👻We can be afraid...but we can also still be here

the Digest 💌

Nodding and affirming - how about you?

Been saving this evergreen meme and seeing as it's spooky szn thought i'd roll it out in honour of this festive time.

...Not feeling so outwardly festive for it tho to be honest. Perhaps cause there's already so much to contend with in the world + life right now. Who needs more horror amidst horrors? That said, i do appreciate the wisdom of this particular time of year in the northern hemisphere, the descent towards darker days. The furious winds then unexpected brilliant sunshine. It's a chance to turn in, so to speak, wait, does that sound cliche?
I think u know what i mean.
It's a time symbolic of cosy.
Of drawing the curtains.
Tucking myself in.
Heavier blankets (shoutout to other friends self-soothing).
Warm drinks. Candles.You get the gist.
My practice changes from summer to autumn to honour my energy shift. Naturally, there is less light, so we do the best we can with what we've got.
Daytime baths. Earlier to bed. Supporting my system however i can. 

But resistance still rears its head. How about you?

The idea we should be doing and producing to the same level as "before"....i'm not sure what Before means in this context, perhaps it could mean the summer. Or perhaps The Before Days, over 20 months ago...
The tension of feeling exhaustion, possible burnout, etc, but pushing because you don't want to let anyone down, then you realise, you're kind of letting yourself down.

And so, the lessons continue to roll in.
The push-pull of learning to surrender, sometimes.
Or perhaps not learning to surrender, and in fact, doing the opposite - then (deep breath) - ending up crying in the bathroom because you spent hours trying to record a video from your heart but you kept getting interrupted by very loud drilling and scaffolding twangs and furious revvs from outside which made you feel it must be some kind of sign you are not supposed to be doing this not just now but in life because you can't keep doing retakes and retakes and eventually lose your tongue and voice and can't seem to create something that you'd so desperately wanted to do, so then you have a little weep/existential crisis and realise you probably should have had more than 4hrs sleep each night this week/month but it is what it is.
 It is what it is.
We can't control so much of the sh1t that's going on right now.
And to be clear, yes, me having a meltdown whilst trying to make a video 4 my community might seem incredibly flaccid in light of the other wretched horrors going on in the world right now, but in all honesty, i'm using it as one very seemingly mundane example because i don't want to speak even more on bigger things today and trigger someone, when a seemingly small thing might do in order to communicate some some sort of idea-to-chew.

But we can choose compassion.
To honour where we're at, and create conditions to support ourselves through it. And in practice of that, also be able to support others, also with compassion.
Self care as + and community care. 

We're all going through something, individually, collectively....
Issa lot. We know and feel it, perhaps?

✨Honouring all spectrums of our being via this portal in hope you can be here, with yourself, as you are, with whatever might be going on at this time and in turn, i can use my words to meet u there, somehow.✨

We can be afraid...or overwhelmed....but we can also still be here, supporting ourselves as best as we can. Being human. And being human weirdos, together.

All that said, i was planning on keeping this Digest short today after last week's beast of a mail, hope those resources landed and helped u out btw? 

This week, i've added a selection of resources below that i made for spooky szn and beyond. With selections for you to take or leave, some silly/fun, some more practical. 

This includes a new video (hah! not the one i cried about but one i eventually recorded much later that same day!) and it's called Vata Soothing Practice which i hope helps those of you dealing with, um excess wind (!) physically or mentally! 🌬

If you have longer to practice, you might vibe with last week's video called Flow for Shifts and Changes which is a creative movement practice to honour whatever you're riding out, be it the winds of change inside or outside. I hope it can help support you to find *ahem* creative ways to stay close to yourself, whatever the weather. There's a longer restorative closing part for vagus stimulation (helpful for soothing the nervous system!)

Also want to honour it’s not always possible to access the body as a portal so there’s also other ideas for other orifices spaces and places in the resources below! 

Oh finally, i did write an entire other email to you i'd intended to send, all about preparing for the clocks changing in some countries this weekend (including the uk). But to be honest, i think that as wonderful as lists can be (and i love them!), i'm also into rejecting the need for us to do more, particularly in a time where doing less could have a more beneficial impact.

All that to say, if you take one thing away today, practice being with where you're at my friend and trusting in the wisdom of your experience.

You deserve care, attention, and acceptance. You are enough, and this extra hour (lol, is it really tho?!) that some of us get as the clocks go back this weekend, could be an opportunity to dwell in some spaciousness. It doesn't have to symbolise you needing to use it up and "make the most of it" (talking to myself here too bbz!). Perhaps instead this can be an opportunity to dwell in liminal space where the veil is thin and we are ever-in-transition. 

For those still yearning for a list of tools tho, there's so much in the autumn-related stuff i've been sharing over the weeks, and those of you in my Take Care of You: Autumn programme have further resources, ideas, tools + check ins plus the audiobook of course, to use as you feel (choose your own adventure!). 

You are always welcome to come and practice with me in my new portal (embodiment can help lead the way for so many of us to explore the practice of being through experiencing and processing) and there's a free 7-day trial and is it too weird to ask here if you're up for another online retreat? Could that be useful 4u? I've planned some upcoming workshops but is anyone else still distancing out there and interested in this virtual offering? Hit reply and lemme know!

In fact, always feel free to reply to this mail and share your thoughts, ideas or what you're listening to with me. I love to hear from you, and would love to hear what you're doing to take care of yourself this season. 

Pouring my lil heart out here and appreciate you reading this Digest. Two-way connection is still my jam tho, so if u did get this far, give me a sign! I’m also really behind on email due to launches this month so honouring that too and i will (eventually!) get back to you! 

ok. scroll on for the bitz n bobz gifts!

Love, care and tender meadow dwelling
dionne 💜

Ps Patreon fam a huge podcast coming your way shortly! (she's been in the EDITS but it's still an hour long! oh my! hope u enjoy!)

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🌬 Inspiration station - spooky szn 👻 (expect many recommendations of things to watch and explore!)