Hello beloveds!

Election day is less than a week away and I don’t know about you, but I am on pins and needles. I have been obsessed with the news for weeks, and—while I do have hope that we will collectively choose a president who values women’s health and autonomy, honors the law and the constitution, is not blatantly racist, and believes in the reality of global climate change—fear and anxiety are vying for dominance in my nervous system.

I know I am not alone. Emotions are big right now, and it is quite possible that we will not know the final results of the election for days or even weeks. And regardless of the outcome, we still have an incredible amount of healing and repair work to do as a collective body. And I don’t know about you, but I often feel powerless in the face of it all.

So what do we do?

When I was a teenager, I learned about the devastation humans were causing to the living beings and systems of this planet, so I went to Prescott College to become a conservation biologist. The more I studied, however, the more I realized that conservation work alone was not going to “save the Earth.” In addition to protecting wild places, I realized that we needed to become a population of people who were so in love with this incredible, unique, life-bearing planet that we would work hard to support it. We needed to care about the wellbeing of all beings, including all of our neighbors. And in order to do that, we needed to have a massive shift in our collective values.

I believed, and still do, that a society comprised of humans who value wild beauty and love and hard work and lifestyles that give more than they take is a society in which all people—not to mention life, itself—can thrive. It’s a world where no one gets to be a billionaire, but no one needs to because everybody’s needs are tended to by the collective. But in order to create that world, I believe that we need to heal the deep wounds that have both caused and are perpetuated by our extractive structures of dominance and greed.

And so, for the past 25 years I have been asking myself how I can play an active role in helping my species evolve into a community of beings who care for one another and the earth. I used to shoulder this responsibility heavily and with great shame (and hubris!) that I alone was unable to shift our collective paradigm. And I still sometimes regret that I don’t have a bigger voice, a wider platform, or greater palpable influence.

And yet. I also believe that we each have tremendous power, more power than we know. And I’m not talking about the power of dominance here, but of true power-with. I’m talking about the power that comes from our inner light-source, our shine. I’m talking about the kind of power that emerges when we get to share our inherent gifts with the world. The kind of power that lights up a room. The kind that draws people to us because we exude Calm or Joy or Presence or Authenticity. The kind of power that gives others permission to shed their costumes of “success” and instead drape themselves in gowns and lifestyles that reflect their true nature.

As a person whose true nature has guided me to a fairly quiet life (albeit in loud colors and prints), I share my shine with small circles, and I have come to believe that that is enough. I have to, because feeling like a failure serves no one. I may not be able to turn the hearts of all beings toward love and beauty, but I can create the conditions for mine to occupy that space.

I can tend to my own nervous system on a daily basis so that I feel grounded and present enough to hold space for others to connect with their own loving nature. I can walk in the woods and share their offerings with you in the form of healing medicine. I can study nonviolent communication and transformative conflict and apply what I learn to my closest relationships and the communities I’m a part of. And I can fill my Instagram feed with friends and teachers and artists who show me daily that our collective body is actually teeming with people who are committed to healing, growing, and thriving. And this gives me the hope I need to continue doing the same.

And so on November 6th, whether or not we know who the 47th president of the United States will be, I will wake up and take my walk and soak in the beauty and feel my feelings and soothe my nervous system with herbal allies and long exhales. I will orient myself toward love and beauty that day and the next, knowing that—no matter who wins this election—we will still be in tremendous need of personal and collective healing. And every day I will continue to do my best to contribute to it. Please join me.

Please join me by believing that your wellbeing matters. Please join me by tending to your own sweet heart and nervous system. Please join me in sharing your shine—that is, your greatest power—with the world around you, no matter how small that world may seem.

For I believe with all my heart that if we each take responsibility for our own inherent capacity for personal healing and growth, we can’t help but influence those around us to do the same, and our small ripples of influence may quickly become overlapping tides of change. So let’s do what we need to do to make some healing waves together!

If you need some support for coming into presence, groundedness, and love, we have a few offerings:

Herbal Tinctures for the Nervous System. I have struggled with anxiety quite a bit throughout my life, but it no longer is the near-constant companion it once was. Ongoing somatic practices and inner work have played a big role in my healing, but I know I wouldn’t be as emotionally resilient as I am without the help of herbs. If you’d like help choosing the right herbs for you, be in touch.

Imperfect CBD Salve Sale! We still have a few imperfect CBD salves on sale while supplies last. These salves can support relaxation and sleep, and they are an excellent excuse for self-massage.

Somatic Parts-Work Sessions. Somatic Parts-Work is an embodied and IFS-informed practice for working with emotional discomfort, overwhelm, stress, core wounds, shadow material, relationship dynamics, trauma, and just about anything else that feels challenging. To learn more about my private practice, visit my website at Evolutionary Human.

Pluto Power Reading. For the month of November, I am offering a sale on “Pluto Power” astrology readings. The placement of Pluto in our birth charts holds a lot of information about where our deepest powers lie, as well as our capacities for profound transformation. Also, Pluto will be moving into Aquarius for a 20-year journey in mid-November. Its current location in the sky sheds light on the areas of your life where you may experience the most powerful cycles of transformation over the next two decades.

Tarot and Astrology Readings. I offer tarot and astrology readings as potent access points to your wisest and most loving self. To learn more and book a reading please visit Evolutionary Human.

In big love, beauty, and HOPE! xoxo Bex