Collective Mirroring in Our Current Times: As Above, So Below
In the current climate, which feels mired in chaos, division, and polarity, many people are experiencing their own personal crises, as well. I know this, as I work as an occupational therapist with children (focusing on nervous system regulation) as well as adults (focusing on energetic work, nervous system balancing, and coaching). All of my clients are experiencing some level of distress.
Many people feel incredibly ungrounded in these times. The world as we have known it is no longer operating in familiar ways that feel predictable; we are in an unprecedented shift collectively. I happen to hold the belief that this great upheaval and change is actually a (painful) birthing process that is ushering in a new way of being, as the old way/structure/form is no longer sustainable. I say this both cautiously and respectfully to marginalized people and communities. I am in no way ignoring the acute pain point for many many people during these radical times. I stand firmly in my standpoint that we must rise together. I look to the quote by Fannie Lou Hamer, civil rights leader, “Nobody’s free until everybody’s free.”
And as these major events are occurring on a national and global scale, many people are being called into their own trauma; their own work now. This is just as important as boots to the ground action. This quiet, inner work is a radical act. I believe that as energetic beings, we all hold a specific frequency. Healing our wounds helps us to raise our frequency (often stated as vibration) through facing our demons head on. Leaning into our discomfort. Allowing the feelings to express as they need to, to process what needs to be processed. Finally ending a generational pattern that has persisted through our bloodline. And there is no rushing this process. As we do this for ourselves, we do it for humanity (yes!) by lightening the collective load of pain and trauma.
I can recommend this as I have embarked on my own healing journey quite intensely since I “woke up” in 2007. It has taken twists and turns, and I’ve explored and navigated deep and dark corners. I’ll continue to do this work while I’m alive. I have learned that through facing my own demons head on, I’m no longer afraid of the dark, no longer afraid of my shadow, and no longer afraid of challenging emotions. I am here for all of it. The surprising secret of this work (at least this has been true for me), is that as your willingness to plunge into the depths of your own pain has you hitting the bottom—-it also reverberates you in the other direction, you create a much more expansive container to hold that much more joy, elevation, and levity. I truly feel that my willingness to “go there” has served me to expand my reality to hold that much more peace, joy, and love. Not to mention compassion for all humans.
Reflecting back to our collective experience in the current climate, perhaps the way we have been personally healing has not served us, or we haven’t yet reached the core wound. Perhaps it’s time for us to dig a little deeper. Allow this collective mirroring from planetary to individual crisis to create an opening for something deeper.
If you feel called to pursue deep healing, please make sure that you have support around you: a therapist, counselor, a grief specialist. Have supportive practices in place such as being in nature, journaling, taking breaks when you can, unplugging. Know that to truly heal, we must not be afraid to look at ourselves. I hold fast to a vision where we can collectively and individually confront all of our darkness and light, and be in awe of how truly amazing we are as it’s reflected back to us.
