Is to become full and whole in alignment with our divine feminine energy.
I recently wrote a blog about expansion, however today I want to reinforce the value of expansion that is gentle. For a long time, our society has favoured progress - a push-forward energy - a masculine type of expansion. Although this is not wrong, a 'self-improvement at all costs' mentality may not support those of us who are more sensitive and empathic. There are many self-development and 'spiritual' practices that feel more like punishment than gentle nurturance, and although these might appeal to some people, they can result in trauma for others. As healing trauma is perhaps the most significant aspect of our spiritual development - at least in the beginning phases - it makes sense that we would not want to create more of it, as then there would be more to heal. I learned through periods of depression, burnout, and chronic fatigue, that for me, expansion had to be gentler, softer and slower. I know now that expansion can be savoured and enjoyed, and that we can immerse ourselves in our gentle expansion and integration with appreciation and pleasure. Indeed, expansion is our natural state of being, and so there is no race to the finish line - it is incremental and ongoing.
To expand is to become more of who we are; to become confident to take on new roles, to step into purposes that we have felt but not dared to embody, and to express ourselves in ways we have previously kept hidden from others. To expand is to have less fear, to develop greater courage, and to feel more love for ourselves and others. With each further expansion, I feel more peaceful, more connected, and freer. Life feels smoother and easier, and it has more flow. I feel more faith - more trust - and so there is less pulling against the current, less climbing steep slopes, and more gliding along with the wind. Rather than creating forced opportunities for expansion, I feel subtle nudges towards expansion. I believe it is my choice to heed the subtle nudges - they are for my own joyful expansion only. The call for expansion that is for our highest good comes from our higher selves, who are guiding us to fulfill our contracts as humans in gentle ways. Expansion, for me, can feel like self-expression, like creativity, like commitment, like inspiration, like pleasure or fun, like deeper emotions, or like stronger connections with others. It can feel like greater abilities for intuition and spiritual understanding, like new knowledge, higher wisdom, or more capacity for holding space.
I just returned from my second road trip this year - and my second road trip that I have ever done alone. First, I did my road trip South, and then, my road trip North - to visit my sister and nephews, and then to Yeppoon to visit a childhood friend, and back. The second trip was very much a working trip - a digital nomad experience, as I did more of my real-world work on the trip than I usually do at home. It was, however, also a spiritual journey for me, as I view every experience, and each moment of my life, as a step along my lifelong spiritual path to further awakening and expansion. Before both road trips, I felt subtle nudges towards expansion. In both, were elements of the unknown, the potential for exploration and surprise, and the opportunity to strengthen my trust in the Universe and to extend my confidence in my own abilities - physically, mentally, and socially. During the first trip, whenever there was potential for something to go wrong, I practiced trust - I asked for help and trusted that I would have it. In the second trip, I was almost free of anxieties about frustrations or unsafety. I focussed on being present in each moment and on the task at hand, and almost everything went smoothly.
I believe that in each instance of expansion, we begin by intentionally adopting and practicing a particular behaviour, belief or mindset, and that with intention and practice, each behaviour, belief or mindset becomes part of us, or integrated into who we are - we become an embodiment of it. To me, when I become an embodiment of something, I know I have expanded - I feel more of myself. The second trip went smoothly because I had become more embodied in my trust in the Universe and my Celestial Team. The inner knowing that life is always working for my highest good is becoming more and more of who I am, rather than a mindset that I am working to integrate. So, I know that my road trips have been instrumental in my expansion this year.
The feminine energy is about love and nurturance and growth. Like Mother Earth, the feminine within us prioritises and facilitates the birthing of new ideas and inspirations. The Mother energy - The Whole Woman, or the feminine energy within The Whole Man - nurtures through love and gentleness. She innerstands that self-love is fundamental to expansion. This is a self-parenting energy that recognises that inspiration and motivation come from self-acknowledgement and self-kindness rather than harsh discipline or punishment. There are times when self-protection must take precedence over expansion - when we just want to snuggle under the covers with a good book or movie, and some chocolate. Maybe, we need to do this for a whole day, or perhaps a whole week. Our survival needs must be taken care of before we can joyfully expand. Just as we need to feel physically safe, we need to feel emotionally safe and cared for before we can step out into the unknown. Imagine engulfing yourself in the loving arms of the mother within you - arms of unconditional love, without competition, without fear, with only the desire for your highest good. Hold yourself in this way, whenever you need to, until you are ready to step out into the world again.
In all my work and interactions with children, with my adult students, with my family and friends, and with myself, I have seen that we respond to love. Motivation and discipline cannot be taught - they are innate. If inspiration is lacking, if the desire for expansion is missing, it is likely that love is lacking. If we are not loved by our parents or by our family, it is difficult to learn to love ourselves. If we have not learned to love ourselves, we feel a chronic lack of love. With a chronic lack of love, fear is inevitable. When we fear, we lose the desire for expansion. If we focus on our strengths rather than our perceived inadequacies, if we can recognise our gifts and unique abilities, and if we can provide gentleness and care to ourselves in every moment of our expansion, then we can expand. Expansion feels like the best feeling in the world to me - perhaps, as mentioned, this is because it is our natural state. Go out in the world and express yourself, communicate, connect, and create. Share your energy and your light with others to provide healing and inspiration. Be a living work of art and an example of grace and joy. However, in every moment, make sure you're safe, warm, fed, and comforted. Make sure you provide those loving arms for yourself to come home to. Expansion through self-care. Expansion through love. Gentle expansion. This will be your greatest gift to yourself. This is the way.
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*I have recorded my first speaking videos for YouTube, explaining some of the cards from my The Whole Woman card deck. I have quite a number of other videos there as well; poetry, inspirational videos, and song recordings, so please have a look. I would love some more subscribers too, so please subscribe and share.
My next project for YouTube will be a series called ''Gentle Expansion'', where I will talk about aspects of expansion that I am experiencing. Please stay tuned for these!
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