A nervous-system-informed reflection on fear, trauma, and collective awakening — and how to find steadiness, capacity, and choice through the body’s wisdom.

Before we go any further, let’s pause for just a moment.

I invite you to place a hand on your chest or belly.
Take a slow breath in through your nose…
and a long, gentle exhale through your mouth.

Do that once more.

There is nothing you need to understand yet.
Nothing you need to agree with.
Nothing you need to fix.

Just notice that you are here, and notice how you feel after taking a slow, conscious breath.
(You can do this any time you want or need it. 💓)

This reflection has been living and evolving in me for several days, and it’s become clear that it wants to be shared as two connected pieces.

This is Part One — an exploration of what’s happening now, how it’s showing up in our bodies and nervous systems, and why so many of us are feeling overwhelmed, terrified and/or exhausted.  (With a strategy or two to support 😉

Part Two (coming soon) will focus more explicitly on integration, collective responsibility, and how we live these insights in practice, including reflections connected to this sacred MLK Day holiday.

Okay — coming back to what’s here, now…

These times are dark.

Immensely dark.
Increasingly dark.
Breathtakingly dark.

And yet…inside us — each of us, always — there is Light.

I say that not as a pretty placation, but as an actual spiritual gift: the essence of our Being, always present within us, even when we haven’t been trained to feel it, notice it or trust it…yet.

This Light is our soul — our connection to Source Energy — infused with a larger cosmic wisdom and possibility.
It is what steadies us in scary times.
It’s what guides us.
It’s what makes it possible to move toward peace without bypassing what’s real.

And that’s a huge gift, because bypassing is a big part of what got us into this mess.

So it’s time to find that Light.
To tune into it.
To listen.
To remember what it has brought us here for.

And to crank that bad boy up.  

Not to override the darkness —
but to meet it with clarity, compassion and capacity, opening up access to real change.
To be present with our bodies and with one another, and to bravely feel our way forward.

For clarity’s sake: this isn’t me claiming to have the answer about what’s happening in these times. It’s an invitation to notice what’s becoming visible — what I’m noticing about how our history shapes our patterns, and how those patterns create our reality — and to check that against your own lived experience, body, and inner knowing.. 

This is where sovereignty lives. Not in you agreeing with me — but in the opportunity to tune inward.

As you read through this piece, I invite you to periodically tune into that inner Light for yourself, and then ask it directly: Does this ring true for me?

You don’t need my certainty. You can find your own. Learning how to listen to that inner authority — rather than outsourcing it — is how we begin to reclaim choice, agency and power.

Whew. Ready? Here we go.

As white-bodied people (speaking to most of my audience, but also to all of us shaped by Western influence), we often have the option of not feeling.

Stick with me here — and take conscious breaths as needed. This is part of the healing.

Often that “not feeling,” that not-full-awareness, happens by default — not by conscious choice. It’s a nervous-system response that has been bred into white people over centuries for survival, and to keep oppressive systems churning.

And at what cost?

Many of us are chronically frazzled and disconnected, trying to prove our worth, concealing our “imperfections,” overwhelmed, exhausted, and sick. We’re afraid for others to see who we truly are because…well, they might not love that version of us.

Alongside what we’re each carrying in our personal lives, we are now immersed — constantly — in the collective energetic field, exposed to suffering, images, opinions and reactions at a scale humanity has never navigated before.

For empathetic nervous systems, it’s a lot.

And when our feelings get big, we often don’t know how to metabolize them — or honor the wisdom they carry.

So we stuff them down or process them in unhealthy ways, often ignoring where they come from because we weren’t taught how to be with them — how to “compost” them into something life-giving.

And while our privilege has enabled us to tune out, others are forced to feel it all — even our stuff — as they have for generations.

I say this not to shame, but to acknowledge the unseen emotional labor of being a person of color in a caste-system-based society like the one we inherited.

A society that ironically intended to escape dominator culture when it first came to these shores — yet our forebearers couldn’t help but unknowingly recreate it. They didn’t yet have the capacity to see how it lived on in their very bones, nervous systems, and ways of being.

It wasn’t time… yet.

And then they passed it on to their descendants.
(Yep. That’s us.)

Unhealed trauma — and the often extreme dysfunction that flows from it — has been woven into the very fabric of the American experience. We are a nation of hierarchy masquerading as equality.

Please hear me: it’s not our fault.
And as we become more aware of it, it is our responsibility — for ourselves and for future generations.

For each other.
For our very survival.

And here’s where it starts to get a little less squirmy — and more exciting. (Thanks for sticking with me, keep taking slow deep breaths as needed.❤️‍🩹)

There is liberation here.
There is even joy.

Joy in increasing our capacity to feel — all of it — and to feel it with each other.

Not from collapse, but from capacity.
(And sometimes from collapse and capacity at the same time.)

This asks us to let go of the performative.
To let ourselves be enough.

To follow our hearts.
To reach out.
To invite one another into healing — and into the reclamation of our power — with the Divine and with each other.
To nestle in.
…To remember.

All of this — the history, the inheritance, the capacity to feel — isn’t abstract for me.

It’s well-documented science about what happens in traumatized bodies and traumatized societies.

And I feel it living in my body right now.

Can you feel it living in yours?

Here’s one way it’s been showing up for me:

There was a day last week when I woke up with deep circles under my eyes and a sore jaw and knew I’d been grinding my teeth in my sleep.

That usually happens when I’m at odds with my husband or worried about finances. Lately — as those areas have been healing (hallelujah) — I’ve noticed the jaw-clenching show up when I’m holding the sorrow and fear of the world.

The harm unfolding in real time — which I feel we must let ourselves witness as we’re able, so stories and people are not erased, and the violence against them does not become normalized.

The powerlessness we feel watching others suffer — and how that gets metabolized as fear and danger in our own bodies.

It’s a lot.

And this part is crucial: that internalization of danger is part of fascist strategy.

Fear overwhelms the nervous system.
Dysregulation narrows our vision and limits our ability to respond.
And the barrage is unceasing. On purpose.

When we’re flooded, we spiral or shut down or respond from our woundedness — from what Resmaa Menakem calls dirty pain — rather than from clean pain that can actually move us toward healing.

And here’s the thing I keep coming back to — and even celebrating:

What we are witnessing is the result of thousands of years of unhealed trauma and dysfunction rising to the surface.

It’s horrifying.
And… it’s also revealing.

It shows us exactly where the fractures are.
Exactly what needs tending.

And once we can see it, we can heal it and avoid passing it along to future generations. Definitely worth celebrating.

And it’s not just a few of us..

A massive global awakening is unfolding.

Not one that meets hate with hate, but one rooted in courage, connection, and a willingness to protect the common good. One that understands regulation, embodiment, and relationship as essential acts of resistance.

We are awakening with more tools than ever before.

Tools to connect.
Tools to see clearly.
Tools to understand and release generational trauma.
Tools to make new, different, more intentional choices for not just ourselves, but for the collective good.

Do you know what that means?

It means we can heal this.
We can change the tide.
We can make real, tangible strides in our lifetimes.

Yes — it feels absolutely terrifying right now.
And. We don’t have to let fear run the show.

With access to these new technologies of healing — and the willingness to change finally kicking in for so many of us, change can happen now (not over thousands more years, whew!).

What’s more: this message is not coming through me alone. I’m witnessing similar threads emerging through my mentors, teachers, colleagues and so many beautiful YouTubers. 🥰

Rev. Josh Reeves, lead co-minister at my awesome spiritual center (Mile Hi Church in Lakewood, CO) shared yesterday (this is paraphrased): “The fundamental work of this life is to find that Light and learn how to radiate it out into the world.”
YES.

My teachers Janet Raftis and Ina Lukas have been leaning into the question (that they got from Cynthia Sue Larson): “How good can this get — for all of us?” And they are encouraging a big group of us like-minded healers to activate this frequency from the most mundane things in our lives to the cosmic.
Yes, yes, yes.

How. Good. Can. This. Possibly. Get. For. All. Of Us??? Yes, please.

These insights are being sent through many of us right now, arriving in parallel across different voices, traditions, and lineages. (More threads from this are helping me round out Part Two of this reflection… stay tuned. 🙏🏼)

AND!

Not only are humans awakening — there is profound spiritual support around us right now. Our guides, ancestors and unseen allies are reminding us that we are not alone in this.

All of Creation is leaning into this evolution right now — even when it doesn’t yet feel that way.

Wow. Let’s breathe that in.

This circles back to something I touched on earlier: the body, the nervous system, and the quiet but powerful ways we are each participating in what comes next.

As we release more of our past and generational trauma, we have more bandwidth to focus on what we want to create.

What we are aligned with — in our attention, our beliefs, our nervous systems, and our daily choices — is how the Light moves from the unseen into form. This is where sovereignty lives: not in controlling the future, but in consciously choosing what we lend our energy, presence and participation to.

We get to choose. And how good could it possibly get…?

Here’s what I’ve noticed personally:

Over the past few years, I’ve felt tremendous joy and relief in seeing how these oppressive systems have lived within my body and being.

That might sound strange, so hear me out… I’m not enjoying seeing the dysfunction in myself because it’s comfortable (it’s not 😅) — but I’m enjoying that once I can see it, I can begin to liberate myself from it.

Bit by bit, the beginnings of liberation for others become possible too — even in the midst of a broken, violent, bewildering culture.

And yes — because we have dug ourselves so deeply into this hole, and because these systems are so entrenched, climbing back out will not necessarily be easy.

There will be loss.
There will be grief.
There will be pain.

And — if we choose it — there can also be connection, joy, sovereignty, and a path toward collective liberation.

This is an invitation to rise.

Not by bypassing what’s real —
but by rooting deeply enough to withstand the storm.

That Light is not a call to burn brighter or try harder. It is what becomes accessible when our nervous systems are supported enough to feel, connect, and choose again.

Often, it doesn’t take deep effort to find it.
It’s there, waiting to be invited back.
Waiting to offer warmth, steadiness, courage and strength.

It lives in the hearts of all of us who are yearning for peace.

And we are not meant to do this alone.

Below are some sweet, fun, connective ways to do this together.

However you choose to walk forward from here, may you remember:

The Light is already within you — steady, present, and capable of guiding us through these times.

So take a breath.
Take another.

Tune into your heart space, and ask to feel it.

Notice what’s there.
Is it faint? Is it strong? Is it easy or hard to access?

All of it is okay.

We’ve been patterned to forget — but I promise you, it is there, waiting to hold you, fuel you, teach you, and lead you back to peace and community.

If you’re longing for support right now

If you’re feeling raw, tender, angry, confused, or simply exhausted — you’re not alone. And you don’t have to navigate this moment by yourself.

🕯️ Unbecoming Karen — Livestream Recording
On our most recent Unbecoming Karen livestream, we gathered to name and process the moment we’re in — including how to move through the days following the murder of Renée Good with honesty, care, and nervous-system awareness.

You can watch the recording on YouTube at @unbecomingkaren.

🌀 Healing Circle: The Future We Choose (Virtual)
On Saturday, 1/25 from 4:00–5:15pm MT, I’ll be holding a virtual circle for reflection, nervous-system support, and collective presence. This is a space to be witnessed, to breathe together, and to remember that we are not alone.

🌊 Restorative Sound Bath: A Sacred Reset (Denver, in person)
If your body is asking for rest, grounding, and regulation, I’ll be offering a 30-minute sound bath in Denver on Thursday, 1/29 from 2:00–2:30pm MT.
This is a gentle, embodied space to settle your nervous system and reconnect with yourself.

If you’re looking for something more…

🔥 The Rising — Ongoing Community & Practice
If you’re yearning for deeper, ongoing support — a place to be held in community while you reclaim your sovereignty, strengthen your nervous system, and rise into your leadership in loving and powerful ways — you’re warmly invited to explore The Rising.

The Rising is a living, evolving container for badass spiritual women who are done doing this work alone. It’s a space of honesty, embodiment, courage, tenderness, and collective remembering — held by me, and strengthened by the wisdom of the group as we walk together.

Learn more by visiting The Rising in the top menu of my website.

With love and fierce devotion to our Rise,

Clarissa

Photo by Sixteen Miles Out on Unsplash