A very belated Beltane newsletter - reflections on imperfection, connection and compassion
brought to you by Tender Being with Harriet
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Dear ,
In this (late) newsletter you'll find:
- Beltane Practice Resource & Reflections
- Ways to work with me in the coming months
- Some recommendations from me of stuff I've been learning from, enjoying and some actions you can take
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Beltane Reflections & Practice
Firstly I want to acknowledge how late this newsletter is. I am fighting all urges to apologise, because I wouldn't expect someone else to apologise in these circumstances, and also I want to say I had very much hoped to send this out earlier.
Life has been full and I haven't had the capacity to make and share this one on time. But nature doesn't follow strict dates or timelines, and I'm trying to lean into the invitations of this, as well as accessing some self compassion and acknowledgement of my very human needs.
I shared more about this on my May Home Practice email in the Community Membership - reflecting on the vulnerability of imperfection. This has inspired our Belated Beltane home practice.
The Beltane Practice invitation is to engage in the
Easing in to imperfection Meditation
I've been thinking about the fact that Beltane is the midpoint between spring and summer. I appreciate the invitations that both midpoints and solistices can offer, as we notice where our balance and positioning between the two might be. And we can check in to see what might be a more supportive balance for us right now.
I feel quite at ease in many ways with the spring energy, because I am always buzzing with ideas and excitement about learning (even when this moves my plans beyond my realistic capacity...)
But I've been exploring an understanding of summer energy that feels supportive to me, and I will share with you all (as I shared in our Community Beltane session at the beginning of the month).
In nature, summer is a time of abundance. Everything is full, there is food, there is warmth, and we can imagine that this might offer some sense of relief. No longer striving as in the Spring in energy, but instead relaxing into a more easeful energy. Ease is the counter-experience of ease. Stress is a response to perceived lack of safety, so finding ways to cue in some more ease and safety can support us in rebalancing this.
Society wants us to see perfection as the only way to truly feel safe. but perfection is a myth. a dangerous myth. we are imperfect, we inevitably make mistakes - all the time. What if we could find a bit more ease within this? And from there we might even be able to access more self compassion for our humanness. The practice is available to access and download on google drive - I will also be uploading this to insight timer, so it should show up there once approved in the next week.
Access the practice here
If you want to connect with a group of us to mark the next Celtic Wheel Festival, you can join us on the Community Membership (next Festival will be Summer Solstice in June).
I shared Beltane prompts and reflections on the podcast and I'd love to hear your responses to the prompts and/or to what I've shared in the comments - come on over to Substack.
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Here are the ways you can work with me now or in the coming months:
🌿 Coaching
I have some very limited availability for 121 coaching, if you'd like to work together. You can find out more about my coaching approach and what this can look like here.
🌿 Community Membership on Substack
The Membership is available on a 'pay what you can' basis, so whatever your budget you can join us!
Inside you'll find:
- The new home for all Celtic Wheel Events, we will be gathering for Summer Solstice on 21st June - there's still time to sign up and join us.
- A Monthly Home Practice Invitation, as well as the opportunity to connect and discuss with me and others about what you notice, any questions or insights in a private chat space.
- Monthly drop-in Community Sessions happening on the second Saturday of every month, where we can connect live about the previous month's home practice (as well as anything else that has been coming up). I will guide a session with invitations and plenty of space for discussion and exploration as a group.
If you'd like to join us, we'd love to welcome you into the community - any questions you can simply reply to this email and get in touch.
🌿 Tender Little Beings
Tender Little Beings (or TLB as no one is calling it...) is now LIVE! You can check some of this out on my instagram. It's still a little sparse as I'm just getting going, but I'm incredibly excited to start applying some of this stuff and my sleep and COSP qualifications to support families.
If you'd like to get support or you know someone who does then please do get in touch.
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My Recommendations
These aren't intended as a reading / to do list - just a little insight into the stuff I'm exploring and an invitation to join me if any of it peaks your interest!
Here are my recommendations for this newsletter:
📺 TV - Interior Design Masters, BBC Iplayer
My partner and I LOVE this show. I don't really know why, as we aren't particularly into interiors and have taken years to do basic repainting of our home... but there is something about the show, particularly in that the people on the show are genuinely good at what they're doing. They aren't on there for entertainment as people who have inflated senses of their own skill level, they are there because of their love for self expression through interiors. Maybe I'm making too much of this but I love to see the humanness, the kindness of the judges and other contestants, and I love to see different spaces - maybe its the anthropologist in me geeking out about the biography of places and spaces and how these change... anyway it's nice soothing watching.
🎧 Podcast - Low Demand Parenting, 'Why Mothering is Killing us'
I appreciate that this may sound like a not particularly enjoyable listen and/or relevant to those who aren't parenting, but actually the more I explore the ways we interact with children and child-rearing, the more I am convinced that we can learn so much from these discussions. We can learn about the messages we received when we were little and carry with us, that shape our self-image and sense of safety in the world (ie the practice I shared above!) There is so much I could say on this but I think it's much better explained by the wonderful people on this episode. I also highly recommend the episode about 'permissive parenting' and how I think our fear of being 'permissive' generally as a society, stops all of us from accessing self compassion.
💾 Substack - Facism thrives on women's self doubt
✍️ Petitions -
Tell Kier Starmer to stop arming Israel
Call for immediate ceasefire now
✉️ Donate
to the trans legal clinic fund
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Thank you so much for your support
🌱 It's an honour to journey together as we cross from season to season 🌱
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Have any questions?
You can reply directly to this email or use the button below
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