Word to the Wise: How to Shed Old Skin

by Megan Leatherman

Condensed version of blogpost: https://awildnewwork.com/blog/2016/06/01/lessons-from-the-wild-how-to-shed-old-skin 

I have been in a kind of weird, cloudy period of change. Like most personal growth, it was happening at a level below my conscious mind, and I couldn’t figure out what was going on.

After almost a month of feeling lethargic, lost, and nearly blind in terms of what the heck I’m doing in the world, a tiny little lightbulb came on. I had a snake dream, and I began thinking about snakes shedding their skin every 4-8 weeks. I started wondering whether this process was about old patterns and thoughts. Then I felt like an outer layer of myself was falling away. 

Shedding old skin is a natural, cyclical process that we all go through regularly. Sometimes it’s quiet but powerful changes, and sometimes – if we need a real wake-up call – it’s through major life events. No matter who you are, you’ll need to shed old beliefs and thought patterns to continue growing.

Here are four things I’ve learned about how to shed old skin in a healthy way:

First, stay still. I had to stay in this quiet, foggy place as long as I needed to in order for the transition to occur. I tried not to make any changes. I had to just let it run its course.

Second, do less. Transformation is energetically exhausting. Snakes know it, and caterpillars hibernate for a long time before they come out of their cocoons transformed, but we humans kind of forget that we need to do less when we’re shedding old skin. Let yourself rest more than usual.

Third, whatever you do do, make it something your heart wants. As smart as you are, you can’t think your way out of this one – it has to be a heart-centered process. Amp up the things in your life that just.feel.good. The blindness in this process can feel scary, so take actions that truly anchor and comfort you at a deep level.

Finally, pay attention to signs and dreams. This is not an intellectual exercise. You can, however, use your thinking brain to pay attention to your dreams or to “synchronicities”. Your subconscious will be trying to communicate with you, so pay attention to what your intuition is showing you.

After shedding their old skins, snakes see clearly, have vibrant, colorful new skins, and are re-energized for the next stage of their life cycle. I hope you trust that you will be more vibrant, energized, and clear-sighted after flowing with this natural process.