a phase!

 

This year has been crazy intense, would you agree? Being a leader of a large team in the grocery industry, bringing food to the neighborhoods where we live and work is what we’re all about. We have to show up or people don’t eat. Even our curb side pick-up, which has grown by leaps and bounds, is not staffed by magical Covid-averse fairies filling those grocery orders. It’s brave, innovative, and incredibly resilient human beings showing up every day for our communities. 

 

The intensity on my end means being a part of keeping our teams safe which carries with it both a great responsibility and, on many days these past seven months, a tremendous weight. 

 

Since March, with a deep devotion to my daily practices and continuing more than ever to live cyclically, I was feeling pretty unscathed by it all, kind of invincible, quite honestly.  And then, last Friday, on my birthday, no less, I hit the wall. 

 

Let me play this out for you as if you were watching a movie of my life. I know you’ve been here before, and I know you and I will be here again, so it’s worth a review for next time. I was planning to take a week off to spend time with my Beloved Partner, my dogs, and nature, things that always bring me healing and deep peace. I wasn’t quite sure I could pull it off with the long list of “to-dos” both on paper and in my head, though. 

 

I had something like 3 or 4 meetings within the course of a few hours, a team member who was recovering from Covid-19 reentering the work force, team members who were out awaiting results of either their or their family member’s Covid-19 tests, and the regular “stuff” of day-to-day operations in my department like a new conversion with our 401K Plan. With all of that going on, my password to the site from which I do much of my work needed to be changed, so I spent forty-five minutes that I didn’t have on the phone with my IT Guy. Thank goddess for this guy, by the way! This isn’t your first rodeo in the world of feeling overwhelm, so I know you can relate completely with how my mind was ping-ponging all over the place. 

 

I remember sitting at my desk that morning and being totally unaware that hours had passed, it was my birthday, I had barely stopped to go to the bathroom, and it was then I realized I had a Teams Meeting. I picked up my phone, and I kid you not, I could not remember how to use my phone. I just sort of went blank as I stared at the screen. 

 

I could literally hear my Inner Wise Woman say, “You’ve got to slow down, Love. You’re in the danger zone. You haven’t taken time off since April, and even then, it wasn’t a full on, vacation as you were still checking e-mail and texting with your team. You need to take next week off and shut it all down.” 

 

Dear Ones, if there’s one thing I’ve learned working with my Inner Wise Woman it’s that when she speaks, I MUST listen. I’ve cultivated a deep and abiding relationship with her over the years, and I knew the power of those words. I took a deep breath and put out the e-mail to my team. This time, I wasn’t going to be “available for questions and support” because every person on my team is so completely competent, they can operate fully without me.  So I let that ego trip go pretty quickly. I closed my computer Friday, on my birthday, and met with a few Sacred Sisters on Zoom who witnessed my overwhelm. I expressed to their open hearts and caring faces how I just couldn’t understand with the daily practices and devotion to living cyclically how I ended up in a place of overwhelm. My Inner Mean Girl, was working overtime! “I mean isn’t that why I do this? I’m a spiritual guide for others, how can I effectively guide other women if I let myself go into overwhelm?”  They deeply listened and did not offer advice, but instead offered their love and their empty presence as I explained what was coming up for me. They gave me the gift of presence, and this helped me to slow everything down and get in touch with my Inner Wisdom.

 

Inner Wisdom always says things with love. She can be incredibly direct, yet always with love, not condemnation. What I felt after that call with my Sisters was deeply loved, seen, and heard. The deeper truth that came up from that conversation was, “Of course overwhelm will creep in. Love, look at what you’ve experienced since March. You’ve been in an all-out intensity, and we’re not meant to be in that level of intensity month after month. You need some freedom, Sweetie. This doesn’t make you less of a guide or leader, and in fact, it makes you deeply and profoundly guided and fully engaged in the human experience, which is why you’re here.”  With that, I felt like I could exhale and let it all go.

 

After the call, my partner and love of my life picked up dinner and yummy dessert for me, and even sang a solo Happy Birthday to me. I can always count on this man to make me feel like a Queen. He, too, supported me and my decision to take a big break the following week.  I was beginning to feel a sense of freedom, of being liberated by my own self-imposed expectations brought on by our culture of non-stop doing. 

 

As I fell asleep that evening, I felt gratitude in my heart for Half Moon Waning, the time when I make a mindful effort to begin to slow everything down. It’s the time to tie up loose ends, and begin to go within. 

 

Riding on a moonbeam with you, La Luna reaches Her fullness Thursday at 5:51PM Pacific.
Time to celebrate, illuminate, and expand!

The “Living Question” that so many of my Dear Friends and Clients ask me regularly is, “How can I best align with the energy of the Full Moon to make a difference in my life and really affect my intentions?” 

Oh, how I love it when you ask these questions that are grounded in daily living because they ultimately bring me from the cosmos right back down to where I choose to be: Right here, right now, here with you! 

Using ancient moon cycle wisdom to enhance our daily lives here on earth is my one of my life’s passions, so let’s draw down the moon to illuminate and expand on this Full Moon Energy, shall we?

This is the time in the Lunar Cycle where we allow the moon to shine on our deepest intentions and yearnings for this month so that we see with what I like to call Spirit Eyes and hear with Spirit Ears what we might otherwise miss. Think of the full moon (Her) these next few days as a Giant Flashlight bringing crystal clarity to what it is you are creating this cycle and what “next steps” will best serve you.

“Next steps” can be tricky sometimes, would you agree? At times, I find myself overwhelmed with the next logical step towards my intention, and this is when I call on Divine Intervention through Symbols. Symbols help me rise above the mundane and move me to a place where I’m showing up in ways I didn’t think was possible. Symbols get me out of my head and interrupt patterns where I feel like my wheels get stuck in the mud and I’m not moving forward.

I use symbols to move me from phase to phase in the Lunar Cycle and interestingly, as I practice this, I find myself moving from phase to phase in my life with much more grace and ease than when I was “on the treadmill” of uninspired doing that was imprinted on me by our culture of “busy-ness.” Symbols get me out of my busy mind that runs like the ticker tape on the bottom of the news screen and into my body and spirit, and for this Virgo, that’s been my saving grace.

I’m going to open up and share with you a symbol that’s really been meaningful for me lately. Illuminated Wings. Really? That’s it? Let me explain. I imagine myself standing on a precipice in gorgeous Sabino Canyon here in Tucson. Growing out of my shoulder blades are the most beautiful wings I’ve ever seen with the Full Moon in all Her glory shining above me. She shines the light on my deepest yearnings bringing clarity around what my next steps are, and then I hear the whooshing sound of my wings expand. Next, I allow the feeling in my body of “lift off.”

Now, I’m really being vulnerable here by telling you this, and it may sound a little nutty, but I actually raise my arms first to a T and then over my head and back to a T so I can feel in my body the expansion as I drop my shoulders and open my heart wide. This feeling of expansion and open-hearted fluidity brings me to the place where I’m ready to dive more deeply into my yearnings and unleash my feminine power in order to affect change in my life.

I’m practicing embodiment here, and I’d love to invite you into this with me! We have got to start climbing out of our heads more often and feeling into our bodies. Allow La Luna to inspire you to do this during each phase! In fact, let’s commit to coming up with our own symbol for each phase of the moon. It’ll be like we’re creating our very own Oracle Deck!

I invite you to use my symbol or better yet, to allow your own symbol that represents your expansion in this full moon to come to the surface (we don’t reach for symbols, they come to us when we slow down and become aware of our surroundings). Take a walk outside and stand in the fullness of the moon these next few days and allow your symbol to emerge. Close your eyes, bring your hand to your heart, and breathe into this symbol as you see yourself expanding. 

“Next steps” will come to you as you practice this simple and powerful way of Being. You will begin to see with Spirit Eyes and hear with Spirit Ears what you would otherwise have missed because you are intently showing up for yourself, slowing down, asking the question, and making yourself available for your Inner Wise Woman and La Luna to light the way to “your next steps.”

Remember Dear One, no matter what is going on, whether circumstances are up or down, light or dark, what you “want” or not, just like our beautiful moon shifts and changes in form and intensity, so do our lives. Baby, it’s just a phase.

Riding on a moonbeam with you, La Luna has reached Half Moon Waxing Friday at 12:09 AM Pacific. During this time all the way up until we reach full moon next week, here is our opportunity to ride Her coattails and be in the energy of what I like to call “Laser Focus with Empowered Action.” 

Since the New Moon last week, I’ve been allowing my intentions for this lunar cycle to emerge and getting to the heart of what really matters for me this month. What do I want to give in terms of my work in the world, what relationships do I want to focus on, and what’s really important in terms of my home and finances?  

Giving my energy to these areas is awesome and it empowers me to live a fuller life, however, I’ve also learned the hard way that I need to be in a place of receiving, as well. For example, what do I want to receive this month from my partner? I’ve also been asking myself what does my body need to receive this month? In my case it’s massage as I’ve been dealing with a “Frozen Shoulder” for a couple of months. Finally, allowing myself to name what I need to really nourish my soul this month. Nourishing my soul may also actually give me guidance on that frozen shoulder, too. It’s all connected!

Half Moon Waxing is where we start moving from the watery dreaming time of sensing into our intentions to a time of more grounded focus and creation around what is important to us. We’re headed from feeling into form now. This is where the masculine energy of doing meets the feminine energy of flowing. 

As we move from the energy of Being to the energy of Doing, I’d love to give you a practical example in my own life. I love to write to you about what I’m experiencing in my life now so that you can see how practical and helpful it is to align with the cycles of the moon. There’s lots of “stuff” written out there about the moon cycles, but my question is always, “Yeah, that’s great, but how does cyclical living enhance my life?” So, here’s my current situation and how I’m using this cycle to assist the quality of my daily living.

Recently, my Beloved and I have decided to move. He’s retiring from over 3 decades of public service, and we’re moving from the lovely and rugged Sonoran Desert to the lush and watery area of Washington Wine Country.

We all know how much there is to “do” when it comes to moving. The “to do” list seems endless and it’s so easy to get overwhelmed with completing everything in one place and preparing for the next. So after being in a time of dreaming into what I want to create this month, I’m moving into “getting sh!t done” mode. 

Half Moon Waxing time is the perfect opportunity to “get ‘er done” and start checking off that list. I’m working on all those fun things like contacting the utility companies from internet to garbage and wrapping up all my tax stuff for my accountant (even more fun). Then there’s the best job of all, packing…and even before that there’s the sorting and asking, “what to take and what to leave?”

A top priority for me, too, is scheduling final outings with my Beloved Friends here and holding my last monthly Women’s Circle, which has been one of the loves of my life. Wow! There’s a lot to do, so that’s why I need to focus and set up structures that will support me. 

All of this takes an incredible amount of time and planning, so this is the week during the cycle when I get focused on what I want to create, which is a very smooth move done with as much grace and ease as possible, and I begin creating it right here and right now.

Another practice I have during Half Moon Waxing is to look around me and notice what has been draining my energy, what is distracting me, and what might need to be put aside to focus on at another time.

 I’m more mindful this week of the time I spend numbing out on Facebook or watching TV as this can be a huge distraction for me. This weekend, in fact, I’m doing a Facebook Fast where from sundown this evening to sundown Sunday evening I am completely off Social Media. 

While I love all the cool ways we connect through Social Media, an hour can go by and I’m sucked down the rabbit hole taking surveys on what Shakespearean character I most resemble. (One or all three of The Weird Sisters from Macbeth, in case you’re wondering.) I can’t very well get important sh!t done if I’m once again yanked in to the FB Vortex all the while chanting “Double, double toil and trouble,” right? 

This is the time to set up the structures that will be of service to my intentions this month while I release distractions and ways of being that seem to be keeping my wheels spinning. 

Our mantra for this week is “I focus. I create.” (Arylo, 2017) Even spending time with that mantra in short daily meditations gets my brain, body, and spirit in forward motion. 

Keep in mind that whatever you’ve set aside for later you can pick back up again, if it serves you. But for now, support yourself by giving yourself everything you need to focus and create. Riding the energies of this Half Moon Waxing, remember, as always…Baby, it’s just a phase. 

Riding on a moonbeam with you, Grandmother Moon moves to Waning Half on Wednesday at 7:54 AM Pacific Time.  Much attention is given to the New and the Full Moon, however, these half-time phases of waxing and waning carry their own unique energy, and I love to ride the coattails of this one, especially.

Half-Moon Waning, as the moon begins her descent into darkness, is a time to begin to slow down and simplify our lives. I actually imagine myself sort of climbing a ladder from my head to my heart, one rung-at-a-time asking, “What is the wisdom that is emerging right now?”

I’ve been taught to think of this time as “Wise Woman Moon” (Christine Arylo, 2017) and to be in a place of “knowing” that wisdom is available to those of us who are willing to slow down enough to actually take it in. 

Mmmm…slowing down. There is a certain deliciousness in slowing down during this phase that I would not have understood a few years ago. Immersed in the endless cycle of “doing,” it seemed there was no time for slowing down, and there was even this thought in my head that, “Slowing down is for babies, let’s go Sister, you’ve got checkmarks to make on that to-do list.”

Constantly being on the “doing treadmill” gave me a sense of control, I thought. The truth is the mindset of nonstop doing, producing, and pushing resulted in this low-grade hum in my brain that was like the song you hear in the morning that repeats in your head the rest of the day and drives you nuts. This “hum” kind of simmered in me day and night and carried the message of, “You’re not enough, so you’ve got to keep going, and if you stop, you’ll get behind. You need to keep up. You need to keep going.”

Today, after some pretty amazing teachers and personal practices, I can look back and ask myself with amusement, “What or whom was I going to get behind?”  What does that even mean? Who and what am I trying to keep up with? Why? Does all this “keeping up” bring me Joy? Hell no!

What was my “Hell yes” going to be, though? Whether it was motherhood, career, finances, home, or relationships, I felt as if I had to “be on top of it all” or I would be buried by it all. Sound familiar? 

Take heart, Beloveds. There are many other approaches to living a life of bliss, and even in the chaos, we can be in a state of Joy. One such approach is aligning our lives with the cycles of the Earth and Cosmos, especially, our Grandmother Moon. Whether you’re a woman who still bleeds or not, we understand cycles. We’re cyclical creatures by nature as we have ebbed and flowed just like she does. This realization was it! That was my “Hell Yes!”

When I began to align my life with the moon cycles, I found that I was benefiting from allowing myself to ebb and flow, to not only do, but be, and to sense into the yin and yang of each month. My anxiety levels began to drop, I felt better physically and emotionally. The spiritual shift in my Being was deeply fulfilling. I came to the realization that I am responsible for choosing how I’m going to show up in my life in each phase.

During this phase I choose to align with nature, and I allow myself to “move forward by going inward.” (Christine Arylo, Feminine Super Power Year, 2017) I find that I don’t have to seek outside myself for what the simple path ahead is. I don’t need the permission of others to do what my Inner Wise Woman is calling me to do. I’m at peace with my decisions as I refrain from past approval seeking behaviors that have kept me stuck with my wheels spinning. 

I write this blog to remind myself of the cyclical life I’m committed to and to offer you practical ways to “get off the treadmill” this culture has us running on. Step into the journey of your life, your yearnings, and your dreams. This is YOUR life, and this is full permission to step into the goodness and richness that is available to you by tuning into your Inner Wise Woman. 

I invite you right in this moment to take your hand to your heart, breathe a few nice slow inhales and exhales, and ask your Inner Wise Woman, “What is the Wisdom that is coming through right now?” Then wait. Allow. Be silent. She will emerge. It may take some time, perhaps even a few days, especially if you haven’t had a conversation with Her in a while. Give it spaciousness, Beloved. That’s what this phase is all about. 

Please remember that wherever you are right now, whether times are “good” or times are “tough” you can count on La Luna to be there in the sky, ever changing and shifting just like the circumstances of our lives. That’s why no matter what is going on in my life, I tell myself, “Baby, it’s just a phase.”

Riding on a moonbeam with you, what an honor it is to be here with you today for the launch of my web site. If you’ve been following my posts on the moon cycles, together, we’ve grown in our Wise Woman Wisdom of aligning our daily lives with the cycles of the moon.

If you’re just joining us, Dear Goddesses, welcome to this Sacred Space where we gather once a week to reflect on the moon phase we’re in and how we can actually choose to ride the energy of each phase and use it to enhance our lives as powerful woman leaders in our homes, communities, and businesses.

If you are a woman with a vision, whether that be for your partnership, your family, your community, or your work in the world, you’ve just stepped into a warm and welcoming space where we very practically observe the phases of the moon to feed our bodies and our spirits. 

As women, we know the power and wonder of our own monthly cycles, and there’s something within us that has awakened and remembers a time when we lived in community and tribes and we were deeply connected to the earth and the cosmos for our very survival. This deep relationship with earth and sky was like our compass in terms of when to plant, cultivate, reap, and harvest our crops and live in harmony with the land. 

This rhythm has been lost on what many women have described to me as “the treadmill of my life” where they feel as though they never get to stop “doing” long enough to just Be who they are. A number of the amazing women I work with described their lives as one endless “to do” list, so there’s no time to pause, rest, and reflect on what really matters. If this sounds familiar, you are not alone. 

Over the past 25 years I’ve been practicing stepping off the “crazy train” of non-stop doing and into a reality where I intentionally choose when to dream and vision, when to move into “divine action” and act on those dreams, when to celebrate and expand even further into what I deeply desire, and when to come into a time of rest and “harvest” where I quiet my activity and take time for myself so that I can refuel. I do all of this in the course of each month using the wisdom of each phase of the moon. 

It has taken me this long, some very amazing teachers, and having my own breakdowns and breakthroughs to come to a place in my life where I can truly feel the wisdom in my body and spirit and practice it daily. 

Today, I’m launching my work into the world in a more visible way so that hopefully I’m able to bring some nuggets of wisdom to you so it won’t take you a quarter of a century to learn this wisdom. I took the long way, that’s for sure, yet I have no regrets. I needed to have the experience so I could be an authentic guide for other women who are interested in exploring this extraordinary way of living.

Just think of me as a woman who walks right next to you holding a lantern on the path that illuminates your way.  Your own Inner Authority will guide you every step of this journey toward what’s most important to you, and I’ll hold the lantern so you can see down the path. 

We’re a tribe of Goddesses who yearn to live and thrive unapologetically in all our glorious femininity. We are here to shine like the gorgeous full moon I’m looking at this evening as the clock strikes midnight and the moon shines brightly in my window.

Until next week, keep in mind that whatever you’re experiencing, especially the breakdowns and even those awesome breakthroughs, Baby, it’s just a phase.