Latest / Healing Her Story with Riva Jean-Paul / Moon Phases & Feminine Power: Your Weekly Cycle Sync | Balancing the Scales: New Moon Eclipse & Equinox Energy

Transcript

Moon Phases & Feminine Power: Your Weekly Cycle Sync | Balancing the Scales: New Moon Eclipse & Equinox Energy · Healing Her Story with Riva Jean-Paul

• 1:38
  SPEAKER_00: Hello and welcome to today's episode of the Healing Her Story podcast.
• 1:47
  SPEAKER_00: I am yeah, just landing here today in this week's episode with you, recording in real time today, and admittedly a bit behind on our normal airtime.
• 2:02
  SPEAKER_00: So for those of you who were maybe waiting in the Wii hours uh here on the West Coast when these weekly episodes drop, I thank you for your patience.
• 2:12
  SPEAKER_00: It's been a doozy, as maybe you've been feeling too.
• 2:16
  SPEAKER_00: We are about at the end of eclipse season.
• 2:20
  SPEAKER_00: We're still kind of sort of in it, as we just had a partial solar eclipse in Virgo yesterday at the time that this is airing.
• 2:28
  SPEAKER_00: So that was on Sunday.
• 2:30
  SPEAKER_00: There's been a lot happening, a lot shifting, and I know I've been feeling that in my world, and I've been witnessing it in the worlds of my clients and my friends and my colleagues.
• 2:42
  SPEAKER_00: So again, thank you for the patience as I yeah needed a bit more time to put this episode together today.
• 2:53
  SPEAKER_00: Before we explore this week's energies a bit more, let's begin with a minute of silence.
• 3:01
  SPEAKER_00: And if you are new around here, welcome.
• 3:04
  SPEAKER_00: We are so happy to have you here with us to tuning to this feminine wisdom.
• 3:10
  SPEAKER_00: This is something that we do every week in these weekly feminine power moon phases and cycle sync episodes.
• 3:19
  SPEAKER_00: And the intention with this minute of silence is to one, just kind of give you a little bit of space in what I would presume to be a very busy and full day in life.
• 3:34
  SPEAKER_00: And in this minute, just this one minute of space and maybe even quiet, if you can make that happen, you can just take a moment to really connect with yourself, whether that's through your breath or maybe that's through touch.
• 3:51
  SPEAKER_00: I've got my hand on my heart right now, and it just feels really good.
• 3:56
  SPEAKER_00: Coming into a place of more presence as you attune to what is here for you right here, right now.
• 4:06
  SPEAKER_00: And if you're a human, if you're a woman, if you're a person in a marginalized body during these times, chances are you're feeling a lot.
• 4:18
  SPEAKER_00: And the thing is, we are often so busy going from one thing to the next that we don't often take the time to really notice all that is here.
• 4:32
  SPEAKER_00: And there is such power in presence.
• 4:36
  SPEAKER_00: Our gift, excuse me, our presence is what I intended to say, is really a gift.
• 4:43
  SPEAKER_00: It's essential in the therapeutic process, it's essential in your own personal transformation process to be able to really witness yourself and to be with yourself, even if it's just for a little bit.
• 5:00
  SPEAKER_00: And sometimes the things that we discover in those moments aren't the best feeling things, they can be a bit uncomfortable, which is again why we stay so busy sometimes, is so that we can avoid the discomfort that we are feeling.
• 5:19
  SPEAKER_00: And so, if that is you, that is okay.
• 5:22
  SPEAKER_00: I ask you to just see what it would be like to just stay with that discomfort, even if it's just a little bit.
• 5:32
  SPEAKER_00: And so taking some time to do that now, whether you're driving or doing some chores around the home or just doing something in the background, just coming into a place of more presence with yourself, with your breath, with your own inner rhythm.
• 5:52
  SPEAKER_00: And we'll all do that together here for a minute, starting now.
• 7:06
  SPEAKER_00: Nourishing, fruitful in some way.
• 7:10
  SPEAKER_00: For me, about twenty seconds in, I noticed myself take a deeper breath, and I had some warm, tingly feelings kind of reminding me of like sparkling water kind of bubbling up in my shoulders, and that's always just a really good feeling to me.
• 7:34
  SPEAKER_00: It lets me know that I'm on the right track, and so I really allowed myself to sink into that space, that quiet, and it felt great, and uh that was not my first minute of silence and stillness today.
• 7:54
  SPEAKER_00: I've been trying to weave in as many of those as I can, as I am cycle day five today.
• 8:01
  SPEAKER_00: So on the ending days of my inner winter, which was it was an interesting interwinter.
• 8:13
  SPEAKER_00: I say interesting because I've been exploring this with y'all.
• 8:17
  SPEAKER_00: If you've been here for a while now, I've been talking about the challenge of really stealing time for rest and quiet and spaciousness during this time.
• 8:34
  SPEAKER_00: And I think this is not a unique experience.
• 8:37
  SPEAKER_00: I think this is a very common experience of the modern-day woman that has so much to carry, has so much to take care of, has so much to show up for, whether that's for little ones we take care of, or our family members, or our friends, our community members.
• 9:05
  SPEAKER_00: Maybe we work as a caretaker professionally because most caretakers are women.
• 9:14
  SPEAKER_00: And we live in these wild times where people's freedom and expression and humanity is being threatened almost daily, and so that is it's a lot, it's a lot, and if you are on a path of healing and breaking cycles, it's it's even more, I feel like, because it we really are up against a huge, huge, huge battle right now in the world, and it takes a lot of energy, a lot of commitment, a lot of effort to to stay on the path.
• 10:03
  SPEAKER_00: And for me, that is the path of love, that is the path of menstrual cycle awareness, that is the path of trauma-informed care.
• 10:11
  SPEAKER_00: That is an ongoing effort and an ongoing commitment that I really must devote myself to day after day after day after day.
• 10:22
  SPEAKER_00: And so I walk this path with great honor and and gratitude and and privilege.
• 10:30
  SPEAKER_00: And um, yeah, it's a lot.
• 10:35
  SPEAKER_00: And uh, I've I've definitely been feeling it.
• 10:38
  SPEAKER_00: And so this bleed was much like the last, where it it was a bit of a struggle to to really get that time, and I I did the best that I could.
• 10:49
  SPEAKER_00: I truly did.
• 10:50
  SPEAKER_00: And I go through a great deal of preparation before my bleed comes doing all sorts of things, which maybe I'll share another day.
• 11:06
  SPEAKER_00: That might be a fun episode in the next coming cycle.
• 11:10
  SPEAKER_00: And so my bleeds, honestly, they aren't painful.
• 11:16
  SPEAKER_00: I do have some cramping.
• 11:18
  SPEAKER_00: I am tired, and I'm I'm fairly resourced, I will say.
• 11:26
  SPEAKER_00: And I think that the preparation that I do leading up to my bleed really helps with that.
• 11:33
  SPEAKER_00: And so when I do find myself having to work and socialize through most of my bleed, I'm not having to do it in pain, I'm not having to do it in the depths of exhaustion and grief and despair.
• 11:49
  SPEAKER_00: I'm I'm able to do it from a place that feels pretty resourced and capable.
• 11:56
  SPEAKER_00: And yet there is this part of me, and perhaps it's maybe because I feel that I'm supposed to be locked away in my red tent with no socializing and no work whatsoever.
• 12:10
  SPEAKER_00: That maybe perhaps the way I'm placing the expectations around my bleed is is something that I'm doing to myself, sort of causing my own distress rather than just accepting my bleeding time for when my bleeding time is.
• 12:32
  SPEAKER_00: And so, in that that intention, I one night this past week during my inner winter, I think it was maybe cycle day two or three, I finally got some rest and some stillness at the end of my day, lying down in bed, and I had my hands on my womb, and I began to take some deep breaths, and I asked my womb, why do you keep bleeding in the middle of my work week?
• 13:03
  SPEAKER_00: And I got quiet and I got still and I listened, and I heard, because you are teaching women how to be in their power.
• 13:17
  SPEAKER_00: And I said, Oh, and there was a bit more that I won't share here today.
• 13:26
  SPEAKER_00: That was the biggest takeaway, and while it wasn't the answer that I was looking for, it was an answer that I was able to accept and understand.
• 13:38
  SPEAKER_00: As I have really been doing some significantly big work with my one-on-one clients over these last few months, many of them just getting started over these last few months.
• 13:51
  SPEAKER_00: And I've been doing more sessions in person, which is also new for me by request.
• 13:57
  SPEAKER_00: And sure enough, as soon as I began offering it, there began to be more interest for it.
• 14:04
  SPEAKER_00: And this wave of new folks that have come in are really doing some very deep, deep work.
• 14:17
  SPEAKER_00: And we've been having some very big breakthroughs and insights and conversations and boundary setting.
• 14:30
  SPEAKER_00: And wow, it's just been incredible to witness.
• 14:33
  SPEAKER_00: I have tears sort of well up in my eye as I'm reflecting on what I've been witnessing in the work that I've been doing here.
• 14:45
  SPEAKER_00: It's been such an honor and a joy to really be a part of.
• 14:50
  SPEAKER_00: And these women are doing things they've never done before, and I am supporting them through that.
• 14:59
  SPEAKER_00: And so it makes sense that I'm leaving during my work week because I'm teaching women how to be in their power.
• 15:07
  SPEAKER_00: So that's a little bit about me and what's been happening in my world overall.
• 15:14
  SPEAKER_00: I'm I'm in a good place and just trying to do the best I can to sustain harmony and balance in what seems like the chaos and the the busyness of life.
• 15:33
  SPEAKER_00: And again, maybe you've been feeling that too.
• 15:36
  SPEAKER_00: As we are now officially towards the end of September.
• 15:40
  SPEAKER_00: This week we are tuning to the week of September 22nd, and we're attuning to some really potent energy.
• 15:49
  SPEAKER_00: Yes, it's the new moon as of yesterday, and it's also a solar eclipse happening right alongside the fall equinox and happening as we end Virgo season and shift into Libra season.
• 16:07
  SPEAKER_00: So that's a lot of transition all at once.
• 16:13
  SPEAKER_00: The air here in the northern hemispheres I've been feeling in Northern California is getting cooler, the days are getting shorter, there's that quiet whisper to get to bed earlier, to spend more time alone, to reflect.
• 16:32
  SPEAKER_00: And I've been really feeling that these past few days with my inner winter, my menstrual time, my bleeding time.
• 16:40
  SPEAKER_00: And this mirrors the new moon energy that we are in right now as this episode is airing and will be over the next few days.
• 16:50
  SPEAKER_00: This is a time to rest, to reflect, and especially with where we find ourselves in the year, it's an opportunity to take stock.
• 17:02
  SPEAKER_00: You might ask yourself, where do I need to focus my energy for the rest of the year?
• 17:08
  SPEAKER_00: Where do I need to cut back?
• 17:11
  SPEAKER_00: Where might I need more nourishment?
• 17:16
  SPEAKER_00: Because this new moon is in Virgo, there is also an invitation to return to our routines and our daily rhythms.
• 17:26
  SPEAKER_00: Virgo season has invited us to look at service, ritual, and connection to the earth, all themes we've been discussing here on the show for the past few weeks.
• 17:37
  SPEAKER_00: If you haven't had the chance to listen to any of those guest episodes, I invite you to give those a listen.
• 17:45
  SPEAKER_00: We discussed Chinese medicine, traditional Chinese medicine and acupuncture and fertility and IBF with Nicole Lange.
• 17:54
  SPEAKER_00: We discussed trauma-informed care and the sacred path of embodiment and transformation with the Tira Tan.
• 18:03
  SPEAKER_00: And we discussed rites of passage and menarch work and ritual with Hannah Brown.
• 18:11
  SPEAKER_00: And so as these themes begin to maybe settle in, it's worth asking how are my routines serving my bigger vision?
• 18:24
  SPEAKER_00: Do they support my dreams or do they drain me?
• 18:29
  SPEAKER_00: And you know, I was reminded that over the weekend.
• 18:33
  SPEAKER_00: I spent some time in community this weekend, which was so nourishing.
• 18:37
  SPEAKER_00: I went to an incredible art show with one of our previous guests on the show, Mati.
• 18:43
  SPEAKER_00: Her episode is Poetry as a Portal for Transformation.
• 18:48
  SPEAKER_00: Highly recommend giving that one a listen if you haven't yet.
• 18:53
  SPEAKER_00: And Sunday I hosted, co-hosted a fall equinox gathering with my dear friend and sister, who's going to be returning for another guest episode here in a few weeks.
• 19:07
  SPEAKER_00: And it was beautiful, beautiful weekend, wonderful time to gather and to connect and to be with our people, to be with my people.
• 19:26
  SPEAKER_00: And I also didn't allow myself alone time, preparation time that I know that I I significantly benefit from during the week.
• 19:38
  SPEAKER_00: Because once Monday heart starts, I'm sort of off to the races, if you will.
• 19:46
  SPEAKER_00: And so it was a little reminder of contrast.
• 19:50
  SPEAKER_00: And I think sometimes falling back into old tendencies can show us where the imbalance lies.
• 19:59
  SPEAKER_00: In the spring semester earlier this year, when I was again in sort of another full-on season, I created what I called spacious Saturdays.
• 20:10
  SPEAKER_00: And I said no to plans every Saturday for months, which was very difficult.
• 20:18
  SPEAKER_00: And I don't know that everyone really understood.
• 20:23
  SPEAKER_00: And it was essential for me and for my sustainability.
• 20:28
  SPEAKER_00: That commitment to my own care made me more successful in everything else that I was doing.
• 20:36
  SPEAKER_00: And this can be a shadow side of Virgo is giving in service at the expense of ourselves.
• 20:43
  SPEAKER_00: And so, as we are at the end of Virgo season, where maybe you've had opportunities to be of service, you also might be feeling, as I'm feeling, this call to rebalance and to come back to yourself and to be in service to yourself as well.
• 21:04
  SPEAKER_00: And as women, this is something that so many of us, I think, experience.
• 21:10
  SPEAKER_00: We are so often natural caretakers.
• 21:14
  SPEAKER_00: And so this pattern makes a lot of sense.
• 21:17
  SPEAKER_00: And with equinox, the fall equinox here in the northern hemisphere, and with Libra season, we are invited to return to balance, to return to harmony and the scales within our own lives.
• 21:36
  SPEAKER_00: Where are the scales tipping in your life right now?
• 21:40
  SPEAKER_00: Where are you giving more than you're receiving?
• 21:45
  SPEAKER_00: As always, the new moon is an invitation to begin again.
• 21:51
  SPEAKER_00: And this could be the perfect time to reset a routine, to start a new practice, or to maybe shift how you relate to yourself.
• 22:02
  SPEAKER_00: So for the rest of the week, I invite you to slow down.
• 22:07
  SPEAKER_00: I'm gonna do my best to do the same, to lay low and to reflect.
• 22:17
  SPEAKER_00: And soon it will be time to move forward and take aligned action.
• 22:23
  SPEAKER_00: By the time we meet again next week for the first quarter moon.
• 22:29
  SPEAKER_00: I'm also very excited about Libra season ahead.
• 22:32
  SPEAKER_00: This is my season, one of my seasons.
• 22:34
  SPEAKER_00: I'm a Libra son, and my birthday is October 18th.
• 22:39
  SPEAKER_00: I don't know if I'll be doing anything special that week.
• 22:45
  SPEAKER_00: We'll see how it goes if I have any other ideas come through in these last few days of my inner winter.
• 22:55
  SPEAKER_00: But I'm looking forward.
• 22:57
  SPEAKER_00: I know I've for sure got planned bringing on some of my favorite guests to explore the themes of beauty, balance, relationships, and if we have time, justice.
• 23:10
  SPEAKER_00: In the meantime, if you'd like some support with this week's energies, I've linked a few free somatic meditations in the show notes.