Rising Rituals: Harnessing Personal Power Despite Feeling Powerless

Here's the truth: we rarely, if ever, want to get out of bed in the morning. With the many places traveled during our unconscious hours, it's difficult to reorient ourselves into the present moment. With the vast number of years where waking up involved crippling anxiety, depression, and dissociation after intense battles with night terrors or insomnia, our body-brain system has unconsciously learned to dread new mornings. With so many intensive years of traumatic events and living with chronic traumatic-stress, each new day can easily feel like a brand new threat. So our brain requests more rest: back to bed, slip into slumber, ignore the new day; maybe it will go away and we won't have to face it. But we've recognized that this is not our authentic self: it's just an unconscious program, energy coursing through our brain's neuropathways, that needs healing and rewiring. So we stick with our daily rituals. We get up and dive into nature. We walk. We chant. We speak affirmations. We hug ourselves. We hug a tree. We practice mindfulness. We meditate. We breathe deeply. Then we breathe deeper. Maybe we cry. We practice dual awareness. Maybe we stick our hands in some dirt. We ignore the coldness. We breathe through the discomfort. We extend compassion to the critical voices within while refusing to agree with their messages. We sungaze. We shadow dance. We use bilateral Body Movements. We breathe some more. We always have power. We have power in our choices. In our thoughts and the way we respond. In the feelings we decide to give in to. In our intentions and self-direction. In our awareness. In our breath. We have power through our presence and self-compassion. Through our peace and soulful stillness.

Through our patience and self-grace. Through our perspective and willingness to explore fresh viewpoints.

Through our playfulness and inner-child-nurturing. Through our potential and the possibilities we have not yet experienced.

Through our pride in who we are and what we're worth. Through our practice and the way we exert healing efforts even with our beautiful imperfections.

Through our perseverance and decision to show up even when it's extremely challenging to do so. Through our planting seeds and the way we internally direct our energy moment by unfolding moment. These ten attributes of personal power can guide us even when we FEEL powerless. The reality is we ALWAYS have POWER, despite the thoughts, feelings, and experiences that try to convince us otherwise. Daily rituals can sustain our wellbeing through even the darkest of challenges. Creating practices that bring us deeper into self-presence can transform us from the inside-out and create BEAUTY within the everyday healing journey of life even when life feels extremely dark. Keep showing up. You have more power than you know.🌼