On Cyclical Living

There is a sort of nostalgia that seems to arise with a return to cyclical living. Not only does it feel familiar in a myriad of ways, it feels more natural too. I don’t know about you, but I want to live in a state of awe. I want to imagine. I want to feel the present moment with my whole heart. I want to dream but dream rooted. I don’t want to be pulled along a straight line by some programmed thoughts that were never even mine to begin with. It feels restrictive, binding.

So what exactly does it mean to live cyclically embodied?

One deeply nourishing way to live cyclically is to observe the turning seasons of the nature that surrounds us, and this is ancient wisdom for a reason. In doing so, we are invited to return to a much greater devotion and respect for nature, for each other, and in so many richly beautiful ways, with our own shapeshifting selves. We are invited to learn to become more present with change, and to find a greater acceptance in the inevitable flow of life, death and rebirth. We are also invited to begin to open the channels of communication with the elements of which we are made.

Caretaking the cyclical nature of self happens through the practice of presence in letting go and setting intention. It is looking at the way the trees and flowers express themselves so uniquely in spring and how those qualities are mirrored within the self. Doing this refines self awareness, reciprocity and collaboration with the elemental world of which we are intrinsically a part of. It assists us in shedding the heavy conditioning which keeps us disconnected from our heart and from our inner voice. It also encourages the cultivation of equality, as we organically rediscover and seek for our common ground as the tendency.

From personal experience, cyclical living is truly a process of attunement, in building a sort of intimacy with the earth. It demands inner work to be done. The way I see it now, the return to this way of being is a return to the dynamic essence of self. I say return because it truly feels like a coming home to inner harmony. Becoming the witness in one's rawness is vital. This is the quintessential rewilding of the self. And it is an ongoing process of reprogramming all of the rigid and dogmatic impressions that dwell stagnant in body, mind and spirit. Nature is the mirror, and the land is asking us to show up raw, in tears and a mess if that's what is true in that moment, but to do it with presence and compassion. Wading through the darkness then becomes less scary as it is understood more as an ally, and as a necessary step towards allowing in even more light. It is a practice of no longer rejecting our dynamic nature but nurturing a true care for it. It is in this presence that healing is uncovered and resistance is released. And this is no small feat, in a world that advocates for avoidance, that motivates by fear, and that consistently breeds doubt in our inherited capacity to truly create new worlds with not only every season but every moment.

Cyclical living is a holy reconciliation with feeling, and somehow through this process, the cycles that are not serving us anymore are more able to just be let go of. Cycles such as perpetual shaming, self degradation and invalidating of our most innocent essence are just a few examples. A return to cyclical living is a return to vulnerability, to trust, and yet simultaneously, a return to the magic circle that is our firmly empowered boundaries. Because cyclical living is actually a spiral dance, it tends to become easier over time in the process of expansion. Ideally, in the movement onward, we ultimately become more rooted within. But we must begin to explore embracing even the mini seasons which make up the dynamic ebbs and flows of self, on a daily basis as well.

On a more practical note, after almost 9 years of consistently practicing cyclical living, I have also made the observation of how much more naturally it feels to embrace certain projects and goals during different seasons. It used to feel so overwhelming to try to get everything done at once. I used to feel so much urgency to arrive at a destination. Now, it just feels so much more easeful and natural to be embracing the journey on the way to the destination, and to move more slowly and receptively in the knowing that there truly is a season for everything. Organizing projects and goals seasonally feels infinitely better.

Travel is another great example of awakening the dynamic essence and learning about letting go. It shakes things up. It invokes wonder. It throws us into presence and flow. Travel is almost like jumping to different seasons around the world. It is like jumping to a different place and climate and story, all seeming to invoke a new aspect of self. And when you fall in love with a place, it will at some point invite you to let go. Just as with people and just as with this life itself, we will inevitably be asked at some point to let go. And so there is a time for love and a time for letting go, something that the practice of cyclical living teaches about. And so when we really consciously choose this relationship, this intimacy with the turning seasons of the self, we become much more aware of the harmonious and grounded expansion occurring organically through it. This only inspires greater gratitude.

As a woman I cannot talk about cyclical living without mentioning the menstrual cycle and the moon. I do believe everyone has the fundamental energetic polarity of masculine and feminine within the self, for it is after all, necessary for our very life to occur. A return to cyclical living is also a reharmonization of these polarities, for if everyone has an archetypal feminine and moon within the self, there is a direct correlation between cyclical living and dreaming and our innate capacity for awe-inspiring wonder. And how dreamy is it to be a woman whose menstrual cycle quite literally flows in synchronicity with the cycles of the moon just as the turning tides? Of course we are the elements.

Once we switch on the cyclical living lens, we truly begin to see the cyclicality in everything. Life is not this strict, scripted linear rulebook we have been brought up to believe, and it takes time to decondition the fear and to quiet the voices that speak against our magic and against change. What if change is medicine, expansion, growth? What if diversity of experience is what cultivates wisdom and empathy and therefore more harmony in the collective?

Now I am not saying to completely eradicate linear beliefs either, for they have their purpose. There is containment and structure and objectivity that has an incredibly significant and vital role. But what does it look like to hold that without an oppressive air of authority?

What does it look like to find freedom in curiosity instead of control?

The more we see the reflections of nature within the self, the more connected we feel to the land and to each other. It really becomes visceral, tangible, and embodied over time with consistent practice. It is almost like when we intentionally offer reverence to the elements, the same elements of which we are made of seem to respond in kind. Devotion to the land is quite literally devotion to the body, mind and spirit of the self and community.

A lot of people cringe and retract at the word devotion, which is entirely fair in my opinion, given the sad state of dogma-infected institutions that seem to be ever in need of a strong dose of humility. I feel strongly that devotion can be cherished in a way that is both humble and grounded in self-sovereignty. And if anyone has taught me this in a way that could actually land, it was, well, the land. And I mean in many ways, yes spending time in ceremony around the seasons in physical nature but just as importantly, the land as an archetypal terrain within the self.

Cyclical living just feels liberating.

So all of this is to say, as we inch closer to the climactic wellspring of stretched days and stirring sunlight, the chemistry of the collective is strong and creative energies are peaking. So if you haven't leaned into cyclical living yet, the nectarous scent of the Summer Solstice approaches, and what better time to start than now?