Moving slowly, good for the body, good for the soul.

There is safety in moving slowly.

I've been slowing things down for a while now in honor of my own maturation, and the way I work with others.

The earmarks of trauma is that whatever event occurred, it happened too fast for your nervous system to process. In the absence of follow-up care, the energy of that event gets stuck in our body, and may run loops there until some form of release, witnessing, and reconfiguration can occur.

The actual integration of this process goes deeper and takes longer than a typical cathartic burst, which can actually keep the cycle active. It's often much more quiet, more subtle, and more of a gentle waking from a dream (trance) state than it is some victorious healing march that really brings us home to ourselves.

If you've been doing the "work", and have yet to see the results you think you should be getting, I invite you to relax and consider how much growth occurs under ground before what is contained in a seed ever sees the light of day, let alone blooms and fruits.

The slow, quiet work that happens within the embrace of the Dark is where we first crack open, extend little tendrils, and then tentatively take root.

This process may be something that was interrupted in childhood through abuse, neglect, or invasive cultural programs. It may be that we were not recognized in soul-affirming way, and therefore didn't "latch" onto life in a way that allowed for us to feed from and bond with Her.

Whatever the reason, whatever the need that was not seen, heard, met, and honored we are still worthy of love and belonging.

And if my description of this process resonates with your own journey, feel free to reach out anytime.

Justice Bartlett