How To Handle Mercury Retrograde Mercury Retrograde is a three-week astrological cycle in which the energies associated with Mercury, namely communication and the mind, tend to create an atmosphere that can feel rather slow, heavy, or even stormy and negative. Life may seem to flow slowly, or in a confused way, and it may seem that everything seems more effortful than usual. These curious changes result from an energetic shift in consciousness during Mercury Retrograde: The subconscious may seem to become dominant, as if it were the main influence in your awareness. However, the conscious mind, which is usually in charge, seems to be less available to you. This reversal may account for the perception, often noticed during Mercury Retrograde, that things feel somewhat dreamlike. This is because in a dream the subconscious is dominant, and the conscious mind is less present. The difference here is that during Mercury Retrograde, you are actually awake, and so you notice things surfacing from your subconscious that you would not ordinarily see or feel. During this Retrograde time, you may have assumed that your heightened feelings are entirely originating from within your own personality. However, though your emotions and thoughts are your own, please understand that the planetary energies may be affecting and amplifying certain hidden patterns within you. And also, the energetic influences of an entire population affected by this sub-conscious / conscious shift may create an unusual energetic atmosphere, and this may affect you as well. You are generally warned not to make major purchases or sign important contracts during this period. This is because when you are more influenced by the subconscious than the conscious mind, deeper hidden forces may affect your perception and judgment. These deeper subconscious patterns, whether in other people, or in yourself, may lead to unwanted results. However, if you treat yourself with kindness and care during this period, you will be fine, and you can even benefit from the opportunities that Mercury Retrograde offers you… Your discoveries about your subconscious self during Mercury Retrograde can be revealing and healing. Although being aware of your deeper emotional and mental patterns would be useful at any time, during this unusual three-week period you can see, feel, and hear the workings of your emotions and your mind more easily that usual. This is because of the tendency during Mercury Retrograde for your subconscious to be more prominent than usual. And that can be an advantage for you… When you consciously listen to the voice of your inner self talking, you have an empowering strategic advantage, because you can respond to the subconscious patterns in a new way. You can introduce conscious, positive thoughts to yourself. You can have a conversation, and this introduces the voice of your conscious self to the subconscious self. Without the conscious self to introduce new ideas, the negative patterns in the subconscious may keep automatically repeating themselves. Of course, your subconscious never announces, “This is the subconscious talking.” Instead, you may find yourself saying negative statements to yourself, without your having consciously chosen to make such statements. This is how you notice your subconscious patterns. During the Retrograde period, your self-talk may be more insistent, as if it were louder, and as if the emotional intensity of the beliefs are more forceful. This is why you benefit from knowing when the Retrograde cycles are taking place, so that you don’t get stuck in the Retrograde tendencies of feeling slowed-down, confused, or inclined towards negativity. You can easily do an online search to find the dates for Mercury Retrograde. It is during Mercury Retrograde that negative inner voices can seem to be more prominent in your consciousness. So what do you do when your inner self voice is insisting that life is awful, or that you are no good, or that the people in your life can’t appreciate you? First, you acknowledge the negative statement — without agreeing with it. You notice that your emotions and mind are insistently making claims about your life… And you listen to your inner voice, but in a new neutral way: 1. You listen to the statement as if you were a reporter on the scene. You are not emotionally involved with the statements, and you are just listening to them. 2. You notice the sound, or tone, of the inner voice. And this is something that you might not have noticed before, because generally we listen to the words of our inner voice, rather than the tone. When you become conscious that the tone is angry, fearful, or sad, you become empowered — because you are noticing the voice tone, without getting stuck in the message. 3. So what do you do when you have noticed that your inner self has negative or limiting thoughts about your reality, and you hear the tone of voice that is being used? You approach the voice as if you were a reporter: “So, inner voice, you are saying that…________________…” Your ability to listen neutrally, and to play back the statement, actually shifts the emotional statement to a different, less emotional part of the brain. And when you consciously notice the emotionality of the statement, you are also experiencing it with a different part of yourself. Just the fact that you are now consciously noticing the voice tone means that you are not stuck in the emotional grip of the negative message. 4. You may be inclined to tell your inner voice that it is wrong, but this would create resistance. What are your choices here? Put on the best friendly coach or counselor hat you can manage, and just listen to the voice. Ask the voice to share its concerns. As the inner voice speaks, just respond with friendly yet neutral responses that show that you care, and that you are listening, such as, “tell me more,” or “I’m listening.” Notice that you are staying neutral — you are not agreeing, and you are not jumping in to help. Nor are you making the inner voice wrong. When your responses have calmed the voice, at least somewhat, you can offer some new possibilities… 5. Show the inner voice a range of possibilities. Imagine a scale, like a thermometer, except that rather than showing temperature, this is a scale of the emotional range of possibilities… from lower heavy vibrations ranging all the way up to higher lighter vibrations. Share this scale with the inner self in a non-judging way. 6. Use your imagination to help the inner voice shift upwards on this scale. Gently shift just a little bit upwards, towards a higher vibration on the scale. Don’t force your inner voice to a much higher place on the scale, because a radical shift may create resistance. Shifting just a little bit upwards on the scale is actually a powerful thing to do, because a slight shift upwards helps your subconscious self recognize that it doesn’t have to be stuck in one negative state. In other words, change is possible — when you approach it from a neutral attitude, and when you shift gently and gradually. Help your inner voice gently shift to a somewhat lighter or smoother state. And once your inner voice realizes that this is possible, it begins to take in new messages, new thoughts, and new emotions of hope and possibilities. 7. When you have raised your vibration, even somewhat, you will have learned an important lesson about consciousness, which is that any shift that helps you get unstuck makes it easier to continue shifting your reality. This is self empowerment. To sum up, although Mercury Retrograde may affect many people emotionally and mentally, it offers you a unique opportunity to converse with your deeper subconscious. This can give you emotional healing and deeper self knowledge. Though many people irrationally fear Mercury Retrograde, this is because they do not understand the opportunity that this period offers. Now you know how to use the Mercury Retrograde time to cultivate deeper awareness. This lets you generate useful discoveries, and heal your inner self when you communicate with your subconscious. May you be enriched and empowered in every aspect of your life when Mercury Retrograde next offers its fascinating gifts to you. Joel Bruce Wallach
Posted on: Sat, 24 Jan 2015 11:56:46 +0000
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