new year activation: the liminal space
what we can often feel, but don’t always recognise, is the liminal space that exists with change.
there is a messy middle – a threshold or a pause – that exists between the you that you no longer are and the you that you are not yet becoming.
this can feel disorienting, uncomfortable, restless, maybe even a bit ‘meh’ – like you are so ready for change but now you are just waiting and it’s anticlimactic, possibly unsettling.
this is because our nervous system does not like uncertainty and our subconscious does not like change – we humans are wired for safety and predictability!
but our brains are also really flexible in this liminal space; we have more neuroplasticity – more opportunity for brain rewiring… for new connections, insights, and meanings – when our usual or old patterns are suspended!
so this is a perfect time to recalibrate into this next level self you are choosing – this new direction or new way of being or new story you are writing for yourself.
the period between the solstice and the new year is a perfect example of liminal space – that hazy holiday period when you aren’t sure what day it is, that pause from regular life, that threshold between an ending and a beginning. so it is a perfect mirror to how you might feel inside as well, and a perfect time to start rewiring for change.
try: on small pieces of paper write down examples of how it will feel once you have created the change of your intentions. for example: if the new story i am writing for myself is: “i am successful” some of the examples of how that new story will feel could be: confidence, fulfilment, abundance, etc. try to come up with 10 or 11 examples, one for every day between solstice and the new year.
each day open up one example and practice embodying this feeling:
· this is what _____ (confidence, abundance, fulfillment, whatever you have chosen) feels like. i have experienced this feeling before, i know what it feels like in my body. i am ready to feel it again, i practice feeling it right now.
· notice where you feel it in your body. notice your posture. notice your breath. notice your safety.
· look in the mirror and say: “there they are! this is a person who is ______. they are already here!”
doing this each day of your limnal space is a way to start rewiring pathways, to bring your self into a new state of being or frequency… ready to embrace the change you say you want.
this is also a perfect time to practice nervous system expansion: practice being OK with discomfort. “i allow myself to be in the in between. the unknown is not unsafe… it’s just unfamiliar!”
try: beaches are beautiful examples of limnal space: that threshold where the ocean meets the land. if you can go to a beach, do! if not, look at a picture of a beach, watch a video, doodle a beach in your notebook, or simply imagine a beach in your minds eye: the sea in front of you, the earth behind you… you stand on the shore, the threshold between. it’s safe to be right here. there’s beauty in this space. you can honour what’s behind you and you can trust what you cannot yet see out on the horizon.
lastly, limnal spaces are perfect for slowing down and for rest. rest is so important for rewiring and recalibration. do some things that are deeply restorative – whatever that means to you.
rather than ‘resting’ by doom scrolling or binge watching or speed reading other peoples stories, try to use this limnal time to practice YOUR new stories of who you are being… use your imagination! daydream, write, sketch, mind map, have imaginary conversations out loud… whatever works for you. our brains don’t know the difference between imagination and reality… so the time you spend imagining what you want for yourself is well spent practice, teaching your brain and your nervous system and your energy: this is our story now, this is our new normal.
missed the solistice-new year liminal period? no problem!
what feels like a liminal time for you? for us here in australia, all of january feels very hazy and slow and scattered because it’s our summer holiday! for you it might be while you have a break this season, or your kids are on a school break, or that strange period when the new year has begun but nothing feels different yet! if you notice you are in a bit of a threshold period or an in between state, tap into that energy!
as we enter this hazy holiday ‘in between’ period, how can you honour and attune to the liminal space that exists within change?