Sep 23, 2024

Releasing Yucky Build Up

A week ago was a Full Harvest Super Moon! 🌕 A full moon, for me, carries perfect doses of whimsy, mystique and sends all the Halloween vibes. I always love a good excuse to realign, bring myself back to center, clarify intentions or goals, and release what is no longer serving me. Don't get me wrong, life usually gets in the way of my astrological hopes and dreams and I often completely forget about the full moon and catch wind only after it has passed. For some reason, this one stuck out as a moment I shouldn't miss, and it felt right to make a special note and do a few things out of the ordinary.

First, as any modern-day woman may do, I turned to ChatGPT to list all the things one should do on a Full Harvest moon: Set intentions, practice gratitude, cleanse your space, charge your crystals, generate moon water, and release negative energy. That last item on the checklist was the one that really struck a chord, and perhaps that's why this harvest moon stood out to me this time so blatantly... apparently I had some releasing to do. There wasn't any 1 specific thing going on in my life that I could point to as a source of negativity, rather it felt like more of a yucky build-up.

One suggestion, thanks Chat (first-name basis), was to write down all the things you want to release and then light it into flames, symbolizing their lack of existence or presence in your life. That sounded kind of pyro-cool 🔥 , so I went for it. I sat down with my family and we all wrote out our lists of all the negative energy we wanted to release. My family members wrote a few lines, my 4-year-old a few words "no more whining", but mine kept going. Yucky build-up indeed.

I release self-doubt

I release fear of failure and fear in general

I release envy and jealousy

I release the identity of someone always trying to lose weight

I release toxic humans and the headspace they consume

I release mom-stress

I release working for free

I release never being enough

I release perfection

I release bitching at my kids

I release being annoyed with my husband

I release the excuses for our poor dog not getting daily walks

And on and on...

I felt a genuine release and a lightness as my chicken scratches on a piece of paper ignited into flames. And I told myself, no more yucky build-up. There doesn't need to be a harvest moon to allow me the space, time, and focus to let things go. In fact, why not let a little bit go every day? Like toxins accumulate in the body, so does negative energy. Negative energy means a negative mindset which means more negative energy which means this evil vortex swirling and swooshing throughout your being all day every day. 👺 YUCK!

Like a pressure cooker, releasing a little bit of steam at a time means your dinner doesn't build up to the point of bursting potatoes and pot-roast all over your kitchen, on the contrary, the little releases result in an easy peasy perfectly cooked dinner in no time that Julia Childs would applaud.

After the release of yucky build-up.....

I grabbed my meditation apps that had been sent to the could over lack of use.
Reignited my commitment to lowering my expectations of each day & finding more flow and flexibility.
Recalibrated the mom I want to be to my kids by using the empty chair technique (this technique involves mentally sitting across from yourself, and perceiving how your messaging or approach would be received. For example: as a 14 yo boy would you rather your mom bitch at you for the 100th time about your messy room, or make a joke about it and find the time to sit down with you & really ask you about your day?)
I tossed the weight loss goals (for now) and found gratitude for the ability to move my body every day and to make conscious choices that benefit my health & longevity.
I traded kindness towards my spouse for annoyances, and I made some intentional plans with the friends that fill my cup.

Now that is the build-up I want to continue to pursue.

How are you releasing your pressure cooker? Have you experienced yucky build-up? What helps you let a little steam out every day?

Here's to life less toxic!

Live free,

Dana

🫶

My Favorite Product du Jour: True Botanicals Ginger Turmeric HydraGlow Cream