2020 has been very difficult. It has been the Year of Evolution, and this has been rough.

When something evolves, inevitably, something else has to die off. And we’re seeing systems change right now, as well as consciousness shifting, as well as how we choose to behave in the world.

This has been a timeframe of great stress; with pandemics, and super tornadoes, and murder hornets, and record-setting typhoons and hurricanes, and wildfires eating continents, and movie-grade earthquakes, and swarms of locusts, the earth has really looked like the last book in the Bible, Revelations, as every terrible thing possible has been unleashed. Either The Book or Revelations, or a really bad sci-fi movie, but either way, 2020 has left millions of people with a heightened stress response.

As such, as I’m seeing the shift from 2020 to 2021, and watching the frenetic energies of 2020 begin to settle. As we move into 2021’s Year of Birth, I am watching many of us experience exaggerated and histrionic responses to very small issues in our daily lives. 

This is in part due to a severe hypervigilance that’s been imparted in us during 2020’s year of great trauma. 

When the shoe just keeps dropping, we expect there to be a storm that rains shoes, and we carry an umbrella made of iron as not to get another concussion from a stray, flailing steel-tip boot. 

Holding up this iron umbrella, day in and day out, will of course cause fatigue, if you understand the analogy.

It is in this exaggerated and persisting hypervigilance that we are wearing ourselves out. Yes, we need to be prudent in this time of Covid, and socially distance, and make the tough choices not to get together in large groups during holidays (which inspire us all to get together in large groups). We need to keep our heads on, squarely.

Yet in 2020, when every day was a breaking news headline of some horror in the government, or some horror in the streets, or some lawlessness exploding somewhere, seemingly unchecked or unable to be unchecked by any means, the fear of losing control in our daily lives begins to embed itself in the foundations of our subconscious.

We, as human beings, have thousands of years of trauma programming embedded in our DNA. Some folks like to call this embedding “fight or flight or freeze”, yet I like to think about it as an opportunity for us to change how we interact with stress. Because really, when it comes down to it, our DNA is only an imprint, not a destiny. It is a set of instructions triggered by a set of circumstances, not a mandate in place at all times. It is not a zero sum total game.

In other words, just because it’s in us to react a certain way, doesn’t mean that we, like robots, are chained to that programming. It’s in how we react to the programming, where the evolution takes place. And that evolution re-writes the code in our DNA, in the “reaction to stress” department.

Humanity is a constant work in progress.

Our embedded genetic response to trauma (when our body triggers our nervous system to emit chemicals that expressed danger to the body) will begin to actually physically wear on different systems of the body over time, to produce fatigue, illness, lowered levels of intimate interest, pulmonary issues, endocrine issues—the physical list is extensive. 

Let’s not even get started on the mental list of ailments that occur when we are continually housing a never ending hypervigilant trauma cycle within the psyche.

So give yourself a break if you’re feeling unusually tired at the end of 2020.

The term PTSD is thrown about quite a bit. I choose not to use that term at this time, because true post traumatic stress disorder has a very specific cause, and a very specific way of playing itself out. I’m more referring to the fact that we, as a society, have an exaggerated hypervigilance that is wearing everyone out at this time, and so I offer some potential options as tools in this timeframe to lessen the impact on our bodies and our psyche.

Again, it’s very important to remember, especially in this feminine timeframe, that this is not a competition in how we manage this persisting stress. The Old World (the imbalanced portion of the divine masculine timeframe, also known in part as “the 20th century”) taught all of us that everything is an alpha competition. That there is one winner and one loser. That if we all do not behave the same way to any given stimulus, that we will be the “odd one out”, or the one who loses. 

That is absolutely not true, and never has been, when put into the reference of emotional and psychological processing of any given situation.

There are many ways to achieve one goal in the area of reconnecting with ourselves, the earth, and our inner peace. So here are a few tools that may assist you in relieving yourself of some of this persisting 2020 compounded stress–a bitter sandwich layered with mistrust, a lack of control, and a restriction of resources:

1. STOP READING HEADLINES – Put your mobile device is down, stop reading every news thread, stop scrolling through Facebook thinking that’s where actual news is passed along, get off of Twitter, and put on some good vintage holiday music. I say vintage holiday music because much of it was recorded during a timeframe where the energy stamp of the earth did not carry such frenetic chaos.
   
   Music is a snapshot in time, of a specific energy signature. Dial up some good Bing Crosby, or something from the 40s or 50’s. Though certainly those timeframes had their social and economic issues that we are all aware of, the over-arching “good will” in the world during the holiday times, in that more naïve and innocent timeframe, is literally energetically captured in the music. When the sound waves of that music moves the particle matter in out third dimension, this will change the esthetic and etheric resonance in any space. (If you’re not a fan of holiday music, just call up some crooner music from the 40s. You will achieve the same results.) 
   
2. GET INTO THE ELEMENTS – A human being is a biological and electromagnetic entity that requires connection with other electromagnetic items, through some sort of kinesthetic exchange. This is a very fancy way to say that were physical creatures that require physical soothing in order to address why we don’t feel well.
   
   Generally, we get hugs and snuggles from loved ones, and from friends, to accomplish this goal. For those living alone, or who do not have access to loved ones or friends, because of the Covid situation, there are ways to create an “etheric hug“ with elemental items around the house.  
   
   Light candles, buy or build an indoor fountain (placed by or close to your front door, for great Fung Shui), allow the sounds of water and the sounds of fire and the look of water and the look of fire to flood your indoor spaces. This not only is this psychologically soothing, yet elements of fire and water trigger DNA responses in a human being to recognize the environment as “safe”. Fire warms in the cave days, and water means life, always. So if you can’t have access to a hug, or even if you have hugs yet require a little more connection to something since our human connection ids limited, connect to the elements and fire up the elements within the home.
   
   
3. TURN OFF THE TV – I mean, everybody loves a holiday movie, but once it’s over, then turn off the television and pick up a book, or do an art project, or physically play a game with family members. If you have that classic 1940s holiday music rolling in the background, along with candles and a fountain, you’re going to find that the kinesthetic action of touching a book to read, or making Christmas ornaments or holiday ornaments, or laughing over a game with family and friends, triggers a theta response in the brain, which is a meditative brainwave pattern. When theta waves are present, our stress levels diminish dramatically. 
   
   
4. COOK OR BAKE – Creating food is again, a theta wave activity. It can be very meditative, and the smells created by baking or cooking food, also trigger ancient DNA within human beings that signal safety. Food means life. It means resting after a long hunt. It means provision. You don’t have to be Gordon Ramsay here—even if all you have is one packet of Ramen noodles, cook it up! The smell of cooking food will trigger the body to relax, and indicate to it that provision is at hand. Not to mention you get to eat all of that yummy goodness when you’re done!
   
   
5. PHONE A FRIEND – Hearing another person’s voice triggers memories that are positive that exist between you and that individual. In an opposite way, hearing someone’s voice, who you have experienced much trauma with, will solicit a trauma response, so make sure you are calling friends and family that are healthy for you.
   
   Human beings require human connection. It is how we are built. It is foundational in the DNA of our empathic species, and in our tribal, mammalian ancestors. Even if we are phoning, Skyping, or Zooming our friends and family, that connection is palpable. If we have elements rolling in our home at the same time that we are speaking with family, like candles burning or a fountain trickling, that kinesthetic connection while interfacing with our family and friends virtually can be more easily interpreted by the brain.
   
   
6. GET OUTSIDE – If it’s safe for you to do so, take a walk. This does not have to be an epic walk, and it does not require a brand new workout gear shopping spree, unless you wanted one! Taking an undisturbed walk of even ten minutes resets body chemistry, as well as brain chemistry. (Reading your phone while walking negates this experience.)
   
   Trees are amazing emotional communicators. Not only do they communicate with the ethers vibrationally, they also release chemicals that cause happy responses in our brains. Trees exist in family groups, and so when you take a walk through a park, and there are old trees that have been growing for quite some time, you are literally strolling through someone’s happy family gathering, and the trees are happy to have you.
   
   Even if you were in a city, walking by shrubs and bushes and small trees, these plant life groups literally interact chemically in the soil, as a family. And they appreciate very much what you exhale. So surround yourself in nature, get outside of structures that are lined with electrical coatings and piping, all of which conduct extra electromagnetic energy that can be agitating to our brains and our hearts over time, especially if the home has old wiring, or poorly grounded wiring. Excess electromagnetic impulses caused the brain to experience hallucinations, the body to experience nausea and skin rashes, and the overall feeling of being watched. Nobody can relax when that is happening! Walks outside will dissipate extra electromagnetic energy that builds up in the body.
    
7. GO BAREFOOT IF YOU CAN – During warmer months, or in areas that aren’t as cold in the winter time, get outside and place your feet in the grass. Even if you’re bundled up tight, and want to sit in a chair outside, and touch your feet to soil (as long as it’s not too cold0, this will allow the body to discharge excess stress and up to 40% of built-up electromagnetic energy and inflammation, which converts in the body to a stress response.
   
   This is a very popular movement these days called “earthing”, or “grounding”, however, as a kid growing up in the 70s, we simply used to call it “going barefooting”.
   
   Going barefoot in the house is better than nothing, yet it’s really not the same as being barefoot on soil. Or, soil and grass. And in snowy areas, or areas that are quite cold, I’ve known people who will boil water, and continually keep one melted spot in their backyard simply to allow their feet to be placed on the ground. This gets tricky because it can cause an ice patch, however, for those who live in cold climates and cannot access the soil, soaking your feet in water with Epsom salts is the next best thing to a grounding mechanism.
   
   
8. MEDITATE OR PRAY- I’m not referring to a lengthy one or two hour long process here. This could be five minutes in your day, when you simply sit and look out the window, and appreciate everything that is around you.
   
   Reflecting on that which is not the self, is a very healthy practice. Even in the midst of our most wild grief, even in the midst of our biggest losses, we can challenge ourselves to take 30 seconds and acknowledge something in our life that is a blessing.
   
   Do you have a roof over your head? Do you have access to hot running water? Do you have access to food when you’re hungry? Might you have your health at this time of the year? Perhaps you have someone in your life who loves you unconditionally, even when you don’t love yourself? Maybe you have the world’s greatest pets? Or maybe it’s just as simple as loving the new fountain that you built, to have some of the elements on the inside of your home.
   
   Find something to be grateful for every day, even if it’s once a day. A great practice is to do this 3 to 5 times a day. To take a moment out of the chaos, stop, and truly reflect on what is working in your life. This is also called “perception building” (or as I like to call it, polishing our lens through which we see the world), and our third dimensional reality that we experience is heavily dependent upon perception.
   
   Thoughts are things, words have weight, and we can redirect ourselves away from pain and chaos, even for a moment, by redirecting our minds.
   
   
9. VOLUNTEER – Running in the same vein as reflecting on anything that is outside of the self, physical service to others, during which we received absolutely no compensation, is an incredible application of the human gift of empathy.
   
   When we volunteer, not to the point of exhaustion or burn-out, yet simply to the point of lending a hand once in a while, we literally move energies in the body that cannot be moved in any other way, except by assisting others. It’s important that we recognize this.
   
   The human body is full of an electric current that the eastern culture calls “Chi”. There are different Chi highways in the body. And to simplify this concept a great deal, certain pathways cannot be activated unless we are doing something for someone else for absolutely no reason whatsoever. Think of it as a “service highway”.
   
   Now, you don’t need to leave your house to volunteer. Perhaps you volunteer to clean the house for your spouse when they’re overly busy with work. Perhaps you volunteer once in a while to do a chore for your child, when you recognize that your child’s online homework and lack of connection with friends is wearing on them emotionally. This is also volunteering.
   
   However, if you would like a stunning experience, volunteer to serve people who lack the resources that you may enjoy every day. This will change your perception in our insular, echo-chamber American lifestyle, a lifestyle that encourages self-indulgence, addiction to sugar, media, buying things, and immediate text responses in order to feel better. Volunteer opportunities out in the community are now fewer, with health concerns since Covid has spread it it’s tendrils. Yet even reaching out to churches or to volunteer organizations, to see what you can do from wherever you are, would be something that will move this Chi in the only way that it can be moved— in the service of another.
   
   
10. TAKE A BATH – Yep, a good old giant tub of hot water, and a soak for 15 minutes or more, physically remove toxins from the body, triggers the body and brain that it is safe, as our DNA remembers being in the womb, and is private time where only you, your spirit, and your flesh, have the opportunity to commune together.
    
    DO NOT Read your phone in the bathtub. Electronic devices and water are not only a poor idea in terms of the physics of both of those elements coming together, however, the electromagnetic frequencies that emit of a cell phone or a smart phone are contrary to the experience of being in the water, in order to remove excess electromagnetic buildup in the body. In other words, you don’t want to be shoveling rocks into the wheelbarrow when you’re trying to empty the wheelbarrow of rocks.
    
    To even add more punch to your bath, include for 4 cups of dissolved Epsom salts. Epsom salt is magnesium sulfate, is sodium-based crystaline structure that assists the water in extracting not only physical toxins, yet energetic and vibrational “toxins” from the body systems. Crystals conduct energy. NASA uses Crystal’s all the time to conduct energy, and they grow crystals in space, to make sure that they are pure in their refraction capabilities. So there is a great deal of science that goes into taking an Epsom salt bath, if you have enough Epsom salt in the water.
    
    If you would like to add even a further layer to your relaxing experience, and you are not allergic to essential oils, try a few drops of frankincense, which dissipates negative energy, as well as lavender, which physically inspires relaxation.
    
    If you are in a living situation that does not provide a bathtub, and you are uncomfortable with hitting up a friend to use theirs, soaking your feet in a tub of water with all of the aforementioned ingredients will also achieve a great deal. If you are someone that cannot lift a water basin, simply filling a sink with water, combining all of these aforementioned ingredients, and soaking your hands will certainly assist you and feeling better as well. Our hands and our feet both contain the same reflexology points, and the same Chi runs through all of those points, so at the very least , you’re giving your body a chance to detox through these points.
    
    …2020 has brought out the very best and very worst of humanity. We’ve had the opportunity to see who we are, under great stress. We’ve had the opportunity to evaluate our strengths, and also our old wounds, which have been buried beneath the pace of 21st century life. When that lifestayle came to a standstill, may of those wounds have bubbled to the surface, for us to evaluate.
    
    If we take the time to simply “be” with our detoxingh process, we will achieve a peace that many of us have not known in quite some time, or perhaps, ever. We are human. we require care. If we are willing to extend this care to ourselves, then every life that we touch will also be emboldened with the same peace that we carry within ourselves.
    
    This holiday season, give yourself the gift of compassion. You’ll be able to give this gift, then, freely, to those around you. And they, to those around them. Vibrationally, emotionally, and intellectually, the world will truly become a better place, all because you took the time to light a candle and take a bath. Because Peace on Earth and goodwill toward humanity–all starts with us, as individuals.
    
    It truly is that simple.