At times, the journey of self-growth can veer off on bumpy, potholed roads of “dwelling on all the crap that’s ‘wrong’ with me and how to fix it.”

But on this New Moon in Pisces…

…let’s remember to tap into the places that leave us feeling fulfilled and energized, not fixated on perceived lack.

That bring us back into connection with what’s deeply meaningful to us, not on all the shoulds and have tos bloating our to-do lists.

Earlier last month in meditation, my guides asked me to write a novel.

Context: I’ve never written a novel. And while I read voraciously, maybe 5% of what I read is fiction.

In other words, I felt wholly unprepared to do this. As in, glancing behind me to make sure they weren’t talking to someone else–who, me?

Well, as it turns out, my guides know a thing a two…

…and now, almost 30,000 words into a novel I was thoroughly convinced I couldn’t write, I am stunned by how much creative energy it has unleashed.

And “unleashed” is definitely apt.

I have to practically drag myself away from the computer, sometimes dashing back to hurriedly type “just one last sentence!”… “Okay, jk! One more!” before I finish for the day.

And before bed, I squeeze in some vagus-nerve-calming exercises, just to bring myself down from the exuberant flow of energy and ideas, so I can actually get some sleep…so I can do it all over again tomorrow.

Sharing this with my therapist, she said something that totally made me cry (which, granted, maybe isn’t saying much because I cry at everything, all the time…).

She reminded me of how important it is to follow those flows of psychic (as in “of the psyche”) energy.

That as vital as it is to do our shadow work, to root around in those places the ego would much rather shove in a box, hidden under the floorboards…

…we also have to take time for joy.

Because it’s here, in the places that feel like an elixir of bubbly, sparkly, giddy bliss, that we remember who we are beyond the trauma.

If you, like me, have a history of trauma that you’re working to heal, it can be tricky at times to remember that it’s okay to feel joy.

That it’s safe to feel joy.

That being happy isn’t an invitation for the universe to drop the other shoe, to bring you “back down to size.”

With the Pisces Moon conjunct Jupiter, now is a time for expansion.

And not expansion simply for the sake of grabbing more space because we need to “level up”–but expansion into deeper meaning.

Into what truly matters to you, even if–especially if–it wasn’t something you were encouraged to explore and express growing up.

What can you do today, this week, to follow that beckoning path of curiosity,

of pleasure,

of joy,

leading you back to the you that is more expansive than any wound?

To the you that’s more expansive, even, than the pain of the world (which is considerable–but so is the infinitude of your True Self).

Here’s to discovering your joy.