“Letting Go” – a Snake Energy Painting

Do you know why snakes shed their skin?

First, the old skin can’t stretch enough to accommodate the new growth. So it rubs its head against a rock to make a tear, and sloughs off the old skin by slithering out of it, leaving it inside out on the trail.

Second, it’s a great way to get rid of any parasites that may have attached themselves along the way.

What great symbolism, right?!

I love snakes – always have. They’re a great symbol for transformation –  for letting go of the old to make room for the new.

This new painting, “Letting Go” (9″ x 12″ – buy it here) not only celebrates this time of molting on our planet, in our societies and within my own life. It’s also supporting this great time of change through the energy work that went into its co-creation with Spirit.

The background of this painting represents your Higher Self and the new growth in your life, our societies, and on the planet.

It’s indicative of the size the snake is meant to become – representing just a patch of its beautifully designed skin.

It’s the vision we’re all striving for. It’s fresh, sunny, iridescent in spots, and has a depth and richness that’s made possible from all the inner work and life experience that came before it.

The shape is the old skin left behind.

Created from a thick layer of golden mica chips, it’s infused with the energy of love & compassion. True letting go is not about rejection, anger, new layers of hatred, or disgust. Rather, it’s about loving compassionately enough to recognize what we’ve outgrown and what needs to be left behind.

I chose to include a labradorite stone at the head of the snake – perhaps even the stone upon which it rubbed itself to make the tear that made it possible to crawl out of its old skin.  Labradorite is a powerful stone named after part of my province.

“A stone of transformation, Labradorite is a useful companion through change, imparting strength and perseverance.  It balances and protects the aura, raises consciousness and grounds spiritual energies.  Excellent for strengthening intuition – promoting psychic abilities.  Powerful in revealing the truth behind illusions, Labradorite banishes fears and insecurities, and strengthens faith in the self and trust in the universe.  It stimulates the imagination and calms an overactive mind, developing enthusiasm and new ideas.” (source)

These are the properties we need as individuals, nations, and the world to move beyond the habits, behaviours, prejudices, etc. that act like parasites infecting our lives and sapping energy away from growing into who we are meant to be.

Let’s not blame the rock. It’s just there to help break the skin open. We may have to rub against it and wriggle and squirm for a while. But let’s not forget that love and growth is what will help us move through and past what no longer served us.

As you read this, what limiting patterns of thought or behaviour come to mind in your own life? What are you ready to shed so you can emerge more fully into the individualized expression of the Divine you have always been? 

I’ll share a bit of my story in case it inspires.

Some patterns of thought or behaviour may lay dormant within you for years if that part of your life hasn’t been activated lately. That’s what happened to me.

As I made a conscious decision to welcome new friends into my life to help me practice the principles of Real Love (unconditional love as taught by Dr. Greg Baer in his great series of books), all sorts of old fear-based patterns came back to the surface when someone reached out to me online. I’d received a clear intuitive sign not to ignore this connection. But I read way more into this sign than allowed me to stay in the present. I’m still growing.

Now, I can chuckle at myself. “Oh, Dominique m’luv, it’s OK. You just had to see those tendencies were still there so you could choose to release them. All is well.”

When it became uncomfortable enough for both people in the situation, something he wrote snapped me out of my mental spin, and I was able to find and then expand on the peace at my core. Thank God for that!

Watch what you ask for! You will receive. I definitely got to practice the principles of Real Love – for myself and the other.

This has also been a rich month in terms of transforming my daily habits.

Another friend and I have been doing the Mindvalley Lifebook & Lifebook Mastery training- creating a vision & plan for the 12 areas of our lives. It’s been amazing! 2 weeks ago, we were asked to choose 12 Sacred Habits that move us towards that vision.

Some of my chosen 12 were already part of my life, but perhaps not on a daily basis: meditation, yoga, dance and outdoor time.

Others were new habits I wanted to incorporate or bring back into my life, based on my overriding & foundational goals for the year: grounding barefoot on the earth, journaling, and morning & night chats with my Team of Divine Helpers.

There’s only so much time in a day, so this meant looking at what low-level activities I needed to let go of and what stop-doing behaviours I would add to my list of sacred choices.

The results have been life-changing after only 2 weeks!

First, my bed is now a computer-free zone. No more eating meals or chips in bed watching movies, which often led to overindulgence on both!  No more working in bed, which had a negative effect on my posture, something I’m focusing on correcting this year. And, and no more falling asleep with the computer  on, affecting my sleep hours and quality of sleep, not to mention exposing me to harmful radiation. So that skin has been shed and left behind! Yay! Now, if I want to watch a movie (something I truly enjoy), I sit at my desk with my rocking chair and limit it to one. Much healthier!

Another major change I’m committed to is not to check social media or even emails before noon. That way, my morning is dedicated to connecting to my Team of Divine Helpers, my morning wellness routine, and focused work.  Instead of responding to each distracting “ding” from email & FB notifications, I dedicate a limited time to it mid-day and then again only near dinner time. I may have been a late comer to the world of cell phones, but I had gotten to the point where I was checking emails and social media 20 times a day or more. Yikes! Bye bye old skin. I’ve outgrown that habit too. It just didn’t serve me.

Lastly, I’ve decided to have 1 day a week completely offline. This Sunday was my first, and it was fine until evening when I really wanted to check… but I didn’t. I know I need to disconnect from the Internet to connect to my Self & Team of Divine Helpers at a much deeper level. I’m set to growing comfortably into this new skin.

What about you? What new growth are you ready for? What skins are you ready to shed?

May the energy of “Letting Go” inspire you to examine your life and thought patterns to make your own set of sacred choices. So be it. So we let it be.