Renewing your Four Energy Domains

By Nicole Sammut, Certified Life-Cycle Celebrant® 

In a field largely dominated by face-to-face interactions and the human connection, Life Cycle Celebrants® across counties, towns, cities and countries have pivoted in leaps and bounds to continue to provide essential care, commemoration and celebration through remote ways of connecting through ceremony. We have also connected more with our peers through our established, ‘Community of Practice’ circles. These regular touchpoints within our professional practice create an outlet for us to share our successes and pitfalls as we embark on new ways of doing things.

Exchanging and sharing experiences amongst each other also provides the opportunity to share and kindle new ideas.  This is especially important as Celebrants continue to navigate the world of small, in-person and remote (or virtual) ceremonies as well as facilitate online discussion groups, workshops and sessions. While these new channels have inspired many to lead in new and creative ways, it can also leave many fatigued, worn out and exhausted. This fatigue calls for a measure of enhanced or additional means of self-care in order to replenish our energies to continue to serve others.

The role of professional renewal and self-care is significant and while we face the continued call of designing new ways to ‘ceremony,’ the role of self-care is now more critical than ever. Upon our initial transition to remote ceremonies, self-care rituals and practices were not a daily, weekly or monthly priority or habit of mine. I failed to build in ‘recovery time’ into my practice in the early stages of the pandemic. I soon found out just how pivotal recovery time is to effective, positive and sustained performance.[1]  

Life Cycle Celebrants® constantly manage four energy domains in order to be present and mindful of the services we provide clients. These domains include the management of physical, emotional, mental and spiritual energies. According to Loehr and Schwartz, “To be fully engaged requires strength, endurance, flexibility and resilience in all dimensions…[we must therefore] learn to live our own lives as a series of sprints- fully engaging for periods of time, and then fully disengaging and seeking renewal before jumping back into the fray to face whatever challenges confront us.” [2] Take for example the renewal of our spiritual energy. The labyrinth is traditionally a sacred space meant for journeys of personal healing. Oftentimes we assist clients in renewing their sense of well-being through the navigation of releasing, receiving and returning from the labyrinth. These occurrences are deeply renewing but can also equally deplete our own spiritual energy. This is especially apparent when Celebrants do not take the time to rejuvenate and refuel their own energy assets within this domain.[3] In finding your own tempo to the pace and frequency of small, in-person and remote ceremonies, sustained longevity cannot be maintained through the course of running a marathon, but is achieved through a ‘series of sprints.’

Managing your four energies for continued sustainability, rejuvenation and professional renewal is achieved through a number of different means. First and foremost, as our vocation helps guide clients through a series of rituals within their own ceremony, it is equally important to select a number of positive rituals to maintain our own self-care. These rituals are diverse and truly personal and can include a number of different practices including (but not limited to) enjoying a morning cup of coffee or tea in solitude,  participating in meditation and yoga exercises, taking a mindful walk surrounded by nature, sitting by a roaring fireplace or lighting a candle, practicing breathing activities, reading a book, writing a card or connecting with a loved one. A selection of positive rituals that are deeply personal and meaningful to you is essential for energy renewal and rejuvenation. 

In addition to the selection of rituals, it is also important to ensure that there is an effective balance in their regular utilization. As described by Loehr and Schwartz, this effective balance is between, “[E]nergy expenditure and energy renewal in the service of full engagement.”[1] Integrating affirmative rituals regularly can help Celebrants adjust and replenish their physical, mental, emotional and spiritual energies. The incorporation of positive rituals within a daily, weekly or monthly schedule of practice is invaluable for all Celebrant professionals. In as much as we hold meaningful space for our clients, it is also integral to hold and maintain space for indiviudal self-care. Thus, the act of recovering, replenishing and sustaining one’s fuel tank is fundamental to the lifecycle of a Life Cycle Celebrant.

In what ways do you replenish your four energy dimensions?

[1] Loehr, J. and Schwartz, T. (2003). The Power of Full Engagement: Managing Energy, Not Time, Is the Key to High Performance and Personal Renewal. New York: Free Press, 182.

[1] Loehr, J. and Schwartz, T. (2003). The Power of Full Engagement: Managing Energy, Not Time, Is the Key to High Performance and Personal Renewal. New York: Free Press, 12.

[2] Ibid, 11-12.

[3]  Back to the 3 R’s: A Labyrinth Meditation (2021 January 03). Retrieved from https://creativelifecenter.org/three-rs/