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The month of December feels quiet and contemplative. I sense a need to pull inside. When our bodies go through growth spurts, as they have recently, we feel physically raw and open, and we need to be nurtured. Pulling inside ourselves is a positive thing. Our bodies are telling us to slow down. Take time this month to have fun and explore new ways to take care of yourself. This is always interesting, because you will notice that the mind automatically goes to learned concepts of nurturing. Stay focused on what really feels good to you. This is a fabulous month to discover what moves you and what is passionate for you in terms of nurturing. These revelations will then transfer over to other areas of your life. Instead of placing yourself in situations that don’t feel good or are energy-zapping, you will be able to place yourself in more nurturing environments. If you are in situations that don’t nurture you, you can choose how to take better care of yourself. The holiday season is a perfect time of the year for this lesson to show up for us! Is my church a good source for new friends, dating, or other social environments? I’ve changed so much and let go of many of my past connections and friends. — Safety Net for My Heart I do like the feel of a stable group situation for you. I am saying stable because it looks like your social life may not feel very stable right now. Knowing there is a group of people you can lean on when you want to would be great. It looks like part of you thinks that you need to consistently go to church even if it doesn’t feel right for you that week. The stability of a church is good if it is nurturing for you. However, if you are not listening to yourself completely and you’re adding guilt to the mix, then something healthy can turn into something not-so-healthy. It looks like this is what has been going on for you socially in the recent past. You’ve over-extended yourself and done things you may not have wanted to do. You’ll feel more nurtured if you can learn from your past experiences and simply considering how you feel from week to week so you can make your own rules. Please do your best to listen to what feels best for you in everyday life; this will transfer over to choices around church and the even bigger choices in your life. For so long now, I have been struggling with "being in the world" and trying to find my place in it with some degree of comfort and security. I have realized that I am terrified to act, to do, and to create, even though my greatest dreams are about creating a beautiful and healing place to live for myself and others. I have been terribly sensitive all my life and very concerned for others, and I am now beginning on a path in the healing arts, especially working with energy and emotions, but I am afraid to be in the world — to be seen, to be responsible for my actions, to be exposed. On the one hand, I want more than anything to bring beauty and healing into the world; on the other hand, when I think of "being in the world" and creating anything — even painting a picture (I was a fine arts major in college) — I feel like escaping into the beautiful ocean and just disappearing. How can I learn to not be so afraid of exposure and the world so that I can do my work and follow my inner callings wherever they take me? Will I ever be able to do this? I feel like I self-sabotage before I can ever begin. — Mermaid Lost Good question. A lot of people who are drawn to the healing arts are highly sensitive. It’s hard to teach people how to avoid taking on other people’s energy. When you feel responsible for people and their choices in life, your energy will stay attached to them because you want them to learn. As a teacher and healer, it is easy to fall into the energetic space of feeling responsible for people. There is a way to help people that is more healthy and balanced and will benefit both you and others as well. Right now, the challenge of energetic attachment to people and their choices is being amplified so you can look at it and choose how you want to move through this. You can go about life as usual (that would be your normal pattern), putting out a lot of energy and having others weigh you down, even though you have meant well by this. Or you can now choose to disconnect from others’ choices, offering your gifts to help them, but not feeling responsible if they choose not to receive your gifts. This lesson is coming up at the perfect time, by the way — right at the start of your path into the healing arts. The universe is amazing at timing these things. Letting others choose their own paths in life is a higher way to use your gifts. You get to take care of yourself, and those you serve get to learn more. Remember, we all learn from being a bit uncomfortable — just the way you feel right now in the world. Big growth is happening for you! Please trust what you are giving to people now is perfect; it is up to them to decide whether or not they are ready to grow. One more big piece: at night, before you go to sleep, ask to release your day. That way, you won’t be sleeping with everyone and everything you came in contact with throughout your day. You did your job of giving; now let others choose. I've lived in Seattle more than ten years and feel that I have not done well in the workplace, especially financially, and I haven't connected with interesting people as I have in other cities. Physically (climate, etc), Seattle is more comfortable than any other city I have visited. I've consulted relocation astrology, but the readings and my actual experience of cities differ. Should I leave a fairly comfortable but emotionally unrewarding place for something that would be physically uncomfortable but may be more rewarding? Or are there some aspects I could manipulate that would make my life here better? — Wondering The feeling I get is that whatever city you choose presently will probably change soon for you. It looks like you’re going through a big inner shift in your life. Deciding where to live right now would be a confusing thing for you — you are changing so quickly that who you are today may not be the same as who you will be next month. Because of this transformation, I am being drawn to look at you and how comfortable you are inside, instead of looking at your world/living situation outside. I will show you what I mean. When I look at you at work, it looks like you do what you do very well, yet I do not see you being very happy. What if you were to approach work, people, and life in general by sensing yourself from the inside and looking to see if each situation felt good to you? If it does not, ask yourself how can you change you, not your environment, in that situation. Then, when you find more calm inside yourself, you will have a clearer feeling about what kind of environment would feel good to you. What I mean, by the way, is feeling good to your core, not just "good" as you know it now. Most of us feel "okay" and call it "good." I am asking you to calm your mind and feel to your core. This is perfect for you, because you will find a place to live that is truly about you, not just a piece of what feels good. Working from the inside out will bring you deeper happiness, and you will find a place that is more comfortable to you. If you do not feel yourself to the core you will be drawn to a so-so place to live and feel like something is off. This is something to learn on your own — I can’t tell you how to feel or where to live right now. First feel. Deborah Ilg, Intuitive Artist, uses her gift of intuition as a professional spiritual counselor and energy worker. Her practice is based in Seattle, and she offers both phone and office sessions. You may hear her talk radio show on 1150 AM, CONTACT Talk Radio, the first Sunday of every month, 6-7p.m. To contact Deborah, e-mail <guidance@intuitiveartist.com> or call (206) 985-6601. |
