These last few weeks and months we have witnessed darkness come to the forefront of our minds, newsfeeds, conversations. With this weekend’s New Moon, Solar Eclipse and Summer Solstice, we can run but we cannot hide from facing these shadows.
Shadows are not the enemy. But ignoring them is. Because no matter how hard we try, we know the truth. And when we embody that truth, we can begin the process of alchemy.
One thing that I teach in my Pussy Empowered framework is how to digest and embody your emotions through movement. I call this Dance Your Truth and it falls under the umbrella of Alchemizing Your Herstory. It incorporates modalities I have learned including the technology of swamping by Mama Gena, author of Pussy: A Reclamation.
No matter your race, you have likely been visited by any or all of the following emotions in recent weeks (perhaps many of these within the same day): fear, sadness, guilt, shame, rage, hope, optimism.
Maybe you experienced what Sonya Renee Taylor calls in her book, The Body is Not an Apology, meta-shame: shame for feeling shame. Or shame for feeling whatever it is you are feeling for that matter.
How do I know? Because, so have I.
Our emotions are powerful and you and I both know what happens when we stuff that shit away. It is BOUND to erupt when we least expect it.
So I propose that you LISTEN to what is coming up. Hear what you are telling yourself, what stories are presenting themselves from your past, and what worries you are projecting into the future. Allow yourself to embody these emotions by dancing your truth. And once you’ve taken that time to fully feel it, ask yourself, how can I use this raw material to inform my next steps?
The point is not to move into the land of rage, but to let rage pass through you like a storm. To cry and cleanse the toxins out of your eyes, to feel the fire, to find where that emotion is living in your body and physically move with it.
Our emotions are NOT WEAKNESS.
A video of my share last week, allowing myself to be witnessed in dancing my truth.
Quite the opposite. Our emotions are a source of power. Stifled emotions cause mental, physical and emotional harm. That energy does not dissipate on its own, but instead it manifests in ways that we may not be consciously aware of such as defensiveness, disease, passive aggressiveness, allowing the racist patriarchy to continue unrivaled, fight/flight, feeling helpless and numbness.
But what if we took the time to honor and fully process our emotions? What if we truly listened for the information they are sharing with us.
The best part of our cycle to do this is, well every part. It is always helpful to have a moment of truth with you and your body, mind, spirit, Pussy.
The second best time is during our pre-menstrual/luteal phase. If you have not processed your emotions throughout your cycle, your emotions will come forth during this time. Sometimes they will feel like they are out of nowhere, sometimes they will be very specific. Always they will make their presence known. This is a built in phase useful in leaving behind what is no longer serving us, parallel to waning moon vibes.
Unfortunately, we have many stereotypes associated with this phase and with our emotions in general. We are dismissed as hysterical, bitchy, we are asked if we are menstrual, told we are weak.
In our society, it seems like a luxury and a privilege to have the time and space to feel. We are told emotions are in the way of our productivity. And many are simply over scheduled, overworked, and in survival mode, leaving no time to explore the inner realms.
But you’re not a machine. Your emotions tell you whats up in your inner world. Carving out sacred, safe space on your own and in community to feel is integral to accessing the power to create change. Fuck being desensitized to violence, pain, racism, inequality, poverty. Look where that has gotten us.
Instead, lets allow our emotions to empower us and remind us what we are passionate about. Let us learn from them and translate them into action steps.
For example, in the last weeks I, myself have felt powerful shame overcome me. When I took the time to hear the message this emotion was delivering to me it was this: I am not doing enough. I am not showing up for my Black community. Sitting with this message I identified the underlying desire: I desire to do more. I desire to be part of real change. I refuse to accept helplessness. Reflecting and moving with this gave me the opportunity to recognize this message and create a tangible plan of action as I outlined in My Commitment to Active Anti-Racism.
If I had bypassed those emotions, I may not have allowed that message to resonate through me. Which I think is how we go so long in our lives without facing and standing in our truth. We sweep it under the rug and say we are “fine”, until one day we experience rupture when we least expect it. Thats where the phrase “deal with your emotions, or they will deal with you” comes from.
Instead, I invite you to access your power. Dance in Your Truth today. And if you want to take it a step further and be witnessed in community, feel free to share a video of your movement in our Pussy Empowered Coven or check out the movement playlists I’ve curated and shared there.
Now is not the time to numb out. It is the time to rise up. Are you with me?
Comment “I’m ready to Dance My Truth!” below if you are.