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Heather Sanderson's Blog, page 3

December 19, 2024

The Messy Middle

Happy end of the calendar year time to you! And whatever that may mean for you. For me, it’s a lovely time of endings. Wrapping up what I can. Finishing the end of a semester. Completing a few jobs. Last walks of pups and children for the year. One by one the “last” of the year for my commitments has been completed and it feels GOOD. 

I love finishing things. I love starting things too. The messy middle… that is not my favourite place to be. Yet, I’m finding more and more comfort with the ability to stay with myself in that place of things feeling like they won’t end, won’t be figured out, won’t clear. It links to having the ability to let emotions move through me (isn’t that the foundation of all of our psychology? Or a lot of it…).

As I continue to grow in safety within myself and actually feel the primary emotions as they happen AND can expose my emotional being to others, I’m learning that it actually simplifies moving through complex things. And, newsflash to me, I’m finding there is no risk of losing the people who love me because of how I feel or how I am. There is no risk of losing myself.

As I am held and witnessed by those who allow me to feel (and as I have grown to allow people to do this–which I never used to do) and those who allow me to be “a mess,” that middle part of living is starting to become more comfortable. To me, this also means no longer having to avoid a whole lot of myself, to limit myself to others, and to limit life.

I had the opportunity to teach some high school kids about emotional intelligence last week and was able to let them know that this “EQ” was a relatively new concept in our modern society. It’s only really been around for the last twenty years or so. While they may have grown up with this as part of the cultural ethos, many of us did not. Many of us have been learning it as we go and to various degrees of desire to do so and comfort. That is all okay of course. 

What I was reminded of again is that the sensations, the raw information within us and from the world around us, taken into the body must move through the body. It’s when they get stuck (and they do! For all of us) that the middle becomes a more difficult place to be. And we build stories and behaviours and ways to get out of some of those feelings. Clinging to life rafts of our own creation. Trying to make things move or stall by force and, sometimes, feeling like it (whatever it is) will never end and sometimes using absolutely anything we can to avoid the messy middle, new beginnings and/or endings. It’s a lot!

But the messy middle sometimes lets those things come up and out. The messy middle, especially when it can be met with love, holds so much of the magic and keys to healing and understanding how to be in the world. The messy middle means not rushing forward to close a chapter or a door or an emotion. Nor does it mean only seeking the new on repeat. Both of these options can be ways to avoid the mess. To keep up appearances. To keep those we love.

It also doesn’t mean sustaining in the suffering of that middle part–when that feels familiar it can lead to avoiding endings or avoiding beginnings. To wear the messy middle as a badge of honor or a legacy. So, even with more comfort in the messy middle, I do not need to or want to hang out in it all of the time.

We each have our own preferences to a part of this beginning, middle, end cycle and it’s interesting to see where that preference is, to learn what we may need from the other parts. Like everything else, it’s about acceptance and finding a healthy mix or balance and you are the only one who will know what that is for you. Even as it changes again and again and again. 

Anyway, these are some musings that are emerging in this moment as I sit at the airport. Take what may resonate and ignore the rest. Or all of it. Haha. 

You can click through to find info on the return of my Heart Connection workshop–an opportunity to learn or be reminded how to be present with the heart as our main sensory organ (and all that means) and a Reiki 1 training, both in January (Reiki 2 follows in March). 

I hope the end of the year brings you what you may need, want, and may any seeds that you want to plant for new beginnings take root.

Photo by James Leonard.

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Published on December 19, 2024 12:23

December 1, 2024

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October 1, 2024

September 30, 2024

Fortunes Told: a flash fiction story Audiobook Release!

My first flash fiction audiobook is now available! It’s a bit of a test to see if people listen (and want other ones!). So please check it out if you feel called to do so.

Here’s the “about the story”:

In four minutes Heather Sanderson tells a story of tragic loss, a break up, and what fortune looks like even when we can’t see it right in front of us.

This flash fiction story has a hint of mystery as the main character is only known as “she,” so the reader can insert themselves (or someone they know) into the story. Step into the wintery streets of Montreal and see where your imagination takes you.

This story first appeared in print on Sad Girl Diaries.

Available at Apple Books, Chirp, Everand (Scribd), Google Play, Kobo, NOOK Audiobooks, Spotify

(I’m also trying to get more practice reading stories aloud for an upcoming children’s book that will, with any luck, be read many, many, many times over. If you want to know more about that “coming soon” release, follow my author page on Amazon or sign up for my newsletter).

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Published on September 30, 2024 10:30

September 1, 2024

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June 19, 2024

Top 25 Majestic Wisdom Books of All Time

To honor the approach of the summer solstice and a heightened time of solar energy, outward expression, and bursting plant life and creativity, here are the all-time top 25 Majestic Wisdom books for you to choose from! I hope they help you remember and tap into your magic and bring it out into the world.

Of the 1,200 copies that are now out in the world, the top 25 Majestic Wisdom books of all time are:

Dreaming with Mugwort Dreaming with Nettle Sister, Building the Future Now Through Reiki Dreaming with Dandelion Dreaming with Hawthorn Dreaming with Oak Dreaming with Lavender Dreaming with Rosemary Dreaming with Violet Loving Kindness for Everyday Life Dreaming with Redwood Dreaming with Willow Dreaming with Birch Dreaming with Holly Dreaming with Red Clover Yoga Nidra for Everyday Life Dreaming with Elder Holding Space to Heal Dreaming with Sunflower Dreaming with Heather Dreaming with Apple Envisioning New Ecosystems Dreaming with Trillium Dreaming with Spruce

Thank you for reading and dreaming with the plants and the Future is Possible conversations. It truly is a dream come true to share these works with you.

For a list of all available and upcoming titles, click here.

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Published on June 19, 2024 07:04

June 3, 2024