We haven’t had a message from Astrid in a while, so on today’s Ask Astrid Fridays slot, she’s asked me to share a few thoughts from rabbit’s perspective. In fact, she was quite insistent this morning, digging at my feet and pajama pant legs with her front paws over and over, and nibbling on the bows to my slippers. So here we go.

As rabbits are prey animals, Astrid knows well what it feels like to live in constant high-alert, always have an escape route mapped out, keep distance between herself and potential predator energies, manage fear in order to survive, invoke powerful territorial defense, and be choosy about who she lets into her close social space.

Sound familiar to what we’re facing currently?

Rabbits have amazing perceptive abilities and extremely fine-tuned instinctive responses that keep them aligned with actions needed. Their high-frequency, radar hearing is extraordinary, sense of smell is amazing, and with nearly 360 degree far-sighted vision (with only a blind spot in front of their nose) they can detect movement at great distances.

As animal messengers they remind us to nurture, develop, refine, and utilize the tools we have too.

Rabbits also know very well how it feels to be highly sensitive, extremely cautious, easily thrown off balance out of nervous anxiety or pain, and get worked up in a speedy heart-beat-frenzy out of fear or panic – all of which can compromise their health instantly.

And yet, they are such diverse, resilient beings and incredible, abundant survivalists, with an uncanny ability to navigate the dark labyrinth depths of life.

Astrid understands well the energetic and physical landscape we are all facing right now and she wants to assure us that we can and will get through this.

In the meantime, she urges us to spend time tuning into our intuitive hearts and trusting the instincts and nudges we have grown used to pushing aside, avoiding, or ignoring.

There are times for us to sit still as we gather helpful input from around and within us, and there are times for us to trust our instincts and intuitive guidance and act upon them in the moment to lead us where we need to go.

Astrid also encourages us to really embrace this “slow down” period to put into motion deliberate presence. By being ultra now-engaged we are more open to the gifts of the moment and learn to embrace all there is to offer for greater enrichment.

We also start to create more methodical processes, thoughtful actions, and make mindfulness an every-moment experience. Meditation no longer needs to only be a block of time you carve out separate to the rest of your life, but instead you can create life as a meditation of being.

The more we breathe in life and become more finely tuned into ourselves, the more we will take action because trust will be present.

As much as this is a time to reimagine, reinvent, and reprioritize, it is also a great practice zone for taking action on things now, and not later.

You don’t need to wait to know all the details. You simply need to take a step.

If a rabbit waited at every turn to make a move, they would definitely meet different end results. They trust, in the moment, they will know what maneuver to make when needed. Their bodies move in response to all senses on high and working in unison, not fight.

Astrid assures you it’s alright to change your mind along the way, and in fact it is necessary to be adaptable to the incoming stimulus that encourages different steps to arrive at the results you would like.

You need to take into account that things are rapidly shifting in each moment, so teaching yourself to be more flexible to the process can benefit you greatly.

Not only might you receive more along the way, but you will likely find yourself aligning with a greater good as a result.

So, embrace these times to really get to know yourself. How you respond to challenges will help you thrive in any environment. When you get through a crisis, you learn processes that will help you through anything and not only gain the assurance that you are resilient and capable, but the comfort that you can trust yourself too.

The more you decide to create presence of being as your natural way, the more you will feel comfortable taking instinctual action and lessen the restraints on being more of who you really are.

You’ll learn to relax more into your natural self and state of being, with the confidence of rising to any occasion.

“Have you ever seen the dawn? Not a dawn groggy with lack of sleep or hectic with mindless obligations and you about to rush off on an early adventure or business, but full of deep silence and absolute clarity of perception? A dawning which you truly observe, degree by degree. It is the most amazing moment of birth. And more than anything it can spur you to action. Have a burning day.” ~Vera Nazarian