Mercury Retrograde Survival Guide: There's Nowhere To Run To, Baby
There's Nowhere To Run To, Baby:
Mercury Retrograde Survival Guide
Mercury RX July 7th - 31st, 2019
For this Mercury Retrograde, I've decided to do something truly radical. I am going against my egoic instincts of determined non-stop work ethic and the instant gratification and pleasure-seeking that follows in my normal routine. I am slowing down BIG TIME. I am sitting with the discomfort of the unknown and playing the waiting game on what is coming next.
I am politely declining most everything my human self is conditioned to want NOW and instead, I am doing some serious reviewing, replenishing, refueling, and especially reparenting. Even though I don't want it, this tough self-love will eventually help me be more at ease with the ups and downs of life.
What's Mercury Got To Do With It?
Mercury deals with most everything that moves. When I visualize all of the things that Mercury connects to, I see cars, traffic jams, stop signs, planes, people riding bikes and motorcycles. I see words dancing out of mouths and thoughts swirling through brains. Mercury is everything and anything that moves through the air; communication, technology, emails, text messages, research, documents, leases, wills, writing, reading, and travel in its many forms. When Mercury is not retrograde, the movement is forward and free and fast. In fact, Mercury is ruled by the constellation of Gemini which is known for being talkative, curious and quick thinking (all characterized by the air element).
Imagine that when Mercury is retrograde, it is slowing down and shifting its path in an opposite direction to earth (it is not actually moving backward. It only appears to be from our vantage point on earth.) During a retrograde, life can feel like it's spinning sideways or backward or upside down.
Everything Mercury rules can feel scrambled and confusing, but let's face it, we are never really in control of our external world. Life never goes exactly the way we want it to.
More than anything, Mercury RX can be a light that shines on our perception. This can be slightly uncomfortable, but it is an awakening nonetheless, as to how we deal with life when it doesn't go according to plan.
Mercury RX is a great time to check your reactivity and ability to accept your current circumstances.
This jumbling of our normal flow actually offers us an opportunity to slow down and even be in stillness with ourselves. Life moves so quickly that it may feel impossible to be present with not only what is happening in our external day-to-day lives, but also (and especially) with what is bubbling beneath the surface of our consciousness.
When you slow down...I mean realllllyyyy sllowwwww dowwwnnnn.....you are able to access parts of yourself (and your emotions) that have been begging for attention, validation, and healing.
One of the things I am currently working on is slowing down and connecting to my physical body while sitting in traffic. Gross. Sounds horrible, right? Being stuck in my car is a great way to practice sitting in the discomfort of surrender and knowing I have the power to change the channel of perception. Unfortunately, I cannot drive my car over all the other cars as I would like to, but I can shift my awareness. I can literally change the channel on the radio and start my own private dance party or I can huff and puff and pout about what I cannot control.
When you redirect your thinking to feeling your physical body, you allow your inner awareness to surface and if you are willing to do the work of stillness, you just might discover hidden keys of awareness that will unlock the next step on your journey.
This Mercury retrograde, I have chosen to do about half of what I do on a normal day.... every day (insert crying emoji here). I am writing less, talking less, creating less, learning less, and earning less. I haven't done a New or Full Moon masterclass for almost a full cycle and this is the first Magic Monday newsletter in 3 weeks!
More importantly, I have also put a hold on all romantic and intimate relationships. That's right, I am choosing to feel my grief, rather than bypass it and spread what isn't healed in my heart onto someone else.
I am going to be really freaking honest with you here. It is the worst. THE WORST. My ego hates this. I am bored out of my mind and continue to question this choice daily. All of my old habits are surfacing and at times I feel incredibly lonely, lazy and even useless. (How is that for honesty?) I am IN IT. Truly.
I am also crying....more than I want to admit. I am learning to meet these qualities with love and acceptance. The keyword there is learning, because as I stated...it is the worst. Life will never be exactly how my ego wants it to be, so I better get on the acceptance train and ride that baby into the unknown.
If we seek peace, we must invite in unconditional love and compassion towards ourselves no matter what is happening within or around us. Above all else, meeting the (possibly shitty) moment we are in with acceptance is the ultimate choice for healing.
WHY am I doing this to myself? This is a simple answer. I am doing this to grow. Intuitively I know this is my path at this moment in time and I am choosing to authentically show up for myself and honor my needs.
Something else is happening within this experience. Something BIG. Within this space...all this SPACE, I have begun to realize all of the things I normally put in place as a means of distraction from discomfort. All of my doing and efforting and pushing have been fabulous vacations from what I still need to deal with below the surface.
Giving myself space and time (and boredom) has brought me the gift of deeper healing, self-discovery, and incredible awareness. I am starting to finally have ah-ha moments over here!
It has allowed me to feel everything I have been avoiding for too long. No, it is not the most fun thing that has ever happened. Yes, I would rather be doing so many other things. No, it is not exciting in any way, but it is exactly what I need to discover the next step on my path.
If you should choose to walk the path of loving introspection as a means of healing, Mercury RX can be used as a mark in time to review your relationship to what is currently swirling around your consciousness.
I am certainly not suggesting that you give up on work, relationships, and goals! I am merely bringing forward the notion that there will always be healing to do in our bodies and minds and that taking even a moment to reset, breathe and "do nothing" does us a whole world of good.
This Mercury RX, I am asking myself which things I would like to keep around and which of these things I would like to release to Spirit in gratitude. I know there is more to heal, more to reveal and more to be curious about. There is always more.
This work is not a one-time experience. This is a lifelong exploration of acceptance with what is.
The struggle is real and it will be okay!
If you have been feeling out of it, exhausted, emotionally drained, short-tempered, slightly confused about where your life is heading; if you feel like you have been hit by a truck of annoyances, have had a hard time sleeping at night or have slept more than you have in a long time; then you may be feeling the astrological changes that are so potent right now.
You are undergoing a transformation. You are evolving. Congratulations, friend!
You can survive this retrograde by practicing acceptance to whatever your current experience is. It may feel like you are going backward in your evolution, but I assure you that healing is a cyclical process. Even when you are at your absolute lowest, you are still growing. This is not a time to push yourself harder, feel bad or reprimand yourself for needing time alone to reset. It's time to fill your cup and practice all the self-compassion and unconditional love you can muster right now.
Slow down. Take a deep breath. Begin again. You are exactly where you need to be right now.
If you would like to join me in the celebratory completion of Mercury RX, I will be
offering a New Moon & Mercury RX Releasing Masterclass on Tuesday, July 30th.
Register in the link below for this post-retrograde, heart-opening & inspiring experience~
Manifesting With The New Moon in Leo