The practice of resourcing is integral to healing and self-regulation, so finding our personal resources is one of the most important acts of self-nourishment we will ever make. The potency of beauty as a resource has been known for millennia, exalted for its ability to restore harmony in individuals and societies. Even artists and the world’s greatest thinkers have praised the role that beauty plays in wellbeing. The legendary Russian novelist Dostoevsky may have put it best when he said, “Beauty will save the world.” He wasn’t wrong.

The summer is not for rest, it’s for productivity! Summer is a season for tending the seeds we sowed in the spring. The modern paradigm of slowing down during the summer is another way in which we’ve become disconnected from nature. At the Summer Solstice we’re invited to harness the Sun’s energy of productivity by devoting ourselves to the realization of our dreams, intentions, and goals so that we can create true abundance, that of a life in which we can thrive.

The ancient spring festival of Beltane is a celebration of life. Even for those of us who struggle with persistent heaviness or who are living through a period of hardship, Beltane invites us to find the available pleasures which are often the simplest, and exalt them. When joy feels inaccessible, can we reach for hope? If hope is also out of reach, how can we create space for pleasure, even if it’s momentary and minimal? Making each moment just a little bit sweeter compounds into a delicious life.

Not all shame is toxic. Without shame, societies aren’t safe places. Healthy Shame teaches us boundaries whereas Toxic Shame teaches us to hide. Understanding the nuances of Healthy Shame is the key to preventing the deep harm caused by Toxic Shame and one of the most important areas to enact this change of approach is in how we communicate with each other, especially with children.

The Spring Equinox is a time of rebirth and transformation, but the spring is a liminal period, a time when both death and life are equally present. We shift from a collective Death cycle to a Rebirth cycle at this time, which is not always a welcome experience. Metamorphosis, like birth and like death, is not without pain and discomfort, but the amount of discomfort we experience is directly correlated to whether we resist or allow the rebirth.

Few people can admit their shame. To be fair, most aren’t even aware that they have it, but that’s because people don’t talk about shame. Even now I’m still warned away from talking about it so overtly. Still, if I could go back in time, I would choose to dedicate my career to healing Toxic Shame again and again. In some ways it even seems like shame chose me…

The Celtic festival of Imbolc marks a time when the days are increasing in length and we’re invited to prepare for the season of rebirth. Imbolc is associated with the return of light and hopeful times, but what if being hopeful during the winters of our lives feels unsafe? Increasing tolerance for light requires us to embrace cautious optimism, a state of being which is liminal and will help us shift from hypervigilance or burn-out to lighter energies like hopefulness.

One of the most common issues my clients present with is profound shame about their freeze response. Some may have frozen during traumatic experiences, others may be living with prolonged symptoms of being frozen (what we call functional freeze). The first step in overcoming this debilitating shame is to learn what a freeze response actually is and is not and what happens when it goes hand-in-hand with shame.

We’re often invited to do nothing but rest around the time of the Winter Solstice but rest is an elusive experience for many of us who live in chronic states of stress and for whom the feeling of safety is still an aspiration. Instead, I invite us to redefine the concept of rest to suit our own needs. Perhaps it feels more appropriate to simply recover and restore our resources. Read for more about why observing the festival of Yule matters and how we might consider restoring ourselves at this time.

Toxic shame does not like to be exposed which is why it can be so hard to recognize, even among professionals. However, there are some telltale indicators that toxic shame is present and that it’s not an emotion but rather has become internalized. In this article you’ll find a list of what I believe to be the ten strongest indicators that Shamework is required, especially if we’ve been in therapy or have been doing healing work for a long time without experiencing the results we’re hoping for.