Preparing for another Mercury Retrograde

Mercury went retrograde again yesterday, and in the spirit of embracing the oft-misunderstood occurrence, I've got a few suggestions to show yourself some love in the coming weeks.

Mercury Retrograde isn't a time to jump headfirst into the unknown, but you shouldn't hide under your bed, either.  The last time this astronomical happening occurred, I made a pact to treat myself with kindness in the coming retrogrades.  Now that it's time to put my money where my mouth is, I'm already running behind.

But that's okay.  I can still use this wonky time for peace and reflection.

First up: meditation.  I'm a sporadic meditator at the best of times, but this Mercury Retrograde coincides with the free 21-day meditation challenge offered by the Chopra Center.  This challenge is a great way to start or deepen a personal meditation practice, and I can't wait to get started tomorrow.  It will be good to have three weeks of enforced solitude, even if each meditation is only about fifteen minutes long.  Sometimes, I don't even take fifteen minutes, so something is better than nothing.  There's still time to sign up if this sounds like something you'd be interested in.

Next up: changing the way I think about change.  For the coming weeks (and the rest of my life, really) I've committed to accepting change with open arms and a smile.  This also means that I will try to step outside of my comfort zone.  For example, today I met my yoga buddy at a new class.  I don't know what I was expecting from a class called "chant and restore", but, well, it was filled with chanting and restoration.  It wasn't what I thought I wanted, but it was still good.  So with that in mind, in the coming weeks of screwy Mercury (which rules communication as well as travel), I'm going to try to look at things from a "maybe not what I expected or wanted, but what I needed" mindset.  This will be VERY challenging for me (I'm a bit of a control freak), but I figure now's the perfect time to stretch my boundaries.

Finally: writing.  I've said it before and I'll say it a million more times before I absorb it, but writing makes me sane.  It doesn't need to be more than a thousand words of new material a day, but at the minimum, I owe it to myself to keep scribbling.  With that in mind, I probably won't dig too deeply into any revision work over the next three weeks, but since this retrograde coincides with our annual vacation to Oregon, that's okay.  I wouldn't really be doing any revisions right now, anyway.


So, to recap: instead of fighting the planets, I will use this current Mercury Retrograde to deepen my introspective work, shift my resistance to challenges, and keep writing.  How will you balance your life while the cosmos are out of whack?

Mercury Retrograde and the Writer

Call me crazy (my mother almost did, last night on the phone), but I have noticed a distinct change in my behavior during times of Mercury retrograde. Put simply, this is when the planet mercury "reverses" and appears to go "backwards". Mercury rules communication and travel, and tends to go retrograde three times a year.

In the past, I have usually found out that my bad mood coincided with Mercury retrograde after the fact (this month was no exception). But with a week left of reversed and backwards Mercury, I started wondering what it would be like if I consciously embrace this astrological imbalance.

At first, when I realized I was in the midst of Mercury retrograde, I used that knowledge as permission to be lazy. Oops, I can't work on my book, it's Mercury Retrograde. Oh, I shouldn't start any new projects, it's Mercury retrograde. Booking our summer vacation? Not until Mercury goes direct, thank you very much.

But somewhere between the crutch and the grumpiness, I found a quiet place of peace.

I have been able to take my journaling deeper and more seriously this week, mainly because I gave myself permission to write fiction only if I really want to (usually, I slog through my daily word count no matter what. This causes lots of fun later when I revise.) Instead, I have been meeting my word count mostly with self reflection.

In the personal quiet that comes out of Mercury retrograde, I've also turned my reading more toward a spiritual focus. Suddenly, all those books that have sat unnoticed on the coffee table have become my dear friends. I usually HATE reading nonfiction, but right now, that's all I seem to want to read. And not just any nonfiction: spiritual memoir and research books are on the top of the stack. It's been really nice: one more example of the unlooked for calm that this Mercury retrograde has brought.

This has given me a new perspective. Instead of hitting the next Mercury retrograde aggressively (it starts on July 14 and goes until August 7), I will plan ahead and use that time for retreat and reflection. I can use this time as a break from my usual pace, focusing on soul work and personal writing. I love crafting worlds of fantasy, but sometimes, it's exhausting dwelling so fully on the page. Mercury retrograde will now be a time for me to set my characters aside to simmer while I explore myself.

The best thing about this astrological occurrence? It will pass. And when it does, I will reenter the world at my usual frantic pace. But for now, I will read and write thoughtfully, relishing the silence and the space to move "backward".

How do you find moments of silence? Do you consciously choose to have "me time", or does the universe seem to force it on you unwillingly?

I am trying to be more willing, but it's hard for me to slow down. What do you do to feed your spirit?