Sept 18, 2025

Shadows & Cornbread

Grief and hope, shadow and light, these are all two sides of the same coin.

Hello love,

I'm writing to you from my kitchen in California, integrating the medicine from almost a month in Portugal. And yes, I'm calling travel medicine.

Note, that medicine isn't always easy to take down...

Shadow work found me

Picture this: I'm sitting in a circle with women I've been working with for months alongside others I'd never met before. Different faces and stories, but the same theme kept emerging – our shadows.

You know what I mean by shadows, right?

Those parts of ourselves we don't want to admit exist.

The thoughts that make us cringe.

The beliefs we've shoved so far down to pretend they're not ours and shame others for exemplifying them.

But here's what came up:

Our shadows aren't enemies to defeat – they're exiled parts holding incredible gifts.

Why shadows are our superpowers

When we bring care and curiosity to these hidden parts instead of shame and rejection, something magical happens.

That critical voice might be holding discernment.

That anger you're afraid of? Pure life force energy waiting to fuel necessary boundaries.

The shadow doesn't disappear when we shine light on it (aka bring our hearts into the conversation), it transforms into a guiding gift.

It can seem like everything is falling apart...

But there is always something that can remind us it will be okay.

This week has been heavy and empowering.

Heavy that the U.S. bill almost allowed passport revocation based on suspicion alone,

We mourn and rage the death of another young black man, 21-year-old Trey Reed, lost to lynching in this day and age,

and so much more to grieve.

Empowering because at the same time, Haiti cut ties with France after decades of economic and humanitarian oppression,

Missouri has outlawed child marriage,

California Extends Cap‑and‑Trade program (a win for climate and humanitarian justice),

And an independent U.N. Commission of Inquiry concluded Israel is responsible for committing genocide in Gaza, finding that Israeli authorities have carried out four out of five acts defined under the 1948 Genocide Convention.

These moments remind us why shadow work isn't just personal healing, it's preparation for the collective work still needed.

Our bodies are not meant to hold so much overwhelm at the same time

This is the first time in human history that we are aware of all these events at once.

But we are expanding our capacity to hold the heavy and empowering by tending to our own shadows with love, holding hope, honoring movement in the right direction, and allowing the sacred rage to be expressed safely.

I believe if the majority can embody this, everything will change for the better.

Ways we can befriend our shadows:

Notice without judgment – When a constraining or harmful thought arises, pause and say, "Hello, what are you trying to protect or show me?"
Get curious about the gifts – Ask: "If this part of me has wisdom, what might it be?"
Offer yourself compassion – These parts were developed to keep you safe. Thank them before you start the conversation about transformation.

some of the women, mothers, grandmothers, and children doing this work too

Grounding home with cornbread

After this work, the body can crave something deeply grounding.

A craving to feel a sense of safety and home.

This can result in repetitive eating patterns like binge eating, processed foods, and late-night eating, because the nervous system wants to avoid too much change, which it subconsciously couples with danger.

Your Āyurvedic antidote for Fall transitions:

As we move into Vata season (air and space elements), and the darkest half of the year, our nervous systems need extra stability.

Daily Vata-balancing ritual:

After the Fall Equinox next week and temperatures drop, warm oil self-massages before your morning shower will strengthen the stability of the nervous system.

Use sesame or olive oil in slow, circular motions around joints and warming strokes toward the heart on long extremities.

We talk more about morning oil massages in this video (12:45):

This simple practice prevents the seasonal anxiety, digestive issues, and sleep disturbances that come with increased air element.

🛑 - Avoid if you feel you are about to get sick and/or channels are clogged (not expelling waste).

Enter: cornbread.

Not just any cornbread – the kind that connects you back to earth and simplicity while satisfying the body's need for warm, sweet, grounding comfort.

Cornbread Recipe

Easy and epic for a side dish for breakfast, lunch, or dinner. I call it Veronica's Come Back Home Cornbread.

Prep: 10 minutes

Cook: 25 minutes

Ingredients

▢ 1 cup yellow cornmeal

▢ 1 cup all-purpose flour or tapioca flour for GF option

▢ 1/4 cup sugar or maple syrup

▢ 1 tbsp baking powder

▢ 1/2 tsp salt

▢ 1 cup milk (I used sweetened almond milk)

▢ 1 egg

▢ 1/3 cup oil (butter or olive oil is my favorite)

▢ (optional additions) pepper flakes, fresh cracked black pepper, carrot stems, and/or dill

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 375°F and coat the inside of a 9-inch pie plate, cast iron skillet, or 8×8 casserole dish with butter or olive oil
In a large bowl, stir cornmeal, flour, sugar, baking powder, salt
In a separate bowl, whisk together the milk, egg, and oil
Pour wet ingredients into the bowl of dry ingredients + any additional ingredients (herbs/ spices), fold with a spatula to combine; don't overmix. Lumps are okay
Pour batter into prepped dish, bake for 25 min.
Turn off the oven and let the dish sit inside for 5min
Edges should be golden brown
Cut and share warm <3

I recommend having your additional dishes ready, like beans or meat and steamed veggies, so you can avoid eating the whole batch and instead have a balanced meal because dang these are fire...

Client celebration: Truth becomes medicine

Last week, I had a session that reminded me why this shadow work is so powerful.

My client shared something he'd never told anyone: his fear about intimacy and the terror of making it "real" by speaking it out loud.

We didn't try to fix his numbness.

We named it, let the fear come out, held it with care, and worked with tangible practices: diet, herbs, somatics. The next day:

"I started to feel sleepy... and slept very deep!! I think our conversation made an explosion of positive feelings... Was the very first time I felt confident to share all my fears with someone."

He'd been dealing with insomnia for a year.

Truth-telling helped his nervous system finally feel safe enough to rest -- exactly what we need as we transition to Vata season.