Folks, the Summer is coming to an end.
The Fall Equinox in the Northern Hemisphere falls on September 23rd and many people find the seasonal shift from warm to cooler weather to be very challenging. Days are shorter, flowers and trees lose their colorful vibrancy and you need to start piling on more layers. This change of season is a bummer right? Not necessarily.
Change can be a wonderful thing even if it’s uncomfortable.
This recurring theme has been a hot topic for myself and many of my clients recently. You just lost your job. You had to relocate with little warning. Your childhood pet passes away. Circumstances you can’t control arise that create fear within you. All change agents.
How can we take comfort in the discomfort of change?
I know, your impulse is to run the other way when things get tough. Who the heck wants to feel challenged, annoyed, icky? But here’s the thing.
Discomfort is the key to transformation. It’s like water for plants or basil for pesto. (I love food almost as much as I love Feng Shui).
The key to true transformation is to stay in the discomfort.
I know it sounds counter-intuitive but when they say the only way through something is “through” something, it’s the truth. Being in your discomfort is not an easy place to be but it’s inarguably the only way. Once you embrace it, beautiful transformation will greet you in its arms on the other side.
Here are some Feng Shui tips to practice while you are staying in your discomfort:
1) Musical vibration – Everyday for 9 days – in Feng Shui, 9 is a very auspicious number – play your favorite song, artist, mantra. The healing energy of sound is very profound. And all you have to do is listen. Currently, this is my favorite mantra promoting love and tenderness (translation here). Self-love is the biggest healer of all.
2) Get to know yourself – When life circumstances challenge us, Feng Shui recommends activating your Knowledge/Self-Knowledge section of your home since usually the best way to help a situation is looking at what’s going on inside. We cannot control our outer circumstances and in any case, 99.9% of the time, the answers are within us. Put helpful books you are reading here, light a candle with the intention of getting inner guidance, or place a plant to represent growth. And if this area is cluttered, clear it out!
3) Find the Silence – Oy, the world has become such a noisy place. Hours after we turn off our smartphones, computers, gadgets (do they actually turn off?), we can still hear the humming of the electrical currents. Be sure to not have any of these gadgets in your bedroom during this time of transformation as it can deplete our already challenged energy levels. Take it one step further – sit twice a day, 10 minutes in the morning and 10 minutes before you go to bed, in silence. Close your eyes and connect to your inner healer. Look inside, not out. And pul-ease, don’t use your smartphone to time yourself.
4) Find your support – There must always be a balance. After you come out of silence, seek out friends, family or professionals who can support you in your transformational process. You are not alone and will soon realize you are not the only one going through discomfort. Sharing your story with others will not only help you, but those around you. Open your heart and allow comfort to find its way in.
5) Gratitude – When we are in that place where everything seems bleak, it feels impossible that things will ever get better. But it will. When you’re in that dark place, my experience is the more gratitude you show for what you already have, the faster and greater the transformation process. Recite what you are grateful for everyday or keep a gratitude journal.
Use this seasonal transformation as a beautiful example to what is possible. Winter may be long and dreary but remember what Spring brings forth. Adopt this message. Embrace discomfort because it’s the precursor to huge change. You can do it. I’ve got your back.
