Musings from the Journey
Enhance your life and fortify a deeper connection with your True Self.
 While we prepare to slow down a bit, connect, and remember what matters this week, I want to shower a little love on indigenous folks. Their communities and families have been through so much over the last several centuries, and despite hardship and injustice, they are still here. They have stood for sovereignty, human rights, and clean air and water from the beginning. Thanksgiving isn't just a holiday about gratitude for them, it is a remembrance of all the trauma their communities have been through.
We can be a part of the healing from this history and patterns. It doesn't come from sweeping it under the rug, and moving on. It comes from real repair of the harm, showing respect, love, and care. This Thanksgiving, I invite you to think about how you can give back to the native people that are local to your area, and across the United States. This might be support through uplifting their work, voices, and art. Perhaps it's by pouring resources into their communities, or supporting land back campaigns. There are many layers to such wide spread intergenerational healing that will require acts large and small. A couple indigenous authors I am grateful for include: Robin Wall Kimmerer: A mother, scientist, professor, and member of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation. Robin is author of Braiding Sweetgrass, one of my favorite books. Her writing is soothing, compelling and honors the land, and many of the stories of native people. She recently published The Serviceberry which I am eager to read. James Vukelich Kaagegaabaw: A member of the Turtle Mountain Band of Ojibwe, a renowned international speaker, digital creator, and author of 'The Seven Generations and the Seven Grandfather Teachings. James is passionate about preserving and sharing the Ojibwe language, and wisdom teachings of native elders guiding us towards Minobimaadiziwin, "the good life"—a life of harmony, free from contradiction or conflict. Birchbark Books is a native owned bookshop in The Twin Cities that features indigenous authors, speakers, and artists. Do you have other indigenous folks that you would like to uplift? Share with us in the comments. ~Sarah P.S. If you are looking for gift certificates for our services, you can find them here. Prices will be going up in 2026 (more on that soon), so this is a great time to stock up at the current rate. Though there is not a rush, you can purchase these until the end of the year. Enjoy the week. Connect with yourselves, your loved ones, and the land. Focus on what matters. :)
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 Last Friday, I had just wrapped up with clients, and decided to log onto Instagram briefly before heading home. The first thing on my feed was a video of the most traumatizing and disturbing ICE encounter I've seen yet. My survival mode kicked in, and I messaged some people I follow about the need to speak up. Why are they staying silent when horrible things are happening? I got home, and I was essentially in a freeze state the rest of the night on my couch, staring at my wall while my kitties purred and tried to soothe my nervous system. The encounter I saw online didn't happen in my neighborhood. It's hard to know how to respond when the threat isn't immediately in front of you. It's hard when you try to say something, and the people in power don't listen, and are the ones actively causing the harm. It's hard when you see people suffering... not just suffering... being brutalized and dehumanized, and you don't know what you can do. I can see the deep scars this moment will make on these individuals, and the help they'll need to heal if they are fortunate enough to access those resources in the future. I know you see it too. At minimum, you know this is happening out there somewhere. Some would say, "Sarah, this is why I don't watch the news. It's too distressing, and I can't do anything about it anyway. You just need to stop watching." Yes, current events are distressing. I'm really disheartened by the decisions many humans are making these days. Some would say, "That's just how humans are! You can't do anything to change it! People will always hurt other people, be selfish, ignorant, etc." Yes, humanity has shown violence, thirst for power, greed, and lies for thousands of years. Guess I should just give up. It's not worth it. Let it all devolve into even greater chaos. ... That last line was so disingenuous, it was hard to type. In my personal life, I'm someone that needs the elephant in the room acknowledged, otherwise I end up feeling pretty gaslit. My life experience has shown me that pretending something isn't happening when it is, not only doesn't stop it from happening, it can also cause more harm. It also makes it harder to address the problem, when you are ignoring the presence of it. While there are limits to how I consume the news (I might need to manage how, when, and how much I take in), avoiding it isn't the solution. About humanity doing dastardly things... yeah, maybe. But that is only one side of the potential of humanity. The other end is full of revelation, compassion, creativity, resilience, service. That's the side I aim to live on. The fact that I feel things when I see injustice and cruelty is a sign my heart is still open. I can use those feelings as fodder to propel actions that bring healing, liberation, growth, etc. I know many of you are walking with me on this path. And, I know it's not easy. I wish we didn't have to do it. And if you aren't already walking with us, I invite you to join us. So, what do we do? I don't have all the answers, and I think it's going to vary depending on what's happening in your communities right now. That being said, here are a few ideas:
One upcoming piece of (non)action: MASS BLACKOUT Wed Nov 25–Tues Dec 2nd (Yes, that's over Black Friday and Cyber Monday) Avoid major retailers, travel, restaurants. Cancel streaming and digital subscriptions. If you must spend: support small, local businesses only. Pay in cash if you can. Small Business Saturday on Nov. 30 is exempted from the blackout To stay engaged for the long-term, we need to be regulating and taking good care of ourselves. You might find our healing work and meditations to be supportive in this process. If so, reach out.
I'm here for you, and walking with you, Sarah P.S. A little palate cleanser and chuckle for ya, from the Canadians.  Seasons are shifting. Snow flurries are swirling outside my window as I type. I don't know about you, but my hibernation mode is starting to kick in. My kitties are extra snuggly and looking to share some warmth. They seem to lull me into sleep anytime I take a break on the couch.
While there's lots to do in our personal and collective lives, the work never stops, it's important that we find at least pockets of rest. It might mean putting a little less on your calendar, letting your pace slow down. Maybe you turn in earlier at night, or carve out a couple hours a week for yourself to just be. I invite you to think about what kind of rest might supportive for you, and how you can realistically make it happen in your schedule. Sometimes, we need a little assistance getting our systems to settle, or a place that doesn't have the distractions of home. If that's resonates, you might find find some Reiki time supportive. You can get all tucked in with the table warmer going, and let the Reiki energy gently soothe away your troubles. Many people note that they sleep quite well after having some Reiki, and things that would normally bother them, don't impact them as much as they used to. Let me know if that's something you're interested in. You can book online here. Rest well friends, Sarah |
Sarah Barlow
Reiki Master Teacher and Owner of Embrace Your Essence Sign up for our E-Letters Here
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