Staying Open
Wisconsin, October 2025
There are plenty of reasons why staying open might be hard to do right now.
Doing it alone is harder than doing it together.
That is why I feel so strongly group work is needed right now.
Even if you are doubting your capacity, even if you feel lost, even if you cannot explain what you’re feeling, there is an invitation here for you to understand, to feel into, and to clarify what you need to come back to yourself.
I think now more than ever we are inundated with far too much information, overwhelmed by divisiveness, and penetrated by the feeling of conflict in the air. This is all too much for one nervous system to regulate alone.
In the last two months in particular I have been seeing a rise of anxiety and depression with clients as well as an overwhelming number of cases reporting excessive negative thinking.
Grief comes with change.
Anger comes before grief.
This excessive negativity is exacerbated by the overall feeling of uncertainty in the collective at this time. This negativity is like armor that fits itself right over the heart causing collapse, lack of perspective, and confused motivations.
We need to remember our hearts.
We need to remember how to stay open in our hearts and not shut down, not just psychologically but physiologically and energetically too. To do this effectively and sustainably in our lives day-to-day we need to have spaces - safe spaces - where we can share ourselves and practice connecting from the heart.
Making Space for the Grace is such a space.
I am offering this group work because I feel we need to know and be resolute about where our clarity comes from.
There may be many responsibilities and obligations you have right now. It may feel almost impossible to give yourself this internal time of exploration and self-care.
AND it may be just the exact thing you need to allow for in order to tend to everything else in your life.
I know for myself without my community and daily practices I would not be able to expand my capacity to meet the moments that ask more of me.
Staying open… shutting down… This is the natural ebb and flow of the healing process and lived experience.
We feel open… and then something just hits and we close again.
It is possible to move through impossible times like these with an open heart. To do so you need a strong sense of Self and a strong sense of support (connection and love) in your life.
When you have support - real support - it creates safety in relationship.
It is nourishing and guiding.
You have this support within you. And yes, at times you may need the support of others to remember this.
Maybe right now the boundary between what feels like support and control is a bit fuzzy.
This is why we come together.
To remind each other that it is not about controlling our life, it’s about allowing for our lived experience to undulate and continue to shape us.
Open.
Close.
Inhale.
Exhale.
It is a winding road.
An ongoing process.
An unfolding that does not have an end.
What if support felt kind?
What if community felt on-judgmental and real?
This is work is not about affirmations or trying to put on a happy face on when the appropriate response is anger or grief.
We need to feel what’s real.
We need to have safety to feel.
Join Us for a journey of healing and self-discovery. Let’s make space for more grace and allow your lived experience to guide you as you unfurl.
It would be an honor to have you with us.
To register please contact me here.
Yours for the journey,
Andrea
P.S. If finances are prohibiting you from getting the support you feel you need please reach out to me. I have a network of healers and therapists who are taking on practice clients at no charge. And if this group course doesn’t feel like a fit for you I’m always happy to make recommendations.
