Autumn Energy - a time for refocusing and releasing.
It’s the start of September, and the last few days of summer beckon as we head towards the Autumn Equinox/Mabon. The happy go lucky, easy, relaxed energy of Summer and holidays is changing back to one of focus and order. Back to work and school regimes and to-do lists. Preparing our minds and bodies for the coming Winter months.
Personally, I love Autumn, the changing colours, the misty mornings dressing the landscape in a magical cocoon of silence and beauty, the glorious sunsets and crisp, clean air. Berries are abundant and nature is speeding up gathering in so that it can slow down over Winter. The squirrels as I walk into work race around storing food and chattering away making me smile each day. And it feels like time to bring out the candles, to find time to curl up with a good book, bring out much loved boots, scarves and woollies again.
In Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) Autumn is associated with the element of Metal and Metal is all about asking those deeper questions. Who am I? What is my purpose? Am I walking the right path? So, you might find yourself pondering in a way you haven’t done for a good while. Becoming a little more introspective.
It’s Autumn when the cycle comes full circle, when the seeds that we planted in Spring come to harvest, when we literally reap what we have sown. But it’s also a time of releasing and letting go, of being more organised so that we are mentally as well as physically prepared for the Winter months ahead. As the trees shed their leaves this is a good time for us to let go of old hurts and resentments and make time to embrace forgiveness and move forwards lighter and less burdened.
That feeling of wanting to curl up by the fire, of wanting less social time and more introspective time, of watching nature loose her finery and bare all works with the energy of Autumn; of moving inwards and looking at our lives and what matters to us most.
It’s a great time for transformation, in some ways it’s a better time to consider what changes we want to make than the more traditional New Year is. The energy is supporting us to shift and focus on deeper things, whilst the energy of Winter is much slower encouraging us to rest. It makes more sense to decide on what shifts we want to make now whilst we feel like working and finishing off projects.
There are a few key ways of getting the most out of the Autumn season and working with the energies as we head towards the slower time of Winter. We work our way through winter by being flexible and adaptable, changing our route to work to allow for snow or ice, shifting our focus towards exercising indoors rather than long walks outdoors or river swimming. And so, Autumn calls for us to complete any projects we started earlier in the year, to clear away any clutter that we don’t need (both energetically and physically), to make sure that we are physically prepared for winter by eating to help strengthen our immune systems, exercising to keep our bodies supple and strong, but also prepared mentally for long, dark nights and shorter days.
Think about the areas in your life that are calling for you to shift. What questions are you facing? How can you help yourself?
Get organised. Help yourself achieve what needs doing by organising your time and your lists. Look at what you’ve managed to achieve rather than stress over what you still have to do. Create a list of tasks and allocate time slots to each so you know what you can realistically manage to do today. And, if you do only manage 2 or 3 of the small tasks congratulate yourself on doing them, that’s still a couple of things crossed off today. It all counts.
Allow yourself to let go. Autumn energy calls to us to work with releasing and that means emotionally as well as physically. We release the long, warm, easy days of Summer, the salads and long cool drinks and so it’s a good time to work with releasing attachments to feelings and thoughts too. Allow yourself to let go of ideas and beliefs that no longer serve you, to release feelings of hurt or anger towards those who you feel have wounded you. Let yourself surrender to who you truly are, forgiveness and surrender are key to truly letting go of old, outdated energy we might be carrying. If it helps write a letter to the person you’re upset with outlining what happened and how you feel, allow yourself to really let go of all the hurt and anger through your pen, then burn the letter and either bury or wash away the ashes knowing that you’re working on releasing the emotions as you do so. Take a deep breath in visualising every part of your body filling with forgiveness, and as you breath out, release any final feelings that you might have held on to.
Make the most of the dry days we have left to get outside in Nature, breath, walk, run but when you have the chance make the time to get outdoors and be with Nature as she changes. Appreciate the wonderful colours and smells that only Autumn brings. Allow them to fill you with inner peace and harmony. Take deep breaths and fill your lungs. Laugh as you kick through fallen leaves, sit in awe at the moon and stars on a crisp, clear night.
Change your diet, bring in different foods and warmer drinks. Make sure you still drink plenty of water but start to include warming spices and herbs in your cooking. Think of the foods that Mother Nature naturally supplies at this time of year and work with fruits such as berries, apples and pears rather than summer fruits. They all have amazing immune boosting capabilities. Get out the warming, fortifying herbal teas again, one of my friends mentioned only last night that it felt like a hot cocoa evening.
Make time to connect in with yourself. You can’t ponder those deeper questions when you’re busy running all over the place trying to get back into routine and clear your to-do lists. Try and find 5-10 minutes each day to just be on your own, with your own thoughts, to meditate or visualise, to read a thought-provoking text, do an oracle reading, or just allow yourself to sit, breathe and listen to what your inner voice has to say.
Look at any supplements you might need in addition to your diet. Especially if your diet includes a lot of heavy carbohydrates over winter. Supplements such as Vitamin D can help with S.A.D, magnesium is a great one for cramps and the nervous system. Zinc and Vitamin E help to boost immune systems as does Echinacea and Rosehip. Think about what you need to help you get through any winter issues to try and keep yourself healthy and happy.
And finally de-clutter. Get rid of anything that has no place in your life. As the quote from William Morris says, “have nothing in your house that you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful”, this applies to your work, exercise and play spaces too. Spend some time boxing up things that you no longer need and let the charity shops benefit.
Enjoy the last few days/weeks of Summer and make the most of the Autumnal months to do the work you need to prepare for Winter. Embrace the changes, don’t hide from the deeper questionings and insights and you’ll be ready next year to achieve even more than you have this year.