Mental Slumps Don’t Just Go Away. You Have to Climb Out.

How ritual didn’t fix me — but it reminded me who I was under the fog.

“Door No 1, Door Door 2” painted by me. For sale here.

A few days ago, I found a note I wrote to myself in 2022 after a Reiki session with my friend, Hue. I love a good stream of consciousness after a Reiki session, and Hue encourages it. It was never meant to be public. But reading it felt like hearing from a version of me who’d already lived through this exact moment — and knew the way out.

What it reminded me of was simple:

Mental slumps are the problem. Ritual is the solution.

Rituals don’t fix or cure you — they just initiate the act of remembering who you are beneath the fog. A daily tether back to self. A rhythm strong enough to pull you out when your mind wants to stay buried.

I’ve been in the fog lately. As a summer boy, the winter blues hit hard. Most days, I’ve been hibernating — only stepping out for birthdays or to support friends’ artistic work. I’m grateful for those excuses to leave the house. The gym? Six times this month, maybe. My eating? Fully unhinged.

This morning, while trying to find something in my Google Drive, I came across that post-Reiki note. I didn’t write it for anyone else, but it helped me — and maybe it’ll help you, too.

I am an energetic being made of love who is navigating through the perfection of the human experience. I feel stressed by a lot of things that are familiar (work & money), but those stresses are not my own. They are there in my body for me to recognize, in the same way that I recognize clouds passing by in the sky or cars going by through traffic. However, those stresses do not belong to me. God is underneath them.

So is the awareness that there is wisdom above me and ancestors behind me, all of which I can tap into at any given moment. They will always reveal paths to me and lead me down one of them.

I don’t have to worry about my next right move because there are no bad decisions. There are only decisions. And we learn from all of them.

I need to meditate daily and make that my priority. Meditation is the key to unlocking and manifesting my dreams because it gets me in touch with myself. It allows me to take a step back from the negative things that I often feel are tethered to me.

The solitude I felt on Hue’s table was reminiscent of the solitude I’ve felt lately — except this time, I saw the beauty in it. Protecting my energy is not a bad thing. I will let the right person/people in when they come along. In the meantime, I need to continue to be with myself and relish that.

My style is beautiful! My presence is beautiful! My masculinity and femininity are sacred and beautiful. I am beautiful!

Like, wow. I really ate that.

And today, I actually meditated. First time in a long time. I love doing it in the morning. As soon as I felt my brain trying to run in 1,000 directions, I caught it and said, Hold up, bitch. We’re not doing this today.

Or at least, We’re not doing this right now.

Some people will say: Just give yourself grace. Let it pass. That’s fine — until it’s week three, and you still feel like a sock full of soup. At some point, grace needs structure. For me, that’s meditation.

I’m committing to one ritual this week: meditation. Three times between now and next Saturday.

If you’re in a slump, too, join me. Pick a ritual, do it three times, and comment below what you choose.

Let’s build our way out — one repetition at a time.

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Bonus: I’m a Headspace guided meditation app girlie. Here are 30 days free if you want to try it out.

Bonus Bonus: Want some art to remind you of this essay. Purchase here.

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