Sovereign Self Care For The Holiday Season
Join us Friday 11/22 at 11AM CT for an event with Energy Kinesiologist Elizabeth Bennett!
Hi sweet friend.
I want to talk about the Holidays. How are you feeling about them coming up? They can be such a joyful time for some, a deeply painful time for others, and a really mixed bag for most: lonely, painful, joyful, and everything in between. Returning home is loaded because it is often the place and people that participated in so many of our childhood wounds, the scene of the crime if you will. It can feel incredibly activating to our nervous systems and to our bodies. You will also very likely be around people who have opposing political views as you. You may have lost a family member and this is your first holiday without them. You may have had a big breakup and this is your first holiday without your partner. How will you care for yourself if you do decide to be with family?
As Ram Dass says “If you think you’re enlightened, go spend a week with your family.” And how will you care for yourself if you don’t?
I remember my first holidays without my dad and how it felt like there was this massive void, I just wanted to run away from all of my big feelings of loss and hurt. My first holidays without my ex-husband were also deeply painful, confusing, and lonely. It also felt hard being the only single sibling and cousin and the only one without children for about eight years. My family did their best to be so inclusive but that did not mean it wasn't hard and lonely.
The last few years since I quit drinking, have brought up more for me when I go home. To be present with what is, can be deeply painful, but I can also tend to be really avoidant so working to stay present is big work for me and I will assume you too. I have had the privilege of working with hundreds of people and being with what is here with compassion and boundaries is constant work for almost everyone. I only offer here things I have needed and continue to need for myself.
That is what I wanted to chat about today. How to care for yourself this holiday season and how you can care for others. My precious friend and amazing teacher Elizabeth Bennett who is a Healer, Energy Kinesiologist and Holistic Intuitive, will be teaching a class this Friday at 11 central called Sovereign Self Care For The Holidays, for all my paying substack members (the class is $6, to become a paid subscriber click the button below). By the end of the workshop, our intention is to equip you with practical tools to regulate your nervous system, cultivate inner peace, and approach the holiday season with confidence and compassion.
Elizabeth is an absolute treasure of a human and one of my dearest friends. She has also been such an incredible gift and teacher to me and so many in our community. I am so excited to share her magic with you.
I really believe one of the greatest gifts we can offer ourselves and the world is a calm nervous system. I am so much less reactive when I am able to calm my heart, mind, and body. I am able to stay in the gray and out of my dualistic black-and-white, good and bad thinking. I also have so much more to give. We can absolutely give from an empty cup BUT we often burn out as it's not sustainable and become resentful and angry. When we learn tools to care for ourselves, set boundaries, and show ourselves more compassion, we have so much more to give from a full cup, which is so expansive.
Here are a few suggestions of ways you can give back this holiday season:
Volunteer somewhere. Maybe your local food bank?
Donate goods
Donate toys
Organize a food drive
Volunteer at an animal shelter
Walk a neighbor's animal
Adopt a family
Buy gifts that give back
Deliver meals
Donate airline miles
Send cards to nursing homes
Help the homeless
Invite a friend to spend the holiday with you and your family if they need a loving place to go.
One thing Eric does that I love is- he buys warm gloves and hats in bulk and keeps them in his car when it is cold and hands them out to homeless folks with bottles of water. Little acts of kindness like that go such a long way.
I hope you can join us on Friday. This will be recorded so whoever can not join live, we will send you the recording within 24 hours. I can not wait to be with you.
Thank you for being here. Thank you for how kind this space is. Thank you for showing up for yourself over and over even when Earth school feels coo coo! I am so grateful for our kind little corner of the internet! I am so grateful for you.
Sending every part of you so much love, Ruthie
One other thing I wanted to share with you. If you have followed along with my journey for a while you will know how deeply I love tea ceremonies and all that they have taught me. They are my deepest form of embodied meditation.
Everything I have learned about tea rituals and ceremonies has come from my friend Sarah Scarborough. She has studied tea around the world for over 25 years and her teachings and offerings have been such a gift to me. So heart opening, so gentle and contemplative. Truly magical. I have been with her in Morocco and Mexico doing tea ceremonies and so many here in the woods in Nashville. She is offering The Art & Ritual of Tea Online Certification Course and she has given me a code for you to get $200 off using TEAISLOVE.
Here are a few of the details from Sarah:
The Art & Ritual of Tea is a 3-month online certification course designed to support you in sharing tea as a way to enrich your life and the lives of your friends and family. Over 4 modules: Earth, Water, Wind, and Fire, you will learn to share tea as a ritual, a ceremony and a wellness practice to cultivate connection, inner peace and wisdom.
Through this course, you will master tea as a daily wellness practice to nourish and heal your body, mind, and spirit, a quiet meditation helping you access awareness and peace, and a transformative ceremony to find clarity, truth, and connection.
The Art & Ritual of Tea Online Certification Course guides you on a 3-month personal journey during which you will learn to prepare any style of tea for health, healing, and connection.
Along the way you will come to know yourself on a deeper level and through this holistic process of self-discovery, share tea with authenticity and impact. A tea practice is an enriching way to not only add more meaning to your personal relationships but also to enhance your career and to add value to your teams, classes, and organizations.
During the pandemic, this became one of the most grounding practices in my life. I honestly feel like it kept me sane and thriving! I love doing it for myself and I absolutely love sharing it with others!
Love Love Love, Ruthie