Energy and Influences For February 2012

This month requires a certain circulation of energy so that things don’t get stuck. There could be a tendency for you to become mired in the quicksand of the instinctive center, afraid to move forward, sideways or backwards. You could be like a deer in headlights, frozen in fear and not knowing where to turn so you just dig in, close your eyes, and hope it will go away. It won’t. Not this month.

In a river if you get caught in an eddy, you have to paddle backwards upstream to get back into the current. If you are facing an obstacle sometimes it is prudent to back away from it so you can choose another route around it. There is grace to moving energy when it winds curvaceously around and does not follow a straight line. Likewise you should approach your life this month like a marshal arts dance, offering no resistance but stepping sideways, backwards and forwards following the flow of events.

This month we definitely feel the instinctive part of the moving center. The bottom of the barrel of the subconscious is being scraped and scoured and a lot of instinctive residue is floating to the surface. It is imperative that you do not get riveted on this subconscious matter or blow it out of proportion. It is easy to get bogged down in feeling victimized or other feelings that drain personal energy when you are facing old patterns, and the past has come up to haunt you.

The good news is that certain situations and experiences will force you to look at who you are and what you want for yourself. There is desire to dissolve what’s old and break free of it once and for all. The not so good news however, is that there may be some karmic debts to pay along the way before the freedom can be realized and this may be uncomfortable especially for the ego. It is a month of taking responsibility for what you have stored in that barrel as only you can, and allowing yourself forgiveness and compassion; allowing yourself to give it up and turn it over to spirit so you can start creating something new and wonderful in its place.

A ski instructor once pointed out that in order to make a good easy fluid turn on the snow, you must first finish the last turn and then completely unweight your skis and get off the edges. Only then can you gracefully fall into the next turn. The weight of the fall into the next turn sets your edges into the new direction until you are ready to turn again. And you keep it moving. If you are headed straight for an obstacle it is counter intuitive to completely let go of the weight that gives you your edge and your stability. However if you don’t, you will end up running into the obstacle and turning away will be that much harder. And if you fall it makes it even more difficult to do anything. I thought this was such a great analogy to how change should happen.

If you want to change direction you need to unweight your attachment, give it all up, and fall into the next direction with no effort but one hundred percent commitment. Those who are hunkered down in their old patterns and too afraid to let go will certainly run into the obstacles and end up crashing and falling down.

The theme of “keep it moving” is important in the face of all the things that could become fixations in the amount of energy they take. Beware of fixating on judgments, things you think you know, things you think you don’t know, having it a certain way, concrete plans, beliefs about yourself, beliefs about others, beliefs about the world, and especially judgments directed at self around some of the instinctive material surfacing from the bottom of the barrel. Some of you may be going through some hard lessons this month and will need to remember to stay in integrity and to give it over to spirit. Unweight yourself from your story and your position, and any righteousness, expectation, blame and disappointment. Once you are free, and increase your energy, you can look at all the creative terrain available to you and fall gracefully into the next direction.

The theme of keep it moving is important on all levels not just around psychological issues. Keep the body moving with energy–walking, dancing, swimming, biking, skiing, chi gung, taichi etc. Keep your mind moving by watching that you don’t get stuck on one set of thoughts or ideas. (Remember that thoughts and ideas are energy).  It is good to keep asking, “what if?” questions and to stretch yourself to think outside the box. This is a highly creative month full of energy that you can use to your advantage.

Emotionally you can keep things moving as well by not becoming attached to your reactions to situations. Allow yourself to feel, and then to feel differently, and yet again to feel something else. Be flexible, be very, very flexible, and ready to unweight yourself at any moment in order to choose that next turn with grace and ease and confidence.

Another important aspect of the month we will be dealing with is Boundaries. Because there is both a desire and support for dissolving old patterns that deplete your energy as well as for moving ourselves to a higher spiritual plane, the issue of boundaries will definitely be revisited. The dissolving nature of the times wants to eliminate boundaries. It wants to loosen the imprisoning nature of artificial boundaries that have caused separation and isolation. It wants to dissolve the limitations and structures that have been upheld and supported by boundaries. It wants to move us with compassion into a higher spirituality where we can experience being one and not separate.

This is critical territory as good personal boundaries are essential in discerning what is yours and what is not. How do you allow yourself the experience of being one and not separate while still having good boundaries?

It is important to learn to be discriminating which begins by knowing yourself better. Through your lessons learning what works, what does not work, what is yours, what is not, who you are, who you are not, and what your personal dreams are as opposed to someone else’s. We mentioned responsibility. Being responsible for your own discipline of following through with what you said you wanted is a personal boundary. If you make a decision a choice or set an intention, your own follow through is a personal boundary you set with yourself. You take responsibility for what you said you wanted. This month the desire for better boundaries may be in reaction to the dissolving of existing boundaries and stuck energy.

It is a heart-centered time and a real opening to spirit is possible despite the movement and instinctive aspects. A yearning for connection and community is also in the air. So always remember to come from your heart whether you are dissolving or setting boundaries or learning hard lessons or making graceful turns of change. Approach everything with compassion and optimism. It really is a spectacular time we are in of such opportunity for keeping energy moving in the right direction and increasing personal energy.

Print out the 2012 forecast and highlight what calls out to you. The above is an excerpt from the monthly forecast. The author of this commentary, Lena Stevens, is the co-founder of an international school and consulting firm dedicated to the study and application of shamanism and wisdom.

Lena Stevens has co-authored books with Jose Stevens, Ph.D., such as Secrets of Shamanism:Tapping the Spirit Power Within You and has written extensively about tips to increase personal energy.

Click here to access the full February 2012 forecast to help you strengthen your relationships, health, relieve stress and increase your energy.