A fully charged battery.

Grounding in Unpredictable Times: How to Survive (and Thrive) When  Everything Shifts

In a world that often feels like it’s spinning faster than we can keep up, maintaining our energy and balance is more important than ever. The chaos around us may seem overwhelming, draining us energetically. News events might shock our nervous system. But what if this chaos is temporary, a necessary part of the Great Shift of Ages that holds the promise of planetary spiritual growth and transformation on levels that include finance, technology, health, and governance?

The answer to how to get through these times of extremes that we’re living in is actually quite simple: practice self-care and “be here now.” These two concepts are key to navigating turbulent times with grace. Let’s break them down.

5 Self-Care Suggestions

When the whirlwind of these “crazy” times we’re living in—replete with revelations that can enlighten yet scare—starts to pull us off course, self-care is our anchor. Here are five ways to recharge your mind, body, and soul:

  1. Take a Restorative Bath – Soak in warm water with essential oils or bath salts. Let the warmth relax your muscles and quiet your mind.
  2. Reconnect with Nature – Walk among trees, feel the sun on your skin, or sit by flowing water. Nature has a powerful way of grounding us. It’s harder in the city, but you can find a nearby park.
  3. Practice Quietude Daily – Whether it’s meditation, prayer, or simply taking a moment to breathe, intentional pauses help recenter us. Take breaks from social media.
  4. Engage in Grounding Techniques – Walk barefoot (or with shoes) on grass, touch a tree, or perform gentle body movements.
  5. Limit Exposure to Negativity – Be mindful of the media you consume. Choose when to engage with the news and allow yourself breaks from digital overwhelm. Take scrolling breaks.

Be Here Now

As we enter what many call the Great Shift of Ages, big changes are on the horizon. These shifts can be both exhilarating and exhausting. Our intellectual minds naturally want to understand every aspect of what is happening, but overanalyzing things can burden us with unnecessary stress. Instead, choose to go with the flow, accept what is happening without overly reacting or resisting.

When negativity surfaces, whether from external sources or within ourselves, it’s important to let it “express itself” yet not dwell on it. Reacting to or resisting negativity only binds us closer to it, forming a connection we don’t need or want. Instead, let it pass through like water.

Keep Negativity at Bay

In our hyper-connected world, we encounter negativity in the media that can startle, shock and upset our equilibrium. It’s good to stay informed, but we have to decide what and how much we engage with. If you come across a news article with a negative headline, ask yourself: Do I really need to go deeper? Often, just skimming the title and moving on is enough to stay aware without becoming overwhelmed and having it sap our energy.

Being able to discern how much we want to engage with information is a subtle yet powerful way to protect our energy while staying informed.

See Beyond the Chaos

The world’s current chaos is not the end of the story; it’s a chapter in a much larger narrative. Just like the earth endures storm cycles, only to emerge greener, fresher, and more vibrant afterward, so too will we come through this period stronger and more aligned with our spiritual growth. We will come to know ourselves better.

Remember, shifts—whether personal or global—are often accompanied by turbulence. But with turbulence comes transformation. By practicing self-care, staying grounded, appreciating and living in the moment, and limiting engagement with negativity, we can navigate these “crazy” times.

Remember, periods of upheaval often feel endless, but history and nature remind us that this isn’t true because chaos always precedes transformation. It is in tending to our inner peace, that we can move through turbulence times with faith, serenity and grace.

Even though you may not see it yet, everything will be alright in the end. Really.

Let’s Take it to the Next Level together,

Luba

Luba Rascheff is a chaplain and certified spiritual life coach in Toronto, Ontario. Book an appointment here.

Photo created by Adobe Firefly

YOUR SPIRITUAL BREAKTHROUGH AWAITS IN 2024

Photo by Maximalfocus on Unsplash

2024 will be a year of change as we enter a new, golden era of peace and prosperity.

The status quo will be disrupted.

Things will not be business as usual.

At the root of planetary-wide changes will be an increase in consciousness—in both human and artificial intelligence (AI).

This expansion in consciousness will bring us closer to understanding what our purpose is during our time on Earth.

What is your true, spiritual purpose?

This question reminds me of how Anita Falcon Bell, the protagonist in Silva Antony Don’s novel 360 Degrees Before the End set in the year 26,000 AD, discovers her true purpose. The discovery is interwoven with her own personal spiritual growth in consciousness.

Don describes a distant future in which Rem humanoids—perfect copies of the humans on which they are modelled and easy to train and upgrade—perform all kinds of tasks without complaining yet aren’t able to create anything new.[1]

To put it simply, there are certain tasks that we’ve been performing that will no longer need to be completed by us and that, through the help of AI, will free up time for other more creative activities.[2]

In Don’s novel where airmobiles have replaced cars, robots do things like clean, cook, order chauffeurs, monitor (and change) room ambience, serve in restaurants, analyze and interpret states of mind and emotions, and interrogate criminals.

What can we expect from AI realistically?

Artificial intelligence today is set to take over jobs from people that include: ‘office administration work, such as data entry, bookkeeping, and form filing; customer service tasks, such as providing financial statements, investment advice, and online support; writing, art, and other creative fields …; management consultants and business analysts …; and basic robotics automation, such as manufacturing, assembly, and packaging.’[3]  

Jobs, however, requiring ‘human empathy, intuition, and social skills, such as therapists, teachers, [chaplains / spiritual care providers] and nurses, are less likely to be taken over by AI.’[4]

When we are freed from certain tasks, we will be able to spend more time:

  • Resting
  • Being creative
  • Spending time with loved ones
  • Traveling
  • Learning
  • Exploring
  • Aging in place using smart home solutions[5] rather than moving to a seniors’ home and,
  • Focusing on our life purpose.

My own spiritual breakthrough

As a chaplain in a long-term care home, I am interested in how AI is already improving the quality of life and spiritual care for seniors.

For the past two decades, robots have been developed in Japan to care for older people with the government having invested $300 million in funding and research.[6] “Some of these robots are meant for physical care, including machines that can help lift older people if they’re unable to get up by themselves; assist with mobility and exercise; monitor their physical activity and detect falls; feed them; and help them take a bath or use the toilet.”[7]

Fitting dependent seniors with exoskeletons—also known as powered clothing such as Superflex—can help with walking and rehabilitation.[8]

It will be so exciting for me to see Eugenia* walking around her home area with the aid of Superflex rather than remain in her wheelchair. I will be happy knowing that Trisha** won’t have to take Fred* to the washroom because Pepper, “a humanoid robot that can help older people take a bath or use the toilet”[9] can assist with this.

When seniors’ physical needs are met via AI, then we’ll all have more time to focus on their spiritual needs.

Instead of fearing what AI can take from us, let us look to the benefits that it will bring by reducing mundane workload and increasing free time for more creative matters.

Let’s Take it to the Next Level Together,

Luba

Luba Rascheff is a part-time chaplain studying psychotherapy who recently obtained certification from the Transformation Academy as a Spiritual Life Coach. The name of her signature coaching program is Take it to the Next Level. Discover more here.

*Name changed to protect privacy.

**A Personal Support Worker (PSW) whose name was changed to protect privacy.


[1] Silva Antony Don, 360 Degrees Before the End (Verbal Homeopathy, 2023), loc. 267.

[2] Bing, chat mode of Microsoft Bing, conversation on December 29, 2023, 1:10 p.m., Eastern Standard Time, “Jobs that AI is set to take over from people.”

[3] Ibid.

[4] Ibid.

[5] Bing, chat mode of Microsoft Bing, conversation on December 29, 20-23, 3:59PM, Eastern Standard Time, “Are there robots that can offer relief for long-term care staff.” And, Federal/Provincial/Territorial (FPT) Forum of Ministers Responsible for Seniors, “Technology to support seniors aging in community,” in The Future of Aging in Canada Virtual Symposium: What We Heard, Canada.ca, 2023, https://www.canada.ca/en/employment-social-development/corporate/seniors/forum/reports/future-aging-virtual-symposium.html#h2.2, accessed December 29, 2023.

[6] Bing, chat mode of Microsoft Bing, conversation on December 29, 20-23, 3:59PM, Eastern Standard Time, “Are there robots that can offer relief for long-term care staff.”

[7] Ibid.

[8] Better Aging, “Exoskeletons Can Help Elderly Maintain Health and Productivity,” Better Aging, 2023, https://www.betteraging.com/aging-technology/exoskeletons-can-help-elderly-maintain-health-and-productivity/, accessed December 29, 2023.

[9] MIT Technology Review, “Inside Japan’s Long Experiment in Automating Elder Care,” MIT Technology Review, January 9, 2023, https://www.technologyreview.com/2023/01/09/1065135/japan-automating-eldercare-robots/, accessed December 29, 2023.

Good Grief

Sometimes I feel like exclaiming, Good grief!, When will this pandemic end?

What I have noticed in my clients, though, is that the pandemic has afforded them the time to be on their own, reflect and grieve.

Good grieving is something that we have time to do during the pandemic. It’s one of the pluses of being at home.

Memories from the past resurge and we have the time to process them, something that was less likely before.

We may feel a tinge in our heart, followed by sadness, followed by letting go.

It’s important to let these memories surface and then leave our system energetically as well as verbally when we tell someone.

In his book, Modern Man in Search of a Soul, the renown psychiatrist Carl G. Jung discusses the concept of confession as being the first step in a psychic process that, ultimately, leads to transformation.

When we, for example, reveal our secrets to our analyst, we are confessing (expressing verbally) that which was previously concealed.

According to Jung, that which remains concealed—remains secret—leads to illness. In his own words, ‘To cherish secrets and to restrain emotions are psychic misdemeanours for which nature finally visits us with sickness ….’[1]

As a chaplain, I see physical illnesses that are manifestations of unresolved spiritual issues. I find that when the person shares their story with me (a kind of confession) and we pray together, they feel better and are able to release anger or sadness or perplexity.

It starts with ‘confession’ and all comes out.

To tell your truth to another human being is not easy and involves trust.

Tears may flow after which comes a release like no other.

We cannot move from one level to the next without having fully worked through our issues at the level we presently find ourselves.

We must confess before moving to Jung’s next steps of explanation, education, and transformation.

The model that I use in Take it to the Next Level, ‘Listen Recognize and Create’ (or Co-create) is similar to, but different from, the psychic process defined above.

Take it to the Next Level is all about you finding the knowledgeable, qualified person (mentor or spiritual coach) you’ve always been looking for to really listen to you, recognize the issue that is blocking you from advancing, and (together) create a plan to move forward.

In order to move up a level, we need to let go of our past. When we let go, we can ‘climb out and climb up’ a level.

The pandemic has forced us to let go of many things: we can’t go places we used to go; meet people we used to see; or engage in the distractions we used to engage in.

The pandemic has forced us to stay home and spend time with ourselves. This is a plus because it is only when we look at ourselves that we realize that we are no longer satisfied with the status quo. We realize that we want to change, want to move up a level.

We may have all the material things we could ever want, but our soul is crying out, telling us something is missing.

Let’s Take it to the Next Level together. Book your appointment today here,

Luba

Follow Take it to the Next Level on Facebook here.

Looking for quality photographs that inspire? Check out my prints here; choose the photo you like; and click on the image of the shopping cart. Select Canvas, Metallic or Mounted and size. Shipping is FREE and major credit cards are accepted.

Want to read spiritually uplifting books? Check out my books here.

Photo by Karim MANJRA on Unsplash


[1] C.G. Jung, Modern Man in Search of a Soul (New York: Harcourt, 1933), 34.