We are living through a time of profound unraveling. The pace and weight of what is happening around us can leave our attention scattered, our nervous systems overwhelmed, and our energy stretched across far more places than we ever consciously chose. We want to remain awake to the wounds of the world and contribute to meaningful change, but we cannot continue showing up if we are constantly depleted, dysregulated, and disconnected from ourselves.
In this episode of Wild & Waking, I’m joined by author, activist, spiritual teacher, racial-equity educator, intuitive healer, and clinical social worker Michelle Cassandra Johnson to discuss her newest (and, as she calls it, witchiest) book, You Are Protected: Invoking Spiritual Support to Sustain Your Energy. Michelle shares how spiritual protection can help us draw our energy back, return to our center, and discern what is ours to carry in a moment when everything feels urgent. This is not protection rooted in fear, defensiveness, or disconnection. It is about strengthening our spiritual resources so we can remain openhearted, fully alive, and engaged for the long haul.
Together, we explore ancestral healing and how to call upon healthy, well, and benevolent ancestors, especially when our blood lineages feel complicated or painful. Michelle offers that the more-than-human world as another place to begin, reminding us that the elements, ancient trees, bodies of water, and the earth itself are living ancestors available for relationship and support. We also talk about spiritual hygiene, energetic boundaries, micro-adjustments that interrupt our habitual overgiving, and the deceptively simple question that can return us to our power: What is mine right now, and what is not?
In this episode, we explore:
- Spiritual protection and daily energetic hygiene
- How to recognize energy leaks and prevent burnout
- Creating boundaries while navigating caregiving and unavoidable responsibilities
- Ancestral healing and connecting with benevolent ancestors
- Working with nature and elemental energies as spiritual support
- Staying engaged in activism without becoming depleted or dysregulated
- Discerning “what is mine right now—and what is not”
- Reclaiming witchcraft, magic, ritual, and spellwork as healing practices
- Calling on archetypes, animal allies, deities, herbs, crystals, and other protective resources
- Remaining grounded as you outgrow old identities and encounter other people’s projections
- Protecting your energy so you can remain fully alive and continue showing up for collective change
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