Humans are losing their ****, and how body and Earth can help (aka, tend your nervous system)
It's not crazy to feel like the world is a bit crazy right now.
Ever since the pandemic arrived in 2020, life has felt a bit volatile — right?
I find peace through my connections with nature, spirit, and the cosmos…but I’m always tracking our collective energies through various media outlets.
Intuitively, I’ve felt that we should expect more collective upheaval until 2025 or 2026 (something many astrologers have confirmed). This isn’t saying that major goodness and growth won’t happen along the way. Rather, it’s more of an acknowledgement that yes, things feel a bit crazy and no, you’re not crazy for noticing.
The completely bizarre shootings of young people making mistakes last week really hit me. Being naturally sensitive, I’ve of course felt the pressure-cooker like energy of our collective. I’ve watched as people have become so filled with fear — what is likely deep, existential, multi-layered fear — that they are losing their humanity.
We’ve traded our reverence of life for the gods of money.
Now, personal survival and individualism to the extreme seem to come first no matter the cost. No civilization has ever thrived with rampant individualism at the core of its values (the elites in that civilization yes, for a time, but without collective care I don’t think you can really say an entire civilization is thriving).
I’m not surprised that people have lost their shit.
The pandemic, no matter how you were personally affected, shook the foundations that so many had taken for granted.
The way the media pours fuel on the fire of the most aggressive voices in our modern cultural movements — from every side and in all directions — has further shaken the foundations and assumptions that once provided stability in people’s lives. And has further made us fearful of each other.
(Though, for what it’s worth, shootings like this aren’t actually new. The media just decided to cover them all in one week. Once again, we must always check the agendas of any media outlets and the energetic influences they are susceptible to.)
I’m not saying the need to question our assumptions is a bad thing — it’s an essential part of our soul growth. But I do know that it’s not easy, and without the proper skills and support, and a lot of compassion, this process can feed into collective fears (furthering the divides that keep us disempowered from enacting real collective change).
And then there’s the exponential growth of artificial intelligence and the effects this has on our psyches. Just a few months back, AI programs like ChatGPT basically seemed like advanced search engines. Now, even a layperson like me is seeing hints of true AGI. When a computer learns how it works and discovers how to improve itself, how long until we really do reach the singularity?
This monumental change to life as we know it further fuels humanity’s existential fears. And it’s not just about robots taking our jobs anymore — though that’s certainly a concern. And it’s not just about feeling as if you can’t keep up with these changes, or are losing your way of life — though those are at play too.
These fears arise because on some level, whether consciously or not, humans are wondering what role reality will actually play in their lives — and what the definition of “reality” will even be. (More thoughts on this here.)
Which brings us to what is real, right now: our Earth. No one is immune to the Earth changes before us.
We must tend our bodies and regulate our nervous systems to meet for the challenges before us.
When I feel into my own experience with shaken foundations and future insecurity, I notice that my personal response changes drastically based on the physical health of my body, especially when it comes to the state of my nervous system.
If I’m already feeling drained and stressed, and I know that my HPA axis is out of whack, I tend to go into protection mode: I feel so depleted and under-resourced already, that I’m put on notice to guard everything I have left — whether this is my time and energy or my physical property. New information or a new person becomes a threat until proven otherwise.
If I’m well-resourced and nourished, my personal response is radically different — and more in line with my true nature: I immediately turn to love. As cheesy as it might sound, our hearts are capable of endless compassion. From this place, when I see others acting out of fear, an inner determination to be a beacon of light, grounded and hopeful, in the midst of chaos fuels my motivations.
I can’t emphasize enough how intricately connected these responses are to my physical state of being.
My own journey through (and still in) extreme adrenal fatigue, catalyzed by a series of traumatic events and ongoing grief, has taught me a lot about this.
Even though my emotions might be going haywire and my soul feels wounded, if I’ve slept enough, fed myself nourishing foods, sipped on nervine teas, done my daily meditation practice, and kept up with regular abhyanga, my response to any disrupting information is more compassionate.
Unfortunately, it requires a lot of effort to stay healthy and sane these days (especially since most of us are already in recovery mode from the past two years). When your nervous system has been taxed by years of compounding stress — personal, collective, and of course environmental and physical — simply “maintaining” isn’t enough.
How to Tend Your Nervous System When Burnout and Trauma Are Becoming Too Much
Needless to say, everyone is different, and finding the magical combo of support that works for your system and your lifestyle takes time and real effort. That said, I can share what has been most impactful for me, in case it inspires any support in your own life.
(It should be said that I hit a state of what felt like near catatonic exhaustion, with real adrenal fatigue and ongoing grief that will not subside to this day. The dedication I’ve needed to put into recovery is hopefully more than most of you will need to do. If this sounds extreme, simply take inspiration for what feels true and doable for you.)
Vitamins — So basic, yet so important. If nothing else, remembering to take my daily vitamins and a probiotic keeps me afloat.
Meditation — When I was entering auto-immune territory, I knew I needed more significant changes. I committed to 40 - 60 minutes of meditation daily, mostly practicing the golden elixir meditation from Taoism, and this has probably helped more than anything.
Pranayama — Along with meditation, I practice yogic breathing for another 20-30 minutes a day.
Syncing with natural cycles — I try to expose my eyes to the light at sunrise, high noon, sunset, and the night sky every day. This means I’m up before sunrise and in bed by 9:30.
Plant Allies — These have been huge:
I traded out my morning coffee for a homemade adaptogenic brew filled with bitters, mushrooms, and liver-loving herbs.
I sip a big batch of nourishing herbal infusions to replenish my minerals and soothe my nervous system throughout each day — nettle, oatstraw, raspberry leaf, lemon balm, marshmallow, horsetail, tulsi, gotu kola, and skullcap are some of my favorites to include in the mix.
Spend time in nature — The natural world reminds us of our own natural essence. Physiological and psychological healing arises when spend contemplative time in the wilderness.
Smell good things — It’s so easy to add a bit of aroma to your day, yet it makes a massive difference for the psyche.
The commitments I’ve made to restoring my HPA axis and nourishing my nervous system have been significant, timewise and financially. But in essence, they’re really pretty simple. Take your vitamins. Breathe. Look to the skies. Meditate. Partner with plants.
There’s more of course — movement, cold showers, dietary changes, saying no wayyy more often, limiting media exposure, time with loved ones, and partnering with the spirit world, to name a few. I have a whole article on stepping into rest if you’ve forgotten how, and another one with many more healing protocols.
