How to Get Unstuck: 14 Ways

We are currently in the period between the energetic seasons of Fall and Winter running from October 21 to November 7 according to Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM). The element associated with this season in TCM is Earth.

In previous blog posts, we talked about best eating practices for this season and we also talked about the emotional effects in Earth type people who are in balance with Earth and those who are out of balance with Earth.

When one is out of balance with Earth, one of the emotional symptoms is a feeling of stuckness, a feeling of being in a rut. This happens to everyone at one time or another!

When you feel like you're in a rut in your life and you don't like the way it feels (who does?), here are some suggestions to help you get off dead center. Facing this head-on is important for avoiding the physical and psychological problems associated with Earth imbalance.

1. Detach from what's bothering you because something is bothering you to cause you to get into this rut; identify the cause and detach from it; check out the Chopra Centers straightforward advice on how to detach.
2. Take time to relax and nurture yourself in some way you normally don't; get a massage, treat yourself to a nice dinner at health food restaurant, enjoy a spa treatment.
3. Clear your mind; in a meditative position, simply witness the parade of thoughts run through your mind until they stop; this may happen sooner than you think; check out Vipassana meditation. This will involve a ten-day sojourn at a Vipassana center but you'll emerge from it a new person and most definitely unstuck.
4. Focus; what we give our attention to expands in our life; it could be that we're placing focus on all the wrong things right now.
5. Read the best, most uplifting material you can get your hands on; you'll be certain to change your whole outlook and get lots of tools for transforming your life.
6. Write; get your feelings down on paper; like we said above, there's something bothering you to get you to a place where you need to detach for sanity's sake;
7. Walk; it's a fantastic medicine especially if you do it in nature; let it embrace and nurture you;
8. Listen to music but make it music that will cause you to feel alive!
9. If the weather is damp and warm, go for a swim or run the A/C.
10. If the weather is damp and cool, light a fire, turn on the heat, take a hot bath, have a warm meal.
11. Change your scenery; take a day trip somewhere else.
12. Visit friends; go to lunch; get out of yourself and enjoy other people.
13. Be in service; find a charity or organization that needs you and your unique talents and skills and give, give, give.
14. Get grateful; no one can feel bad or stuck when running a long list of gifts to be grateful for in their minds.

Earths season is primarily [evident during] late Summer (Indian Summer), though in the ancient Chinese texts, Earths season is also said to be the last ten days of [a transitional period in-between] each season, when the forces of nature are in perfect balance¦ When Earth energy is balanced, we can maintain our equilibrium during the changing seasons of our lives.

Elias, Jason, and Katherine Ketcham. Chinese Medicine for Maximum Immunity: Understanding the Five Elemental Types for Health and Well-being. New York: Three Rivers, 1998. Print.