I’ve done it again and got the dates mixed up so this one’s going out EARLY in order to give you the SUMMER SOLSTICE benefits for this (gloriously sunny here in the west of Ireland – I swam across the Shannon and back today in just my swimsuit. BEST SWIM EVER) weekend
This episode offers ways of working with the solar plexus chakra and more to get that sunshiney, powerful and JOYFUL vibe even if everything feels stormy
What helps YOU?
How might you make life easier for yourself?
As you reflect on your contributions to the world, both current, imaginary, past, ideal, also think about ways in which you can make things more easy, more effortless, how you can work with the seasonal energies, how you can work with nature.
le grá (with love),
Ev3
CHAPTERS
00:00 Summer solstice and the gift of ease
01:52 Feeling safe enough to shine
03:39 FEEL: Reflecting on your impact
06:59 Adventures programme update
09:57 LOVE: Radical acceptance
11:19 HEAL: Community and connection
13:51 Looking back, looking forward
Choose your own adventures: https://solestosoul.ie/adventures/
Episode 114: Sacred Ireland with Dr Karen Ward
If you enjoyed this, check out:
Episode 36: Self care for despair
Episode 63: ADHD, trauma and the Solstice
Episode 98: Self Care When Trauma Triggers are Everywhere
Book your free telephone consultation and access 100s of body-mind practices at https://solestosoul.ie/free-downloads
FULL TRANSCRIPT
And I don’t have a dryer, but I do have a washing machine, which is amazing. And when it’s sunny, when it doesn’t rain for a good few hours, which is quite rare in Westport, the joy of getting all my laundry done and dry in one day is just so amazing. And the first time it happened this year, I realised how used I am to just getting things done, like just I have to do whatever I kind of use that strong will in psychosynthesis terms.
I plough ahead. And it’s made me think more about getting in tune with that summer solstice energy, that ease, that warmth, that glorious, grounded, healing, sacred sunshine.
Welcome to episode 116 of Soles to Soul Care for Trauma and AuDHD.
I’m your host, Eve Menezes Cunningham, and every Tuesday morning, there are new episodes helping you love and care for all your parts, including your trauma and AuDHD, from the soles of your feet to your soul. You can access old episodes and freebies and more information and all sorts of goodness at solestosoul.ie. So that’s s-o-l-e-s-t-o-s-o-u-l.ie for Ireland. And today we’re celebrating summer solstice.
And as I record this episode, we have sunshine outside. We also have a lot of wind. There’s been hail, rain, all sorts of all the weathers in Westport as so often.
But I want you to think about, if you want to, obviously, how safe you feel. It’s 2026. A lot of people are feeling increasingly unsafe as all sorts of isms and phobias are being legitimised and so much more like open racism, open misogyny, open transphobia, homophobia, ableism.
And Solstice is a time of, Summer Solstice here in the Northern Hemisphere. It’s a wonderful time of year to think about what we’re putting out in the world, our public selves. And I know a lot of you run your own businesses and you might be solopreneurs and you’re posting on social media and it can be really jarring and really painful to get hateful comments and messages and it can make you want to shrink.
We can strengthen by working with our solar plexus chakra, helping us step into our power and be our authentic selves from that place of empowerment while also recognising how scary it can be when you’re worried about being rejected and being exiled because we’re wired to thrive in community and our ancient ancestors would have died when exiled and even now there are severe consequences.
It’s about not betraying yourself, speaking up, acting accordingly, but also recognising the challenge and the pain involved often with that.
For the FEEL part of the FEEL. LOVE. HEAL. framework, I want you to think about when you feel safest, when you’ve felt shiniest, when you’ve felt like it’s the natural thing to grow, to thrive, to share, to contribute to the world, to your communities and to feel really good about doing that and maybe make a few notes, maybe do a little bit of journaling about the impact you want to have in the world, in an ideal world, even if it feels far removed from what you think you can do and also acknowledge the impact you have already had in the world.
Think about the things you enjoy, the things that you’re ready to let go of and also reflect on ways in which you can make life easier. One thing I’ve noticed is laundry and I don’t have a dryer but I do have a washing machine which is amazing and when it’s sunny, when it doesn’t rain for a good few hours, which is quite rare in Westport, the joy of getting all my laundry done and dry in one day is just so amazing and the first time it happened this year, I realised how used I am to just getting things done, like just I have to do whatever I kind of use that strong will and psychosynthesis terms, I plough ahead and it’s made me think more about getting in tune with that summer solstice energy, that ease, that warmth, that glorious grounded healing sacred sunshine, letting life be easy.
So as you reflect on your contributions to the world, both current, imaginary, past, ideal, also think about ways in which you can make things more easy, more effortless, how you can work with the seasonal energies, how you can work with nature and a few weeks ago I shared my interview with the delightful Dr Karen Ward and she was talking about the lilies off the field and how they don’t need to toil.
And let yourself be reminded that we are part of nature, we are part of the divine and you are worthy of ease and yes, making hay when the sun shines, making life easier for future you, but also taking time to let it in, to feel that warmth, to find that sun puddle, yes using sunscreen, being safe about it, but how can you enjoy this time of year as well, how can you enjoy the warmth, the sun, the light, the greater ease in certain areas.
So taking a very quick break and be back with the episode soon.
Would you like to work with me without actually working with me one-to-one, whether that’s to do with your location or your budget, I’ve created the Adventures online programmes so that you can focus in on specific issues you want to improve and benefit from my really holistic approach using everything from yoga and breathwork and meditation to coaching and psychosynthesis and NLP and EFT tapping, crystals, psychoeducation, looking at some of the neuroscience around some of the issues and I have been putting together online programmes to help you with everything from trauma and ADHD, to going for glimmers, to stopping pulling your hair out if you have trichotillomania, to getting more organised, sleeping better, dealing with anxiety, there are so many options and for 33 euros a month, a year, you get access to all of it.
What happens is you sign up, you email me what your wish list is and I will then send you three suggestions for getting started and I will use your answers to support my own ADHD brain in finishing the online programme that is best for you!
It might be something you’ve already identified or it might be something that I recognise from your answers and as more and more are completed, you’ll have access to all of those as well and I’m really excited about these offerings and these ways of working in really focused, kind of laser-focused ways. They’re mainly seven-day programmes but I don’t like telling people how to do anything. The persistent drive for autonomy, otherwise known as pathological demand avoidance. PDA.
You know what’s right for you. It may be that you want to experiment with all of the tools, it may be that only certain tools resonate for you. Again, you know yourself best.
Let me know what you are most keen to begin with and if you have any questions and you can find out more at solestosoul.ie/adventures. So looking forward to hearing from you there or if you just go to the website, there’ll be links and there’ll be links in the show notes as well.
Thank you for listening to my first ever podcast ad and welcome back to the episode.
As we move to the LOVE. part of the framework, it’s to do with that loving, supportive, accepting energy. In EFT, we always start with a setup statement either using the sore spot or the side of the hand and the idea is working with psychological reversal as it’s known. And whatever the issue is, you deeply and completely love and accept yourself or you choose to soothe and support yourself.
And with the love archetype, with that acceptance, with even though whatever it is I choose to, we can have that radical acceptance. We can use the sunlight. We can use it to really shine a light on whatever’s coming up for healing in our lives in the world.
Take a realistic good hard look at things and know that acceptance can change things. It might be accepting that it’s hard. It might be accepting that it’s unacceptable.
It might be accepting that you need help but having that courage with the sunshine to really love and support yourself as you look at different realities in your life. It might be to do with work. It might be to do with relationships.
It might be to do with community.
And as we move into the HEAL. part, the community care, the co-regulation, the turning what hurts your heart into action, recognising that an enormous amount is coming up for healing. There’ll be links in the show notes to episodes which will help you with some self-care around some of the global stuff.
But thinking again, how can you use the sunshine? How can you use the Solstice energies to contribute to the world in ways that nourish you as well? So it might be having a vegan barbecue or a non-vegan barbecue. If you’re not vegan, I think most people aren’t vegan. I just couldn’t resist offering a vegan barbecue.
It could be going for a walk in the park with people that you’d like to connect more with. Or it could be just thinking, how can you use the sunshine and the warmth to be a bit braver about connecting with people who feel friendly, who your nervous system wants to move towards using your nervous system and very much moving away from what isn’t friendly, but recognising how much we can do in community and how much we need each other and how you can help others go further as they can help you. Noticing as you addressed your contribution to the world and your public self and what you’re happy in terms of what you’re giving, what you’re putting out energetically and in time, in money, in energy, all of it.
And effort. Think about the communities you’re part of. Think about the ones that feel most nourishing and extricate yourself from those that aren’t.
You don’t have to stay in situations that are painful. You don’t have to make any big announcements or create any drama around it. You can just, depending on what the situation is, whether it’s family, whether it’s an online group, whatever it might be, giving yourself permission to assess, to audit, to notice which communities feel friendly, which help you make a greater contribution in the world and which are potentially holding you back, which are hurting you, which are not good for you.
So you might also want to use the time to reflect on younger you and thinking about it might be last Summer Solstice, it might be when you were a child, it might be decades ago, but just noticing when you think again about feeling safe enough to shine, safe enough to thrive, safe enough to connect.
What’s different now? What have you learned? The older we get, the better life gets because we know more about what works for us and we’re in a better position to create the conditions, the environments that support us and that can help support others. So thanks for listening to this episode.
If you haven’t already and would like to, please like, subscribe, comment, engage across the platforms, wherever you may be accessing this. And you can also email me eve at solestosoul.ie
And before you go, please take a moment to ground the episode by just pausing and scanning your parts, all your parts from the soles of your feet to your soul. So you may want to keep your eyes open, you may want to close them, but planting your feet firmly on the ground, lengthening through the spine if that feels comfortable for you, letting yourself feel held by the chair or whatever it is you’re sitting or lying or standing on and taking just a moment to scan your whole self, your whole body, your whole energy field and ask yourself what you’re going to do for yourself right now.
It might be as a result of listening to the episode, it might be something else, it might be a nap, it might be something to eat, it might be some kind of movement, but let yourself ground, let yourself get into the habit of connecting with your inner wisdom and notice what you need and give yourself what you need. Thank you for listening, I look forward to sharing more next week.