I've been speaking to a lot of people lately who have been working so hard to cope. They are trying to find ways to shut down their anger, fight their cravings, suppress sadness, so many manners of 'control' that only add to the stress and fatigue.

In our earliest years, we begin to create coping mechanisms to deal with whatever we cannot manage. When we feel overwhelmed we may distract ourselves, dissociate, or create pain in one aspect to pull us out of the pain of another. So much energy goes into creating these strategies, and while they may 'help' for awhile, they really only prevent us from finding a deeper alignment.

I wanted to share the idea that I have been meditating on lately - I no longer want the ability to cope within my current circumstances, or the paradigm I am in. I want to heal and evolve to match the next.

Take a moment to sit with that idea - that instead of treading water in the circumstances and choices that make you feel as...

Every memory we recall, every bit of gossip we share, every bit of wisdom we offer has a story behind it, and within it.

Think about it for a moment - even the purest moment of epiphany becomes a story. You recall aspects of where you were, who you were with, how you felt in the moment, and then how you began to respond. You recognise the cause and effect of the choices you made, the changes you chose as a result. And you can recognise what lead you to the realisation in the first place, the series of events, what triggered or inspired you.

In one sense, the story is incredible useful, becuase it helps you to create meaning, or understand yourself in new ways. When we look back at our lives, or those of our family members, we can see points plotted out over time, that shaped perspectives, experiences, quality of life, and direction. 

And if we can continue to see things from that higher perspective to learn and apply the wisdom, we're in a good place to learn and grow.

What can...

My dreams over the past week or so have been strange- seemingly darker, unfamiliar, seen through strange lenses, all fitting well into the themes and views of Scorpio Season. These, along with countless other interactions, conversations, challenges, continue to bring me back to the question: How can we relinquish that which we cling to?

We approach the holiday season, where people celebrate some beautiful traditions, and some strive for an illusion. We can become fixed in how we believe a day, a conversation, an action should unfold, and then inevitably feel disappointment or defeated when it does not. Because in truth, it never could. The story in our minds was never real to begin with.

We cling to a brighter version of history, omitting the obstacles and conflict, and then wonder why we can never recreate it. But it never really happened that way before.

We cling to the unreal, un-lived, disembodied versions of what we feel we are supposed to experience, instead of...