As the warm weather changes into cooler, crisper air and the Fall Equinox has passed, it reminds me that winter will soon be here. At this time of year, I notice that I start to look more inward, connecting with my intuition, or as some say, my “gut feeling.”
I look to my inner soul–my intuition–to remind myself that I need to release anything that isn’t serving me or allowing me to be my best self. I guess if you want to get metaphorical, it’s as if the trees releasing their leaves to the ground remind me to declutter my life. Trees do this to prepare for winter. Trees that don’t drop their leaves are more susceptible to breakage when ice storms come early. I suppose we are more connected with our natural elements than we care to admit. If we are open to it, we can feel the connection to nature and learn from it. After all, our intuition comes from our cavemen ancestors, and those survival skills still remain within us. Our guts can tell us a lot about ourselves, how we are feeling, or what we need to do. We just have to lean into it. Focusing inward during this change of season allows us to observe and declutter.
Decluttering can mean all sorts of things. To me, decluttering my surroundings–my home, my closet, my yard–those are all things that help me declutter what I see. I also try to declutter things I hear or read to allow my mind a break from the chaos that surrounds me every day. It’s easy to get swept away by what I watch on tv, read on social media, or hear what others say.
As I look inward, I attempt to declutter so that I can find peace of mind, settle into my best self, and fill my cup so that I am ready to give to others when they need me most. In order to do that, I need to let go of certain things so that I can store up new energy and prepare myself for what’s to come. After all, there are always challenges that come up in our everyday lives. How we deal with those challenges is what makes us human.
Letting go of outside elements and looking inward goes along with the practice of yoga, which teaches us to focus on breathing deeply from our gut, through our sternum, and out through our nose. This deep breathing technique is called Ujjayi breathing. We use it in the yoga world to assist in warming our bodies from within to protect us from injury. It lubricates our joints and our muscles to prepare us for what’s to come. In the same sense, relying on our inner self to prepare us going forward instead of relying on outside elements to keep us warm, is exactly the point of the Fall Equinox. The way in which we look inward with intention will reflect what we release outward into the world.
Just as the trees let go of their leaves, the Fall Equinox is a reminder to let go of what we don’t need. This release allows us to stock up our energy and use up what we need to stay warm, both inside and out, so that we can prepare for the next season of life.
Coffee with Julz 