On a scale of 1-10, how woo woo are you?

 

Noun. woo woo (countable and uncountable, plural woo woos) (slang, derogatory) A person readily accepting supernatural, paranormal, occult, or pseudoscientific phenomena, or emotion-based beliefs and explanations. That reporter is a bit of a woo woo. (slang, derogatory) Experts believe that through meditation and energy comes natural medicine and healing. Whether it is joint pain or mental instability, changing your everyday routine thoughts can truly improve your life.

 

If you would have asked me in 2021, I would have told you that manifesting is something that girls in pyramid schemes promote. I would have told you that the cycles of the moon affect the tide, and nothing else. I would have told you that praying was reserved for organized religion - something I do not participate in.

 

As I approach my birthday, I reflect on my last lap around the sun. Moving out of my home, shifting my business, losing my community, having my home broken into, taking a “go find me” trip, and another one, and another one. Through the loss, confusion and pain, I began to grow into a human I am truly proud of. When I look back, my shift in perspective can be traced back to a specific go find me trip in April, when I traveled to the desert with my two oldest and best friends. We soaked in hot springs, watched the sun rise over the grand canyon, visited ancient ruins, made friends with the local tribes and soaked up magic in the Sedona vortex. We continued to say that we were there to do woo woo shit, whatever that meant. The trip was a blast, and spending that time with my soul sisters was so special, but I don’t remember any significant moment of change. When I returned home I didn’t feel any different, but looking back now, the shift is undeniable.

 

I landed contracts I’ve been coveting for months and years, I created a morning routine that works for me, and I started watching the moon. I removed my blocks around money and started manifesting that income would find me in this slow earn/high creative time of my life, and just like that, checks I wasn’t expecting started to show up in my mailbox. I began following Instagram accounts that told me about the stars, human design and which days of the cycle are best to reflect, create and tune in. (some accounts include @thecosmiclatte @bloody.health @risingwoman and @animamundiherbals ) I also started reading books written by women who I’ve heard speak about feminine energy (authors include Mel Wells, Queen Afua & Danielle LaPorte). Sometime in these warm months, I started to notice a correlation between my bleeding cycle and the moon cycle, and I began creating a work schedule to reflect this. Instead of trying to practice 20 hours of massage on the first few days of my period, I made time for rest. I scheduled important meetings when I was ovulating and full of energy. I made time for journaling, reflecting and planning in every week.

 

I tell you all of this to explain how I ended up creating my first full moon ritual on Wednesday 7/13 for the Buck full moon. If you aren’t familiar, this is the time of year when male deer begin shedding their antlers in order to grow stronger, more resilient ones. This is when growth happens, which seemed like a perfect time to start something I’ve never even considered before.

 

I began by creating my space. I ate a moonflower delta 8 candy, burnt sage, made a pot of tea, put on a soothing playlist and applied an oil treatment to my scalp. I signed into my Alo Moves app and made my way through breathing practices, meditations, kundalini practices and mindset talks. I took breaks to sweat in my sauna bag (like $100 on amazon and the sole reason I survived last winter) and skinny dip in the creek in my backyard (although a cold shower would work just as well). I fueled my body with hearty soup and calmed my system with cbd. I went to bed at a reasonable hour and woke up immensely refreshed. The next morning, I jumped out of bed without hitting snooze, a huge accomplishment and vast improvement from last year. I accomplished my to-do list with such speed and ease, that I found three hours of free time in my day to float on an RMR raft tube, listen to an audiobook and decide that I am officially healed enough to start intentionally contributing to my community in a positive way. Does that mean that I’m 100% healed? No, there is no such thing. Does that mean I haven’t contributed anything thus far? No, I definitely have (I love these letters and my live yoga classes), but I want to do more. It’s a powerful feeling, to not be so overwhelmed by fight or flight that you can think of someone other than yourself. It’s new territory and I’m very excited to explore it further.

 

During my trip to California in May, after an intense womb healing and almost 12 hours of rest, I had a dream that I was praying to a sun goddess and made a mental note to “pray more” which is a pretty easy metric considering anything would be more than nothing. While floating on my tube, I realized that almost a month went by without a second prayer. Since there’s no time like the present, I put my hands on my chest and said this little prayer,

“Goddess of the sun, I honor you as I honor myself.” The sun began to peek out of the clouds and I continued. “I am grateful for you, as I am grateful for this body.” The sun was now at full blast. “I cherish you, as I cherish this earth and I love you as I love this life.” and just like that, I prayed for my second time ever, the day after my first full moon ritual.

 

On a scale of 1-10, I’m an 8 on the woowoo scale, and I am here for it!

 

 

“Remember that an emotion felt fully only lasts 90 seconds. I know it feels like you’re breaking, you are. But you’re also strong as hell and you will survive the feeling. Right now you are not okay, but you will be eventually. Allow yourself some grace and love. Ugly cry and take a bath and watch how to be single.”

 

 

 

Leah Staley