Eight months ago I moved from Brooklyn, New York to Palm Beach Gardens, Florida after 11 years in NYC. From the moment I arrived here, I have been experiencing a profound shedding of old beliefs and a calling to step even more into my purpose. Though I’m still deeply in the midst of my healing journey — receiving bi-monthly treatments for my immune system and weekly acupuncture to heal the facial paralysis from Ramsay Hunt Syndrome — I still have held onto my faith, my purpose, an unwavering trust in this journey, and my prayer for clarity.
Change can be deeply uncomfortable for most of us. It suggests the unknown, potential hardship, and a lack of control. It can be helpful to reframe "change" as transformation — the age-old metaphor being the caterpillar becoming the butterfly. This to me is the journey of healing, over and over again. If we can learn not just to accept but expect these uncomfortable phases of change in our lives and know that in the midst of the deepest discomforts, it's not the end we're facing, but a transformation we experience as we blossom into our highest self.
“Your life will be transformed when you make peace with your shadow. The caterpillar will become a breathtakingly beautiful butterfly. You will no longer have to pretend to be someone you're not. You will no longer have to prove you're good enough. When you embrace your shadow you will no longer have to live in fear. Find the gifts of your shadow and you will finally revel in all the glory of your true self. Then you will have the freedom to create the life you have always desired.” ― Debbie Ford
Healing is often messy and uncomfortable, too. It shines a light on our darkness, but it's on the other side of these experiences that we reach our potential, coming into alignment with our highest selves: the person we came to this Earth to be. During these moments of unease, uncertainty, or discomfort, be it physical or mental, we are moving through transformation. I want to remind you to keep showing up for yourself in these moments — ask for support and trust that you will get to the other side. You were chosen to be on a healing journey for all the lessons you're being called to learn through this transformation. Stay open to the process.
In the upcoming weeks, the clarity I have been experiencing will take shape into my newest offering and I can’t wait to share it with you. Throughout this time I have been reminded once again of the importance of accountability while healing, prioritizing our well-being, and making sure you and those around you hold you to that in whatever way is most supportive for you. This newest offering reflects the power of community and accountability as we heal. Stay tuned for more details or join my email list to be notified.
Supportive Tools When Moving Through Transformation:
Asking For Support
What are some tools that are beneficial to transformation and healing? The reality of transformation and healing is that we can't do either alone. Through my more than 11 years on this path, the support I need has only increased as I continue to come into alignment with my purpose, uplevel, and go even deeper into this work. Within my upcoming healing courses (join my email list be updated when access will be available), one of the first exercises I take participants through is creating their healing support team. Look at the areas of your life in which you need support — relationships, accountability, business, self-care — it's vitally important we ask for the support we need and are proactive in receiving that support. We do much of the inner work on our own, but we heal in community.
The Akashic Records
Second are the Akashic Records. The Records have been the most potent tool for receiving clarity on the questions I have. They can provide answers to you and your life's path as you connect with your Masters, Teachers, and Loved Ones. The ability to access the Records allows your Soul to focus on its true journey, far beyond illness or trauma, as they are an infinite source of love and light. You can sign up for a reading here.
Creating Space
The next tool for transformation is creating space. We are all deeply intuitive, but the way to connect with those answers is through creating space in our lives. It takes intention to create this space, whether that is in 5-10 minute increments or for a few hours. Start small, and use this time to just BE. For me, sometimes this is spending time in nature, in meditation, listening to music, laying out and watching the clouds go by, taking a bath, going for a walk, or my newest hobby, bike riding. Find what will be most supportive for you, creating this space to allow your nervous system to decompress and with no expectations but to take care of yourself.
Grounding
Having grounding practices you can return to is also supportive throughout transformation and healing. When we are grounded, we feel centered within ourselves mentally, physically, emotionally, and spiritually. Even if we're in a time of transition or growth and it is uncomfortable, we can still come back to our center and our connection with the Earth. If we are ungrounded, we might feel unfocused or easily distracted, like we're floating outside of our bodies.
Grounding happens naturally when any part of our body is in direct contact with the Earth’s surface: walking barefoot on the grass, swimming in the ocean, or gardening with our hands. We can also ground through balancing our root chakra, doing grounding guided meditations, visualizing roots coming out of our body and reaching into the Earth, following our breath, and through the five senses grounding technique naming five things you see, four things you feel, three things you hear, two things you smell, and one thing you taste. My favorite way to practice grounding is through walking barefoot in the grass or being in the ocean. If those options are unavailable to me, I practice a grounding guided meditation to bring my energy back into my heart space.
The Power Of Patience
Lastly and most importantly, as you transform and heal, have patience with yourself. Over the past year, I've taken a lot of time off of social media to allow myself to move through these transformations with space and the ability to be present. It hasn’t always been easy, as society dictates always being “on,” and there have been times when I looked around at my peers and old stories regarding being “behind” or “not showing up enough” would confront me. It has been in these moments I showed myself compassion, witnessed the stories, and allowed them to pass through. Transformation and clarity cannot be rushed, and for me, spending too much time online and on my phone is the number one way I lose the connection to myself and my intuition. If you're feeling called and are able to, I can’t recommend it enough: take time off of social media and go offline to give yourself the space to connect back to your heart. I am looking forward to returning to posting as a way to connect and with strong, supportive boundaries in place.
My final thought on transformation as it pertains to healing is just that: it's a transformation. There is no going "back to normal." It's something that has been on my mind of late, as I turned 30 this year and have been reflecting back on spending my entire 20s in a hospital and in doctor's offices. In many ways, this birthday opened up this grieving process for what my health has taken from me, while also being grateful for all that it has given me — and it has given me SO much.
I think when you're on a healing journey and moving through these types of transformations, it's a new way of being — a higher calling, if you will. I have allowed myself to move through this grieving process while also considering how I can support myself in living life to the fullest right now, just as I am, health difficulties and all.
Transformation is a matter of perspective, a mindset. Can we accept that this is our path in this lifetime and find ways to make the most of it, or will we allow it to cause us more suffering? I believe that with the support system and tools, we can create a new vision for our life and step into that vision, wherever we may be on this journey.
