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When everything is going right in our lives—when our energy is high, we’re feeling good in our bodies, our mental health is stable, we’re spiritually tapped in—carving out time to do the inner work that is required to manifest is more than possible.

In fact, for many of us seekers, it’s a joy. It’s something juicy we look forward to. It’s a period of time we ritualize with candlelight, binaural beets, and earthy perfumes.

But when things are tough—when our spirits are low, we’re feeling disconnected from Spirit, our bodies, our path, our “why”—finding the energy to do the inner work to get out of this place and into the place of connectedness and inspiration from which we manifest feels incredibly challenging.

The irony, of course, is that it’s in these moments that we most need to do the inner work. It is medicinal. It is what will bring us back to life.

If you’re reading this, you may be in this tougher place now. If that’s the case, please know that you’re not alone, that I feel for you, that I and your angels are praying for you. Please know, too, that this is only temporary, and that you do have the strength to make it out of this.

The truth is, whatever you’re going through is unfolding as it is for your benefit. You’re moving through this experience in order to learn a lesson that your soul has come into your body to learn. We all have so many lessons to learn throughout our lifetime, and while that is imperative—no one will pass on having experienced zero challenges—what is up to us is how we perceive and react to them. Whether we choose to view these lessons as unfair bouts of pain, or sacred gateways into deep healing and growth.

When we choose the latter, it’s not that we’re being all Pollyanna and turning a blind eye to our feelings. This is not about suppression. Rather, it’s the opposite.

When we choose to view challenging periods as sacred gateways, we are diving into the depth of our feelings, exploring them, understanding their core, where they stem from, in order to, ultimately, facilitate deep healing and growth.

Recently, I was experiencing exquisite loneliness. The kind of loneliness that you can feel in the marrow of your being. The kind that makes you cry in that I-can’t-breathe, guttural sob sort of way. At first glance, it’s easy to think, well, this is the result of living in a foreign country where I have my partner, sure, but I don’t know many other people well. It’s easy to leave it there. To blame the present day scenario.

And while, yes, there were action steps I needed to make in my current reality to reach out to people here, the deeper truth was that I needed to heal the loneliness that’s been dormant in my bones since I was a kid. Since I felt “othered” in elementary school. Maybe even preschool. And this came to light as I explored these feelings, realizing they were too intense to be the result of only my present day.

The question is, how do we find the energy to do this digging when all we want to do is sleep, or zone out in front of the television, or walk until our legs fall off in an effort to numb the pain? How do we investigate our feelings when they feel so overwhelming that we may just crumble beneath them?

The first thing I’ll say is that if you need a day or two to rest, to watch television, to have some chocolate, or do whatever you feel in your heart you need to soften the pain, take that time. Let yourself be soothed. The worst thing we can do is shock our minds and bodies by pushing ourselves when we’re exhausted.

That said, after some time has passed, we owe it to ourselves to do what we can to begin to move forward. As mentioned, moving forward doesn’t mean shoving our feelings below the rug and dusting ourselves off, but rather pulling them up and being courageous to get a little dirty, to dive into our muck.

Little by little. Day by day.

Again, the point is not to overwhelm our nervous systems.

What I suggest is first draining that which needs to be drained from our minds. We can do this best through automatic journalling, wherein we write without editing for a period of time. Try five minutes to begin. Your writing doesn’t need to be coherent or even legible on the page. The point is just to get the thoughts out, however seemingly nonsensical they may be. Our subconscious is not always logical, remember. That’s more than okay.

Once you’ve journaled, check in with yourself. How do you feel?

Maybe, for today, that was enough. But maybe you can do something else.

Check in with your body. If you have the energy, take 10 minutes to stretch or go for a gentle walk around your block. Getting the energy flowing has a massive impact on not only our bodies but our mental health. You may like to do this while listening to an inspirational podcast, or you may prefer to go tech-free and tune into the thoughts you’ve begun to release during your journaling. Ask yourself what you need, and give yourself that medicine.

Continue to journal every day for a week. Commit to this practice of releasing your thoughts without judgement. And then build on your routine of gentle, intuitive movement following this.

After a week, take some time to check in with yourself. How do you feel now in comparison to a week ago? What could you bring into your life to further your healing? What’s come up for you that you’d benefit from exploring in the week ahead?

The second week is where many have the energy to sit down and set an intention. That may be an intention for how you want to feel, or for what you’d like to manifest in your life. Note, these are rather similar. As, in the end, when we are calling things into our lives, it’s because our souls are seeking, ultimately, a feeling. A key to manifestation is to identify the feeling we are calling in, and then ask ourselves how we can sink into this energy today. For instance, if you are seeking love, how can you bring love into your life today? Brainstorm and then act on one of the ideas that have come to you.

The key is to be gentle with yourself throughout this process. Don’t expect too much of yourself when you’re already bearing the weight of whatever you’re moving through. Take it easy. Baby steps that seem so tiny there’s no doubt you can take them are what we are looking for. Leaps and bounds may be sexy, but they aren’t nourishing to your nervous system.

So do yourself a favour and be kind to yourself. Check in with your heart. Try not to overanalyze; let your thoughts pour onto the page without judgement. Move slowly.

And remember that this is a moment in time. A sacred gateway to come home to a truer you.

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