We all feel like we’ve been working hard already, possibly even struggling, so it’s important to make sure to recharge your batteries. You can’t support others if you don’t put your own oxygen mask on first. Support yourself; it makes you a good member of the community.

So start by asking yourself what feeds you? What brings you joy? What makes your heart sing? What brings you a sense of ease and comfort? Make a commitment to have some of that in your life every day. It’s important.

Here’s a meditation that could help you recharge as well.

Notice where you are directing your attention. Does it feed you or drain you?

If there is anger, it might help to remember that anger is merely a call to action, a push or surge of energy. If we don’t know that, we don’t know what to do with it. We don’t know how to channel the energy into getting things done, into the courage to speak up, or into breaking through emotional or spiritual blocks. We don’t know how to ask what the next appropriate action is.

Remember to avoid unconsciously giving your energy away. One of the ways we do is my letting ourselves think that the echoes are reality. The old paradigm is echoing (and has been for a bit now). An echo is not just a repetition, it is a distortion. We’re seeing that in all sort of ways, whether it’s in violence in our streets, or in the election cycle (or the last one), or in the rise of polarization in society.

Examine our fears. Bring them out into the light so you can name them. Fear is an illusion and only has the power to control you when you let it live in the shadows. We often won’t even bother to name all our fears. To move past the obvious ones that you have named, examine your ideas of how the world works. When you think about forces larger than yourself (government, large groups, etc), what are the absolutes that come up. Where do you use the words always and never? Where do you give away your power with your beliefs? And where are you creating a reality in which you don’t actually want to live?

Once your batteries are recharged, and yes, it may take longer than in The Before Times, you can turn your attention to being an active participant in this paradigm shift. What do you want the new paradigm to feel like? When we move into a new reality, will you feel supported, loved, a part of a larger community? Will there be a stronger sense of honor, dignity, and community? Make sure it has challenges to be overcome, because that is life. And what will that actually feel like in your body? Don’t just label it, generate the sensations of it. Do it daily, for at least 5 minutes.

This post is an expansion of an idea that appeared in the October Newsletter. Sign up for the newsletters here.