When Winter Tests Your Jedi Practices — Field Notes with Rachel Dickson


02/05/26

Greetings Creators, Collaborators, Hope-Dealers, Bridge-Builders and Bringers of Light!

An expression arrived in my orbit this week. Many of you know, felt and experienced the back-to-back weeks of elemental water events that touched down (first ice and then snow and then frigid temps...making it all stick around and lock us in place for a number of days).

The preparedness, the vigilance and the patience that all this required started to impact my attitude. And then this expression arrived.

Energy hygiene.
A phrase I didn’t know I needed…until I did.

Huh, who knew...but this was exactly what was necessary. To pause and pay attention and then choose specific things to take care of my energy is exactly what I did.

(So very grateful I never lost power) I played campfire videos in my living room (no fireplace and I didn’t want to burn candles because I didn’t know if I’d need them [vigilance]). I listened to the soundscape I created for our end of the year gathering (humpback whales and the playing of the crystal bowls), I drank a lot of hot tea...all of these things and more.

Energy hygiene is like personal hygiene. Where you get your hair done, you shower or take a bath, you trim your finger nails...self-care for the body stuff. With energy care it is as necessary for overall health and wellness to take hold.

Trust me, I know this because I was frazzled. There was an edginess in the air over the past two weeks...those pesky unknowns lurking about. Will I lose power? Will I not lose power?

If I lose power I also lose water so a double doozer. Will the pipes freeze, will they not freeze? And on and on and on the hamster wheel rolled. (And if you’re wondering...I made preparation. I stock-piled candles, refreshed batteries in flashlights, stored up buckets and gallons of water and on and on).

Even so, my Jedi practices were tested. My ability to calm my body in spite of the unknowns. Some days I did better than others. What saved me was frequency, listening to sound as body-tuning, nervous system medicine.

This is exactly how we start all of our Wildhearted Gatherings. With a live crystal bowl sound bath or a curated soundscape to regulate our nervous system and create balance.

Which was a whole other level of stress these past two weeks because the first gathering of the year was scheduled for January 25th. Obviously, postponed this. Not once, but twice. So now our first gathering of the year will be on March 1st.

I’d love to have you with us. All the details are below.

In the meantime, rest, regulate and reset. Winter may not be quite over for many...but this doesn’t mean we can’t employ Jedi practices to strengthen our resolve.

To the wildhearted in all of us!


Wild-Heart Practice of the Week:

“The 5-Minute Energy Hygiene Reset”

When the world feels edgy and your nervous system is on high alert, try this:

  1. Light + Warmth
    Make one small cozy choice — tea, a blanket, a lamp, a campfire video.
  2. Sound as Medicine
    Put on one regulating sound: crystal bowls, ocean waves, humming, or silence.
  3. Body Check-In
    Ask: Where am I holding tension right now?
    Soften one place — jaw, shoulders, belly.
  4. One Exhale Longer
    Take 3 slow breaths, making your exhale just a little longer than your inhale.
  5. Return to Center
    Whisper: I am here. I am safe enough. I can meet this moment.

    Five minutes. That’s it.
    Energy hygiene counts.

Our First Wildhearted Gathering of 2026 Now on Sunday, March 1st


A quick note: due to the winter storm, our gathering has been rescheduled to Sunday, March1st.
If you feel called, I’d be delighted to share this circle with you.

ReWeaving: Mending the Divide between Soul-Self and Earth-Self
An invitation to align the ancient intelligence of your soul with the practical wisdom of your embodied self through sensory and guided experiences.

  • When: Sunday, March 1, 2026 | 2pm–4pm
  • Where: Wellness and Movement Center, 1171 Spartanburg Highway, Hendersonville, NC
  • Hosts: Rachel Dickson & Jaci Daley
  • Seats / Price: $25 | Limited to 30 guests

Listen: A Wildhearted Soundscape

One of the simplest forms of energy hygiene I returned to these past two weeks was sound.

If you’d like a gentle way to regulate and reset, you can listen to the Wildhearted soundscape from our end-of-year gathering — a grounding blend of humpback whale song and crystal bowl harmonics, created to help the body soften and come back into balance.

A small offering…to carry a bit of calm into your day.
Totally free to listen.


[Listen / Download]


Wildhearted Wear

A new tee has arrived to help you carry a little Wildhearted energy wherever you go. Perfect for grounding, regulating, and showing up fully…even on the chilliest days.

[Explore the Collection]


I’m grateful you’re here — walking this Wildhearted path with me.

Field Notes arrives each week as a small offering…whispers from whatever season we’re living through, the heart, and the everyday practices that help us come back to center.

If this issue resonated, I’d love to hear from you.
What has helped regulate or steady you lately?
What small act of energy hygiene has brought you a little more calm?

Hit reply and share — your note might be the very spark someone else needs.

Namaste,
Rachel

P.S. Thank you for being here. Truly.



🙏 If this work resonates with you, a small contribution helps keep it alive and growing: → [Support the Work]

🌿 Explore more meditations, writings, and wild-heart practices at RachelDickson.com

🎬 If you haven’t yet, please take a few minutes and watch Rachel’s Tedx Talk → [view the full 18-min talk here]


💌 In case you missed any past Field Notes, you can find the full collection here: → [View them all]

Rachel Dickson

I’m Rachel Dickson: TEDx speaker, storyteller, and truth-teller exploring what it means to return to your truest self. This is a space for healing, authenticity, and the bold inner work of choosing yourself, unapologetically.

Read more from Rachel Dickson

3/11/26 Greetings, Wild-Hearts, Truth-Tellers, Light-Followers, and Builders of a Different Kind of Life. I too crave a different kind of buzz. From the very first time I heard the song Royals by Lorde, something about those lyrics captivated me. The words felt gritty and messy but also deeply real. I could sense there was truth hiding in them… but I struggled to understand the metaphors for a long time. If you want to get a better sense of what I’m talking about, take three minutes and...

02/26/26 Greetings, Wildhearted, Cycle-Keepers, Light-Followers, and Brave Becoming Ones. If you were to ask me what my favorite season is you’d hear me say, Spring. Spring is that time where things come back to life...and awaken from the long slumber of Winter. The smells, the return of the color green, longer daylight, warmer temps, the return of the songbirds. I think much of my appreciation for Spring is because I love to be outside...and Winter restricts outdoor adventuring a bit. And...

02/19/26 Hello Courageous Souls, Threshold-Walkers, Inner-World Gardeners, and Love-Bringers! Patterns within myself and the subtle spiritual hygiene of attention. image from litfuck.com I’ve been noticing some things lately. If you happen to be a facebook user...you likely have a facebook routine. (Instagram and Tiktok apply here too.) Where you open the app and begin scrolling...or...maybe you begin to review new posts on groups you’re a part of...or any other plethora of ways to utilize...