Welcome to the first of your new-look, new-focus letters from me: welcome once again to the Midlife Spirit! (If you haven’t read last week’s message about what the Midlife Spirit is all about then you can do so HERE).
This first edition is slightly different to what you’ll receive going forward.
Today I’m sharing a video I made for my website that introduces me PLUS I share a simple meditation to centre yourself which helps you to shift your energy so you can sense a supportive spiritual connection to yourself and nature (the practice starts at 2mins 13secs).
(If you prefer to read then you’ll find the transcript at the end of this letter.)
In future editions I’ll either share a video or an audio offering you a sacred pause in your day to centre yourself and shift your energy, and I’ll share some words of wisdom – either from my own books and new writing or from other writers whose work speaks to the soul. (There’ll always be a written version of this if you prefer to read.)
And then other times, the letter might be a written musing on the midlife journey and spiritual connection.
For your midlife spirit…
Each week I’ll be sharing links to articles, podcast and things that have helped me nourish my midlife spirit that I think you’ll also enjoy. So here’s the first roundup.
📖Something to read
READ: Who’s Up for Building a Cathedral? Ecocentric Human Development, the Hero’s Journey, and Cultural Regeneration by Bill Plotkin, depth psychologist, wilderness guide, author and founder of the Animas Valley Institute.
An in-depth essay considering what it might take to move humanity (and our habitat) out of the current human-induced eco-crisis.
While this isn’t about midlife specifically, it certainly speaks to the midlife spirit that beckons us to address what truly matters in life and to mature into true elderhood. I appreciate Plotkin’s honest and unvarnished take on this.
🎧Something to listen to
LISTEN HERE: Fixing Menopause, on The Life - An Inside Job podcast. Host Kate Codrington - speaker, facilitator, menopause mentor and author of Second Spring - interviews Rachel Lankester: midlife disruptor, author of Magnificent Midlife, founder of The Mutton Club and host of the Magnificent Midlife podcast.
I loved listening to this conversation. Wise, informative and empowering. It focuses on debunking the narrative that claims menopause is a deficiency that requires fixing, instead of a normal, healthy life event that ushers us into a vibrant, engaged maturity.
P.S. I was interviewed by Kate for this podcast last year. You can listen to our conversation ‘Inside Messy Cycles’ HERE.
📺Something to watch
This one is just for UK folks (sorry to my international readers…).
I’ve just finished watching The Change on Channel 4. Have you seen it?
It’s created and written by comedian Bridget Christie. Here’s how C4 describes it: “Linda finds a new lease of life when she learns that she's experiencing menopause. So she heads to the forest on a journey of self-discovery.”
But that doesn’t do it justice…
It’s wonderfully strange, feminist, anti-capitalist, inclusive, pagan and menopause-affirming. I highly recommend watching if you haven’t already! It’s free to stream in the UK.
😍Something to look at
Here’s a picture from one of my daily walks this week - a view that nourished my soul…
I’ve always loved gazing at clouds. They remind me of the mysteries of life.
They’re ever-changing, mercurial, beautiful and hypnotic …
Sometimes they’re serene. Sometimes they’re stormy. Sometimes they block out the sun entirely and it feels like you’re stuck in a grey bleakness that will never shift… Then the clouds part and the light returns. A bit like the midlife peri/menopausal experience, eh?! 😜
✍️Over to you…
Share something in the comments section that has nourished or uplifted your midlife spirit this week. Write a few words to describe your experience or perhaps share a link if it’s something you’ve read, listened to or watched.
I’m planning on including a roundup of these in future editions of this letter.
I’m a firm believer that as we share our stories, thoughts and experience we help ourselves and each other feel less alone. So do please consider leaving a comment for me and others to read!
Thank you so much for being here.
If you wish to support my work then why not buy me a herbal tea or decaf coffee HERE? 🫖🍵☕🙏🥰💞
Video transcript: Centre Yourself Meditation
Welcome to The Midlife Spirit with me Stella Tomlinson: writer, poet, artist and Priestess.
I’m here to help you cultivate your spiritual connection so you can feel more centred and less overwhelmed and confused during the changes to your body, mind and soul that happen during midlife.
As you’re here I wonder if like me, you’re longing to lean into a sense of being supported by something greater than yourself as well as remembering the wisdom within – your intuition and the whispers of your soul.
I believe that cultivating our spiritual side helps us to do just this. Because having a simple but deeply rooted spiritual practice to call on helps you to feel more connected, open hearted, clear minded, focused, grounded and creative. Further, it gives you something to lean into through midlife’s inevitable difficult times. It helps you to feel you are not alone and enables you to tap into an abundant source of healing compassion, support and strength.
So through all of my work I’m sharing simple ways to help you to connect to the earth beneath your feet and the wisdom of nature and life’s seasons and cycles, as well as the wisdom and compassion in your own heart, as a grounded and nourishing spiritual practice to help you feel more centred, clear minded and connected.
And here I’m sharing with you a simple practice to help you to step into soul space. To settle the body and nervous system and quiet the mind, so you can deepen your spiritual connection and feel more centred and open to inner guidance and clarity.
So, let’s begin … Invite your body to settle and let your eyes be softly open or gently closed …
And become aware of your breath by just noticing that you’re breathing… and with each breath out invite a sense of comfort and ease into your body … softening … releasing … spacious … at ease……
And now invite your awareness to move down through floor…. Down into the earth beneath … The soil, the rocks the roots below…
Sensing the solidity and strength of the earth … always there… An ongoing presence of support and strength
And invite a sense of calm strength to rise up from the earth into your body … into your bones … into your muscles… rising up through your spine…
Peaceful strength flowing through your body…
And now let your awareness rise to sense the vast expanse of sky above you … Unlimited, expansive, free ... And feel the air dancing around you… And sense golden light is shining down from the sun … light and energy and clarity… flowing down through the crown of your head... into your body … …energising, expansive … … and soothing, nurturing … you’re filled with golden light, sparkling through every cell of your being….
Receiving from above and below …. The energies of the earth and the energies of the sky mingling in the centre of your being … Breathe and receive…
And now you might like to gently place your hand on your heart if you wish to …. And bring to mind someone for whom you feel affection … a tender warmth… A person or maybe a pet … And notice how it feels to think of them with warmth and affection …
Notice how it feels in your body ……Maybe there’s a softening… An expansiveness… Or a tingling… Maybe even a gently subtle smile softening the corners of your mouth …….
And now open to receive warmth and affection from them … Breathe and receive this loving connection… tender warmth flowing out … tender warmth flowing in …
Inviting a sense of feeling held … connected … supported …Resting in a growing sense of peace … contentment … and tender warmth and love…
And now with your awareness in the space of the heart – the centre of your being… … The gateway to your soul and its wisdom and guidance … … simply ask “what do I need to know today? What is my soul longing for?”
And notice if there’s an image … word … or phrase that’s being whispered to you … Release thinking … Just feeling … listening …Breathe … and receive… Breathe …. Receive this whisper of your soul… And trust yourself.
And as you feel ready, open your eyes…
Noticing the subtle shift in energy that happens when you pause and remember your spiritual connection … your connection to the earth, the sky and to the portal of your own heart where you can open to receive the guidance of inner wisdom and listen for the wise whispers of your soul.
And if you received any guidance in this meditation – even if it didn’t appear to make sense – I invite you to make a note of it and reflect if there’s any simple step you can take to integrate that soul whisper into your life. Is there any action it’s prompting you to take? It might be quite simple. Often the guidance I receive is gentle yet powerful such as “slow down”, “trust yourself” or “it’s okay”. It reminds me to be more present and to be kinder to myself. What is your soul longing for?
Now, I believe this spiritual connection to self and nature is always available to us. We just need to remember and give ourselves space to listen.
And when you regularly remember and re-establish this connection, you can feel more centred, you gain clarity and you feel connected to a force greater than yourself and then you know you have a port in the storm to which you can return; a safe sanctuary amidst the changes and challenges of life where you can rest and be held and perhaps even lean into a sense of trust that there’s a part of you who remains present and wise who will guide you through this journey.
Until next time, I wish you the blessings of fierce and tender self-compassion for your midlife journey,
Stella x
Books for your midlife spirit
Centre Yourself