Welcome,
My name is Victoria Adams.
Last time we talked about letting go with the waning of the full moon.
About getting clear with what we make excuses for and what obstacles keep us from reaching our goals.
Two weeks ago was not the time to be starting new projects,
Working towards goals,
Rather it was a time of letting go of those things which have been so incessantly holding us back.
And sometimes we don't even know it.
If you didn't do this exercise,
I highly recommend that you do.
It's very simple,
You can refer back to the previous podcast about the pink supermoon or start from here,
Write down what your goals are.
Be realistic but don't be afraid to dream.
Then next to your goals,
I'd like you to write down what it is that is holding you back from them.
It could be a situation,
It could be another person.
Most often it's your attitude towards a person or a situation.
Maybe deep down you don't believe that you can reach this goal.
The magic here is that as soon as you become aware of whatever the obstacle might be,
You are then able to make a plan to get around it.
No more floating around thinking about your goals and aspirations but never quite getting there.
It's about letting go of the things which hold you back now that you're finally aware of what they are.
Anyway,
That was then.
Now we're talking about new moon.
Now is the time to start anew.
Begin new projects,
New challenges.
Maybe in lockdown now is the time to finally start whatever it is you've been thinking about but for whatever reason,
You've still not been able to start.
Here is where you can start.
Again,
I'd say it's important to get really clear about what it is that you'd like to do.
Write it down.
Write down your goals.
Hey,
Even if it's food shopping,
It's a lot easier when you write that shit down.
I'm going to use an example.
For me,
It's to create lasting content.
Specifically,
I'm talking about writing a book and I had so many obstacles.
I'm not going to lie,
I've still got a lot of them.
They're called excuses.
Two weeks ago was a time of letting go for me.
A lot of the dead weight and I'm talking about emotional weight has lifted.
I feel more productive.
Anyone who's friends with me on Instagram or Facebook will probably be nodding at that.
Sorry guys.
And now I'm looking at how I can implement more of the good stuff.
Start on projects that I've wanted to get going for years.
However,
Particularly at this time,
And I don't think I'm the only one,
I feel a huge sense of overwhelm.
Name this movie.
I know you can be overwhelmed and you can be underwhelmed,
But can you ever just be whelmed?
If anyone knows which movie this quote is from,
Please contact me immediately.
It's a classic,
But whelmed is definitely the word right now for me.
We cannot deny that this is a time that is always going to be hard and we're all experiencing it in different ways.
Where one person finds simply getting out of bed in the morning difficult,
There's another who is barely sleeping because they're unragged in hospitals or up all night thinking and worrying and researching and worrying.
Then there's the next guy who's gutted that the local pub,
Which was their sole sanctuary and joy is no longer available to them.
It doesn't mean that anyone is experiencing this any less or any more deeply.
We're all experiencing this and it's going to be hard.
However we interpret and experience this,
Things are changing.
For some it's a time of potential.
For others this is doomsday.
I was listening to my teacher Shanti today.
She said,
We cannot deny that this is a time however we may be experiencing it as individuals that is a shift of consciousness.
Life has changed.
Whether we're experiencing total utter dismay or are able to take advantage of what this time has brought to our lives,
Or maybe it's a little bit of both,
Life has changed.
And yet somehow it's also intensified everything that we were experiencing before.
Problems or issues we've been going through until this moment,
Perhaps we can see them more clearly now for what they were or are,
Perhaps it's gotten worse.
So bad that we can no longer avoid resolving it.
And yet now we can't leave our homes we can no longer resolve it.
Many of my friends,
Some are now without work,
Without a salary,
Even without company.
And they have never felt busier.
What's happening here?
It feels as though whatever we experienced before has become magnified in such a way exaggerated,
Experienced on full power.
And it is overwhelming.
Who else is feeling overwhelmed here?
Once again,
You may have found yourself juggling a million balls,
Struggling,
And yet somehow keeping it all together.
And then the straw breaks the camel's back.
All those balls go flying,
Things fall apart and we wonder why.
This is too much syndrome.
This is a classic of where we bite off more than we can chew,
But by the time we realise we are far too gone.
So how to overcome the overwhelm?
For the first two weeks of lockdown,
A friend of mine literally did not go to bed.
And she wasn't the only one.
Transitioning her business online,
Throwing three piece sofa suites out the window,
Almost literally to make room for her teacher online classes.
She told me how well her business is now going.
That clients have been so grateful,
Sending gifts,
Flowers,
Notes of appreciation,
But she's totally exhausted and overwhelmed.
For many,
This has been an opportunity to learn more,
To reconnect,
To recalibrate,
But it all adds to a pile and we are exhausted.
A pile at the bottom of which we are firewalking over uncertainty,
Lives turned upside down and the absurd feeling of carrying on as normal as much as possible from home.
That's without taking into account the disconnection,
Aloneness,
Illness,
Fear and chaos many,
Many people are facing right now.
Not everybody is so lucky as to be able to look at this from a perspective of time to grow,
Inwardly reflect or finally focus on finishing all those Amazon books we bought but never actually read.
But has anyone seen the stars in the night?
They are so much clearer.
This is a remarkable time.
Lockdown will be hard for many,
But it's helping lots of people come to realisations.
It feels as though things are becoming clearer.
Particularly if you're living in a situation that was far from ideal before stay home was a hashtag.
And then there are many who are starting to appreciate more of what we do have and have always had.
And the things we didn't know we had but that we've always had and I'm not just talking about toiletries here.
So the new moon.
The sky will be dark.
The stars will be much easier to see around new moon simply because the sky is not so brightly lit by the light of the moon.
The new moon marks a turning.
You will soon see the moon begin to wax again marked by that first light of the crescent moon.
This is the time to begin that new project.
As the light grows,
The moon waxes.
This is a time considered to be most favourable for new work,
New goals,
New health kicks and even new beginnings.
So if you have an urge to sit down and really think things through in a positive get shit done kind of way,
Now is almost the time.
And now is certainly the time to prepare for that.
So get your pen and paper.
From now until Wednesday.
Now until Wednesday,
The night before new moon.
If there is anything else you could do with letting go of get clear about what that is.
So when you start your new project,
You have a clear path ahead.
Ahead of the new moon this week,
What are the things that you wish to bring into your life?
What do you want more of?
Is there something that you would like to develop?
It could be relationship.
It could be learning.
It could be creating a sacred space in your home.
Perhaps it's creating new habits to help on your fitness or weight loss journey.
But write about the things that you do want,
Not the things that you don't.
I often talk about painting the picture we do want.
If you hired an artist or a builder,
And you told them everything you did not want them to do.
Don't paint a flower,
Don't paint me a landscape,
Don't do a loft extension,
And they go off,
Begin their commission and return to you with something totally out of your taste.
Perhaps the builder knocked down your kitchen to build you an outdoor jacuzzi.
Can you really be mad at them when you never actually told them what you did want them to create for you?
You only said what you didn't want.
You never told them what you did want.
So now write down all the things you would like to begin this month.
Be realistic.
Don't be afraid to dream though.
Next,
For each of these goals,
I'd like you to write down three things you would need to do to ensure that each one of those things can happen.
Start the realistic first steps you can take to begin to see your goal come to fruition.
And this is where your new moon plan begins.
Be careful not to cause even more overwhelm.
Remember that sometimes in order to bring certain things into our lives,
We have to take other things out in order to make room for them.
I'm not suggesting that you cut people or things out of your life.
But particularly now can be a time of layering a ton of things on that we don't actually need.
It can be a time of giving out a ton of X,
Y or Z that other people don't actually need.
All this content that is online,
All the books you've got at home still unopened,
All the messages and media that are coming in right now.
What do you actually want to bring into your life?
Get clear about what serves you and what you wish to take on going forward.
This will serve you very well at a time of overwhelm,
Particularly as the moon starts to wax and grow.
I'm speaking to a lot of people now in my nutrition practice who are using this time to focus on their health.
Many wish to lose weight.
Many are working out like crazy cutting out all processed sugary foods and chocolate.
But when I'm at home,
I swear the fridge is literally calling my name.
Reducing processed food is one of the best things you can do for your health.
Dairy too,
Especially if breathing is compromised in any way.
But let's be realistic,
You're at home.
If you're trying to cut out certain foods now is possibly one of the hardest times to do it.
The thing with food is it doesn't help to simply say,
Cut the chocolate out because then all we do is focus on chocolate.
Instead,
If we focus on crowding in all the good stuff,
Vegetables,
There ends up being less room for the bad foods that we were trying to cut out anyway.
It means you create less of a desperation complex around the naughty foods and you can still have them from time to time.
But focusing with a crowding in mentality means that after packing in all the good stuff that does serve you,
There's no longer as much room for the junk food that will keep you far,
Far away from reaching your goal.
Again,
We're focusing on what serves us rather than beating ourselves up and creating an elephant in the room out of the foods which don't.
And by the way,
You can do this with people too.
If you're with the guy who's no good for you,
Crowd in more time with your loved ones.
Very soon you'll see whether this is an authentic connection that serves you or not.
Mental health is just as important as your waistline.
And on that note,
We really have to be kinder to each other,
Especially to ourselves.
And if you're one of those people who's had a long,
Long to do list kicking around for the last few years,
Find it,
Bin it and just start again.
Very often we are carrying the burden of a dream or task which no longer fits who we are or who we wish to be anymore.
So what else can we do to manage the overwhelm?
Well,
The very fact that you feel you have to manage it says that you're doing it wrong.
What do you need more of that's going to help you rather than hinder you?
Of course,
There are some things that we cannot manage.
Sometimes fitting in what helps the hindrances can become a hindrance in itself.
But there are plenty of things we can do that take seconds.
You know,
The vagus nerve is a key to well being and can regulate stress.
It relieves inflammation,
Depression and even migraines.
You can increase vagal tone with slow diaphragmatic breathing,
Simply by humming and even splashing your face with cold water takes seconds.
You haven't got to drive to yoga class for any of those things.
If you have more time,
You can look into meditation techniques,
Something like yin yoga or a moving meditation.
I'd love to hear if you have any suggestions of your own by the way.
And if you're the sort of person who takes on too much perhaps it's time for less is more.
Get really clear about the things which serve you and stick with those.
Layering on a tonne of other people's advice and a myriad of techniques that cause even more overwhelm is not going to be helpful right now.
Personally,
I wouldn't work on more than three new habits or goals at any one time.
And do not do what you cannot do.
You cannot do it anyway.
That's a quote by Kenny Ryan.
If you struggle with sleeping at night,
There is no quick fix.
And it can often be a trial and error.
But one thing you can do is watch the sunset.
The changing colours signal to your body that it is time to wind down,
Produce more melatonin and this will lull you into a state of deep arrest.
And by the way,
If you're on your phone until 10 o'clock at night,
Don't be wondering why you're still wired at midnight.
Practice not pleasing people,
Even at a time like now.
Very often it's at your own expense anyway.
Sit in the awkward space.
Be awkward,
Say no.
I hope you have all the support you need right now.
But also that you are able to take ownership of the fact that the only person who's truly going to look after you is you.
And this is not self love or lack of self love.
It is your duty to yourself.
You may come out of this exactly the same way that you came in.
Yeah,
Our businesses,
Our health and lives are currently compromised.
What will you refuse to compromise on?
And if you are not already clear,
Then take the time to get clear.
Use this time wisely,
Because now is the time.
