To be super honest, I freaking hate Halloween!

I'm well aware that:

·      Hate is a strong word

·      Halloween is many people's favorite holiday

·      Hate goes against my mantra of neutrality

While I do hate Halloween, I don’t stay in the feeling of hate. I use energetic tools to process this powerful emotion. I'm just saying that I feel Halloween Hate—a lot!

Ubiquitous Halloween treats and decorations provide a constant reminder, so I have lots of opportunities to practice what I preach.

How I Process My Halloween Hate

First, I notice when Halloween Hate comes up. I feel all this negativity and despair increasing in my body. Then, I notice my thoughts start to unleash their barrage of judgment and anger.

This is what I would call initial mindfulness--I’m aware that I am feeling uncomfortable emotions and that my thoughts are fanning their flames of vitriol.  

Awareness is a great first step, but what do I DO with these uncomfortable thoughts and feelings?

Grounding is Our Energetic Drain

How many times have you heard, “can’t you just let it go?” Duh—that seems obvious. If it were that easy, though, everyone would be happy. Letting things go may not be easy, but it is simple. The better question is how? How do we let things go?

The how is through grounding. We can use our grounding as our energetic drain to help us release anything that doesn’t feel good in the moment.

In this case, we would start broad. Release big general feelings such as my overall Halloween Hate. Then we look deeper, behind these general feelings because that is how we increase our awareness even more. That is when true change and healing can happen. I tune within and ask myself, “What is causing this Halloween Hate in the first place?”

Deep within I find:

·      Frustration that so many people are unaware of their programming so they mindlessly support companies that refuse to guarantee they aren't using child labor to produce chocolate

·      Anger that millions buy costumes intentionally made so cheaply, they are essentially single-use plastic

·      Irritation that I feel forced into a no-win situation—I either buy the little packages of chemical-laden, plastic-wrapped candies and line the pockets of people who are purposefully putting profits over our planet just so I have something to hand out and pretend I'm a fun neighbor or friend **or** I turn off the lights and risk being judged as cheap, boring, and a curmudgeon

·      Worry for all the underprivileged kids who are gorging on health-destroying candy yet have no health or dental insurance

·      Helpless to do anything about all the food waste when millions of people are hungry—primarily the trashing of pumpkins which is technically a squash aka food that our Earth worked so hard to give us and could feed people

·      Judgment against people who don't care that balloons and fake spider webs are death traps for wild animals

·      Sadness that I'm not normal. Why can't I just freaking ignore all these realities and just have fun like everyone else?

After I feel each of these secondary emotions, I start to release their energy down my grounding. Emotions, after all, are just energy-in-motion. They are neither good or bad, wrong or right, appropriate or inappropriate. They are simply energy, and we can work with energy!

That's where grounding comes in to save the day faster and better than any superhero; grounding doesn't even need a cape—plastic or otherwise!

When I release my fretful emotions, I can come back to equilibrium. Halloween is still going to happen whether I'm filled with Halloween Hate or in complete surrender.

Note—I’m not burying all these emotions so I can fake it a la "grin and bear it" style. I'm releasing them out of my body so I am not burdened by them. Grounding gives me sovereignty over my well-being despite the depressing realities.

A More Positive Perspective on Halloween

I thought I’d share some Tips and Tricks to lighten my grief over the true horrors of Halloween.

Halloween is A Good Time to Connect with Other Dimensions

Halloween, also known as Samhain, is the time of year when the veil between dimensions is thinnest making it an especially good time to connect with a loved one who has transitioned. You can ask them for a sign they are near, or you can even ask for a visitation.

If you'd rather not suddenly see them sitting on the couch with you as you Netflix and chill, just ask them to visit while you’re sleeping—when your doubtful mind is quieted, and you're more receptive. It’s easier to receive communication from other realms when you are in a deep state of relaxation.

If you have fear around ghosts or disembodied beings, use your grounding to release these fears. This will make it easier for you to connect.

A Good Time for Shadow Work

Hollywood’s version of Halloween invariably involves someone lurking in the shadows. We know they are there, but we can’t see them so our fright builds.

The same is true with our energy. When we hide our inner demons, tension builds. It takes a lot of our life force to keep the shadow sides of ourselves hidden.

It may seem crazy, but we actually do want to see those areas of ourselves that we'd rather hide—hence the popular term "shadow self".

When we go inside our own haunted house and shine some light on our shadows, we can see them more clearly and dilute their power to hold us in their grip of fear.

When we are aware of all aspects of ourselves, it makes it easier to understand and if we wish, change how we operate in the world.

Practices such as journaling, meditating, connecting with nature, yoga, and grounding help soften the blow when we dare to acknowledge our “dark” sides.

Conclusion

While I still hate the commercialization and planet plundering done to “celebrate” Halloween, we have ways to process this heavy energy. In turn, we gain the freedom to focus on the positive opportunities the season offers.

OK, whew! That was a lot. Thanks for being there. I feel better already and hope you do, too!

May your tricks be few and your treats be kind to our bodies and the planet. Have a Happy Halloween and Special Samhain.

PS: No Tricks, Just a Treat

If you’d like to learn how to use Grounding as your own superpower, join the Grounding and Energy Management class . Grounding graduates will gain access to the Practicum which will remain closed otherwise.