"The more we can find stillness, the more we are connected to our center, our inner anchor, our authenticity, our simplicity, and our sovereignty in a beautiful, gentle but very strong and determined way." -- Pam Gregory (Evolutionary Astrologer)
For the twelve years and counting that I've hosted this website, I've always vowed to keep it peaceful, calm and easy on the senses. That means I've intentionally chosen to not feature pop-ups, ads or anything that might detract from an easeful online experience.
This decision may limit marketing, newsletter signups or even revenue through ads but frankly, that's never been my intention with this site. It's been a means to primarily share what's on my heart through writing and occasional events or forums.
My desire is for this to be a sanctuary space for your senses so that you can breathe deeply and take in the words I've written alongside beautiful, intentionally selected imagery.
I know some businesses or entrepreneurs will offer an upgraded subscription option in order to avoid ads (similar to Pandora Plus) but for me, simplicity and accessibility are at the forefront.
Often times, when I am searching a recipe for inspiration, knowing that food blogs are a sensory war zone (!), I quickly download the page I've selected to an app called Instapaper and then look at it peacefully on my iPad in a simple format not as assaulting on my senses.
This is especially key during my cooking process so that I may lovingly transmit my energy to the food rather than give it away to outside distraction.
The world in 2024 is an incredibly loud, fast-paced, chaotic and very disruptive place - for any human really, but especially for sensitive souls (HSPs) who can be triggered by extremes in their environment. Being sensitive leads to all the challenges of moving through our day-to-day lives, perhaps avoiding certain people, conversations, external noises and factors that cause distress (loud trucks or motorcycles passing on the highway, conversations or zoom meetings that for some reason, need to be had on speaker phone in public spaces, incessant dog yapping, construction noises, you name it).
For a moment now, also consider the stimulation we may have become accustomed to beyond the physical sounds in our environment. What about the chatter in our mind giving us unsolicited feedback, worrying about the future or dwelling on past events?
Or the noise in our online content field (which I referenced above) including but not limited to an endless barrage of youtube videos perfectly targeted to our likes and desires, or curated photos of "perfect lives" beaming at us on social media, leading us even more self-doubt and comparison.
On the other hand, though, as sensitive people, we were born with the gift of savoring our five senses in the positive extreme that most others may not have access to.
For example, when it comes to sound, we take in more fully the early morning bird song, deeply moving chants and mantras, healing sound bath experiences with high vibrational music, a gentle flowing stream or creek, a deeply engaging one-on-one conversation with a loved one, our dogs snoring, dreaming or sighing in utmost delight.
Does everyone notice these gifts of the world on an auditory level? Most likely not.
As an HSP, I've realized that over the years, my sensitivity to sound has increased and just this summer, I have been activated on so many levels just within my living space.
Mind you, my wife and I are incredibly intentional about selecting our home – both its location within a city and the actual placement itself. So a top unit of an apartment building with a single neighbor next door or currently, the end unit of a townhouse row with also just one neighbor.
As luck would have it, our lovely, quiet neighbors moved out in May and the management company rushed in to have the unit renovated. I’ll spare the details about the demolition team hitting a pipe and causing our downstairs bathroom to leak (!) but that started the cycle of unpredictable banging sounds through our connecting walls and a sense of losing control. The workers showed up unpredictably on weekends and throughout the week at odd hours, for a solid two months.
This assault to our senses was compounded by a series of other beautification projects that also occurred during these summer months, including a massive painting overhaul and a re-paving of all surfaces, requiring six zones. In just two months, we had workers, massive equipment, the beeping sound of trucks backing up, pelting rain storms / coastal hurricanes, ladders propped up against our walls and windows, upbeat music accompanying the work crews, and our dogs barking non-stop at strangers walking through our yard.
Has this ever happened to you in an area of life? Where you feel like one of your senses can never turn off? Like a forever fight or flight mode!
As challenging as this experience was for us all, we did manage to speak up to the management company, to the workers themselves, to rent an alternate space for some rough days and to tend to our fragile bodies and emotions while this occurred.
It was surprising how stressful the situation was for the animals and we did plenty of emotional clearing work, played them high vibrational music and eased their nerves with nurturing practices and supportive herbs. For ourselves, beyond our habitual self-care, we engaged in plenty of healing rituals, time in stillness or movement, and even some angry outbursts to be with all the feels.
I’ve realized that as much as we spoke up and tried to enact change on a micro level, the current world and its dysfunctional systems are breaking down and thus the voices of control are gaining power and strength before they eventually collapse.
Instead of trying to fight the corporations, greed, toxic masculinity, squandering of resources, and negative forces that have been so prevalent, we must take another approach if we wish to move through the ensuing chaos of years to come.
I hope to convey to those who are most struggling to find their place amidst the loudness and the overstimulation that you hold sacred gifts within yourselves. It’s just a matter of making space for your heart’s voice to be heard.
And by that, I mean enacting change through the quieter, softer, calmer ways. Things that may appear to have no immediate influence like sitting in contemplation, smiling at a stranger, meditating together with a global community, a clearing session with a healer, energy worker, or therapist, or even purifying our bodies of toxins that may be clouding our greatest potential as humans.
I know it seems small and silly to just focus on yourself in these turbulent times but know that we’re in a unique phase of humanity’s evolution whereby the power of quantum mechanics is allowing for these tinier acts to magnify in power and to help spread more light on the planet.
By putting all that energy we would otherwise use to fight something that may never succumb to our old ways, how about we focus our energy on creating the most clean, pure, aligned and loving version of ourselves?
Because we cannot fix the “old system”, we must rebuild the new. And the new starts with us as our uniquely beautiful selves. From there, we can co-create new ways of living, new communities, new currencies, new forms of education, of governance, new healing that truly come from a place of love and empowerment.
As for Daniela and I, and our saga on the home front, in the end, we decided the best thing for our little family is to leave for two months and take a road trip to the sacred lands of Sedona, Arizona where we can finally ground, recharge and heal from a rough patch that affected us on all levels (physically, mentally and emotionally).
Hopefully this will clear up some energy that can be best utilized to help move the world forward in a positive direction of change. To help others access their peaceful body and heart wisdom by removing a level of distraction and coming closer to their true essence.
Sending waves of calm and inner stillness as we travel through this auditory turbulence,
xx Kristin
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