Spring is upon us
Happy Equinox/Ostara
Day and night were equivalent yesterday, creating peace, harmony, and balance after winter’s restoration, hibernation, and slowdown. It didn’t take long for sweet ‘ol Florida to warm up, but we’ve been blessed with some gorgeous chilly mornings and warm afternoons this week.
s p r i n g !
my vibe for spring
As most of you know, I have an undergrad degree in psychology and social welfare and am currently a grad student in social work. Psychology and therapy have been my life’s passion since the age of 12. My passion for psychology isn’t the scientific study of the brain, but it is very important to know the biological aspects of its workings to have a clear understanding of human behavior.
I promise I have a point! and this isn’t a textbook lesson.
What I want to share with you is pruning. Out with the old in with the new. The brain, oh powerful creature, does this really cool thing called pruning. During developmental stages, especially in early childhood and adolescence, the brain overproduces something called grey matter. Think of it as a bubbly juicy rain cloud. The yummy cloud is ready to soak up all information from the natural world. She sucks it up, filters it through, and like tiny tears, what doesn’t serve executive functioning is long forgotten, like dried raindrops on a sizzling pavement.
I love this as a metaphor for the changing of seasons. Winter is about slowing down, taking a pause, a breath. Settling into cozy. In spring we awaken! Perhaps not like a bolt of lightning, but like the hatching of chicks, the blooming of a flower. You are coming into this new season of abundance and growth. How do we get there? PRUNING!
Another tidbit about the brain, she works from back to front throughout this process, leaving the frontal lobe for last, which holds some big brain thoughts ;) I like the way she thinks! *pause for laughter* but in all seriousness working from back to front, or rather, from the small things to the grand, helps us prune with ease. It’s daunting to just go for a big change— in fact, most of the time our bodies won’t allow it! That would be the antithesis of flowing into the next season.
Here’s how to embody the practice of pruning:
Think about winter. Were there any themes in your life, stages you encountered, sacrifices made, or conflicts that arose? I love flowcharts as a brain-map. They help put everything on paper and pull from our subconscious thoughts. I also just really like drawing squiggly arrows.
⇝⇝⇝⇝⇝⇝⇝⇝⇝⇝⇝⇝⇝⇝⇝⇝⇝⇝⇝⇝⇝⇝⇝⇝⇝⇝⇝⇝⇝⇝⇝⇝⇝⇝⇝⇝⇝⇝⇝⇝⇝⇝⇝⇝⇝⇝⇝⇝⇝⇝⇝⇝⇝⇝⇝⇝⇝⇝⇝⇝⇝⇝⇝
An example of a brain map here
(remember it’s supposed to be a raw expression of your thoughts, it can be messy and scribbly, as long as you hold no judgment for yourself.)
Here, you are filtering your thoughts onto paper, which is so powerful in itself. Seeing what you need can be humbling or surprising. What comes to the surface is what has taken root, been there from hibernation. We don’t place judgment upon it but thaw it out, just as the earth reminds us.
End goal for this practice?
Just write, flow, feel, sit with clutter, sit with ‘messy’, and bridge the gap between winter and spring, still and sprint, give yourself grace for all that you’ve encountered, and allow recognition and mindfulness around all aspects of self.
Abundant blessings ∞
-madison renee katherine
What do you want to hear from me?