When Shift Happens
What it Feels Like to Move Through an Energetic Shift and Why It’s Necessary for Growth
Have you ever felt like something big was happening inside you? Emotionally, spiritually, and energetically, but couldn’t quite explain what it was? Maybe you were feeling overwhelmed, emotionally charged, or just off, and there didn’t seem to be a clear reason why.
You might have been going through an energetic shift.
That’s what I’ve been experiencing lately, although I didn’t completely realize it at first. I contributed most of what I was feeling to being stressed out with preparing to move across the country. It seemed like the best explanation since it’s such a massive life transition.
At first, I chalked up the exhaustion, overwhelm, and emotional waves to planning everything. The packing, organizing, downsizing, tying up all the loose ends. It’s been a lot to deal with.
But then I was shown something much deeper.
In meditation, it became clear that what I was experiencing wasn’t just the stress of moving. I was in the middle of one of the biggest energetic shifts I’ve ever gone through.
Energetic Shifts are a Form of Healing
Preparing for this move has meant moving into a much smaller space. That required sorting through everything I own and deciding what to keep and what to let go of. I wrote about the process in The Art of Letting Go.
As I went through old boxes and bins, photos, journals, and belongings from different stages of my life, I found myself face to face with all the past versions of me. It brought up a surprising amount of grief. And not just grief over what I was releasing physically, but over who I used to be, what I used to believe, and what I once held close to my heart.
Once I made peace with that layer, I thought the hardest part was over. But I was so wrong. Energetic shifts are a form of healing so they’re never linear.
"We must be willing to let go of the life we have planned, so as to have the life that is waiting for us."
- E.M. Forster
A Sign of True Alignment
A few days ago as I was taking the photos and artwork off my walls, another wave of emotion was unleashed. And what I was shown in meditation that same night showed me this wasn’t just about moving to a new place. It was a deep, soul level shift.
Suddenly, everything started making more sense.
I’d been having several sleepless nights, the kind I hadn’t experienced since the early days of PTSD.
My emotions have been running high. I’ve been feeling quick to anger, which is very unlike the me I’ve become. It felt almost like I was sliding back into an older version of myself and I didn’t like it at all.
I’ve been feeling extremely depleted on every level. Physically, emotionally, and energetically.
And I began seeing certain people in my life clearly for the first time ever.
It’s so fascinating how we can know someone for years, even decades, and not really see them until our own energy changes. Once we're no longer vibrating at the same frequency we used to be at, it becomes impossible to ignore what we couldn’t (or wouldn’t) see before. And while that can be a painful realization, it’s also a true sign of alignment. And growth.
That kind of realization had me wondering if any of it was ever really real. Now that I was able to see clearly, it almost felt like I had been living in an illusion. An illusion that I had real connections with people, and it took a few days to process all of this.
"The quieter you become, the more you can hear."
- Ram Dass
Once I was able to process it and look at it from a new perspective, I could not only see the truth of those connections, but I could also see with more clarity the version of me that once cherished those connections. And she was just as lost as those souls I no longer resonated with. It doesn’t mean that they’re bad people or that anything is wrong with them, or me. And it doesn’t mean the connection wasn’t real at the time. It simply means we are no longer a match energetically.
It still stings of course. But understanding that it's about energetic alignment makes it easier to accept, and make sense out of.
An Uncomfortable, but Natural Part of Life
Energetic shifts can be extremely uncomfortable. They can unsettle us. They often bring old emotions up to the surface, lingering grief, and uncomfortable truths. But they are also necessary. They’re a sign that we’re evolving in every way: spiritually, emotionally, and energetically. It means we are stepping into the next version of ourselves.
It can feel like everything is unravelling and falling apart. But in truth, everything is realigning.
It’s okay to outgrow the life we’ve become accustomed to living. And when we let go of stuff, of people, of outdated beliefs and versions of ourselves, we create space. Space for something higher, something more aligned, something more true to who we are now, and who we are becoming.
"Life is about change. Sometimes it's painful. Sometimes it's beautiful. But most of the time, it's both."
- Lana Lang
I’m still in the midst of this transition. I don’t think this shift will be fully complete until I’m in my new home and grounded in the updated version of me that’s emerging.
But for now, even though it’s difficult, I’m honoring the process. I’m choosing to be gentle and kind to myself. I’m choosing to trust that this is all part of stepping into a higher timeline. One that I’ve been manifesting and calling in for a long time.
Even though these shifts can be difficult, they are a natural part of life. The best way to get through them is to simply allow it. Allowing whatever thoughts, emotions, and feelings that arise to just be there may feel uncomfortable, but resisting them only creates more suffering in our lives. These shifts help us to grow and evolve, and we don’t have to go through them alone.
How about you? Have you gone through, or been going through a big energetic shift lately? And maybe without even realizing it at first? What has it looked or felt like for you? I would love to hear from you :)
As always, I am so grateful to have you here. If you enjoyed this post and would like to support my work, it’s as simple as clicking on the little heart at the bottom of this post. And if you feel called to buy me a coffee, the link is below 👇🌻🙏
Feeling this now so much.
This was a beautiful piece, thank you. You’ve said so much of what I’ve been experiencing.
I’ve been going through what I now can understand as an energetic shift since I turned 40. I know it’s cliche in a way, but 3 years later and the loss of my soul dogs of 15 years and other constants in my life has definitely shifted me into a transition that is very uncomfortable. But was inevitable. Time stands still for no one.
As you mentioned packing up your home and seeing other versions of yourself and the grief that comes with that, I too have felt that and it’s been a very powerful sense of longing for what used to be. We are also considering moving and it’s exciting to start something new, but there is such a sense of grief I wasn’t prepared for. It’s hard to know if it’s the right time or not.
It’s really an interesting shift that no one really talks about, or at least if they did when I was younger I didn’t understand or pay close enough attention to because I wasn’t here yet. I’m here now and I look back on older friends and relatives and think, they must have felt this too. You’re not alone. It’s just some chapters in life are so much harder to close than others, at least for me because they were a really joyful part of my story. And I know there can be more chapters that are just as joyful but it’s hard to envision them when you’re in the grief.
I hope this shift is getting smoother for you and your feet can land soon on solid ground. ✨