Healing the Way We Work for Personal Empowerment

I've been having dreams of an invisible, energetic Grid that blankets all of Silicon Valley, my hometown. I see it floating above the trees and the buildings, cutting us off from the rest of the sky.

It's like the mesh top of an aviary that keeps the birds from flying away––but this Grid glitters with power, electricity, and the agreements we've made to keep this whole system running. As we work, as we play, and as we rest, it whispers down to us...

Keep going, keep doing, keep working.

It whispers the often unspoken agreements like:

•    "Work hard, be rewarded."
•    "You don't own your time––your employer does."
•    "The more you work, the more worthy you are."
•    "Even fun has to be productive."
•    "Relaxation is distraction. Distraction is relaxation."
•    "We are each other's competition."
•    "Self-care is the break you take so you can do more."
•    "Trust no one, least of all yourself."
•    "You can never earn enough money."

Have you heard or felt these before, too?

Whether or not you live in Silicon Valley, I've felt the same pressures in other areas, especially cities, as well. Maybe you feel them now.

I've been undergoing a personal inventory and recalibration of all of these toxic agreements that we've allowed to run in our collective consciousness.

When I was growing up in Palo Alto before either of the tech booms, these agreements weren't here. I felt like I could laze outside with a good book all day, school was fun, and I could play with ease. I remember when that started to change and the pressures to succeed in a certain way began to override that carefree feeling.

You could chalk that up to a happy childhood transitioning into the awakening of adolescence, but I think there's another layer here.

We came up with these agreements with the birth of big corporations and technology and the influx of thousands of workers. And they were probably necessary at that point in time to a certain extent––which is why we created them. We needed to be focused on working hard and innovating.

But...do we now? Are these agreements still serving us? And since humans originally created them, can't we change them now too? Agreements only have power when we give them power––just like in any other relationship. 

Now to be really clear, I'm not saying technology or even the industry as a whole is bad––I've worked in it for 8+ years and even to this day still do consulting a few hours a week for a tech company. I also benefit daily from technology––I have an online business after all! And I LOVE working with people who are currently working in the tech industry––mainly because I get their challenges first-hand, and I know how much stress relief and magic is needed here.

And, I think it's time we took a good hard look at these agreements, especially when it comes to the way we engage with work. I don't need to cite the growing stats of self-reported anxiety, burnout, and depression or employee suicides to make my case. You may even feel it on a smaller scale personally. My clients feel it. I feel it.

We need to heal the way we work. But...how? 

The first step in any form of personal development and coaching is cultivating greater self-awareness.

So I invite you to ask yourself: what agreements or rules of working and living are infiltrating your thoughts and behaviors?

One of the ones I'm personally rewriting now is that rest is only something we do so we can work or learn or grow more... when in reality rest IS growth. More on those musings in another email later :)

If you're curious about this work––of rewriting and breaking free of the old agreements micromanaging your work and life––I'd like to invite you to attend my powerful monthly ceremony, Metamorphosis.

This ceremony is a potent virtual experience to help support you with breaking free of the daily pressures and releasing stress so you can reclaim your sovereignty, energy, and magic. It's only one hour of commitment and is a catalyst for your personal empowerment.

It includes 3 of my favorite stress-relieving and personal power-enhancing practices: card reading, breath work, and shamanic journeying––all taught in a down-to-earth accessible way and format (regardless of your level of "woo"). You in?

Join us by getting a ticket here >>

with love,

Emily