Mercury In Retrograde And The Art Of Non-Violent Communication

It's been a tough July. A very tough one indeed. And when it was going very pear shaped I googled which dates Mercury was in retrograde in 2019 and lo and behold it pretty much started the moment that things started unravelling in my world.

The first time I heard about Mercury being in retrograde was when my psychotherapist, who has guided me through all sorts of mishaps and dysfunctional relationships, told me to be kind to myself during a particular period because of this astrological phenomenon. She said 'you cannot embark on a new project during this period. It is a time of revision, revisiting, checking over, reviewing and so on. Anything that has a re on it you can engage in. Anything new, don't do it, it will not work out.' At first I thought I needed to change therapists, but then I decided to follow her advice and it worked.

I went back over work. I checked on projects that were existing and revised and revisited them. I revisited dialogue between parties. I checked my own thinking too. And I came out the other side on top.

This time around it hit me sideways. I really thought the Gods were playing with me. I found myself bumping into people I hadn't seen in a while and revisiting old feelings and thoughts. I would leave my phone in my car and have to walk down four flights of stairs to go get it. My internet connection went down. My car needed a new battery.

Tuesday was, I hope, the worst of it. I had a huge family blowout and as usual I found it tough to see what part I was playing and instead wished to pass the buck on those that were reacting to me. The pressure gasket blew on Tuesday and so by Tuesday evening I did myself a favour and I revisited Marshall Rosenberg's art of non-violent communication. If any of you are out there and are experiencing the same phenomenon, of old wounds being prodded, of being challenged and being told you or your behaviour is unacceptable, then I would encourage you to watch the You Tube video below.

Non-violent communication is very hard to achieve. It requires you to step back and re-examine yourself, your moral judgements and the preconceptions we carry with us formed by what we learn from society, from friends, from family. And it requires you to carefully listen to others, a skill God did not bless me with. Instead I got ego and self-righteousness.

My life lessons these past two years have been bitter sweet. There is a level of self-entitlement in me which I do battle with daily. And I am indulgent in so many ways. My hope, by the time mercury in retrograde ends, is to have re-examined myself so that I can take enough time to listen to other people's needs and maybe, just maybe, August will bring some respite.