The Door In The Wall

A Whispers From My Wild Soul Post

Last week, I realized something I’ve never experienced before in my business.

I have just moved from one season to the next—three months of steady, consistent showing up—and I didn’t collapse into the familiar cycle.

In the past, by the end of a season, when results didn’t match the energy I’d poured in, I would find myself at the wall. The wall of frustration. The wall of doubt. The wall where I decide this isn’t working. And more times than I care to admit, I would stop there. Sometimes dramatically. Sometimes quietly. But always… stopping.

This time, I met the wall again.

But instead of turning back out of sheer frustration, I noticed something new—a door.

It wasn’t grand or obvious. It was quiet, almost shy. But it was there. And this time, I opened it and walked through.

The Science & the Energy of It

When you hit “the wall,” your body is reacting to perceived danger, not actual danger.

Your brain can’t tell the difference between physical threat and emotional strain. To your nervous system, prolonged effort without reward looks like risk:

• The amygdala (your brain’s smoke alarm) fires up, scanning for threats.

• Cortisol spikes, preparing you for fight, flight, or freeze.

• Blood flow shifts from the prefrontal cortex (your problem-solving center) to the survival centers of the brain.

• You feel brain fog, heaviness, irritability, or that “what’s the point?” feeling—that’s your system trying to get you to stop and conserve energy.

  
  

Signs you’re at this threshold:

• Procrastination suddenly feels irresistible.

• You crave “safe” distractions like scrolling, cleaning, or binge-watching.

• Your inner critic gets louder.

• The work feels heavier than it did a week ago.

• You daydream about quitting, changing directions, or burning it all down.

  
  

Pushing through—without forcing—teaches your nervous system a new truth: It’s safe to keep going, even here. This is neuroplasticity in action—you’re rewiring the connection between effort and safety, and expanding your capacity to hold success.

Energetically, this is the moment timelines shift. It’s when you stop looping through the start-stop cycle and begin building momentum that carries you forward.

How I Opened the Door Instead of Crashing into the Wall

This time, I didn’t try to force myself through with more effort, more willpower, or more self-talk.

And I didn't allow myself to indulge in the fantasy of quitting.

I took an honest-to-goodness break.

Not the kind where you step away for an afternoon but keep your brain running the whole time. Not the kind where you take a “day off” but secretly use it to catch up on all the little tasks.

I set as much as I could on autopilot. I gave myself permission to step back, to rest, to let the spinning in my head slow down. I came home to myself. I let my body feel safe again.

And here’s the thing: it wasn’t wasted time. That pause refilled my energy, steadied my nervous system, and made it possible to see the door in the wall when it appeared. Without it, I might have missed it entirely.

Sometimes the most powerful push forward comes after you’ve given yourself permission to stop—just long enough to remember who you are and why you’re walking this path in the first place.

Why the Break Worked (The Brain Science)

When you rest—truly rest—your nervous system shifts from the sympathetic “fight/flight” state into the parasympathetic “rest and digest” state.

Here’s what happens:

• Cortisol levels drop – Your stress chemistry begins to clear, which stops the constant “danger” signal to your brain.

• Blood flow returns to the prefrontal cortex – This is the part of your brain responsible for creativity, decision-making, and problem-solving.

• The Default Mode Network activates – This brain network lights up when you’re not actively focused on a task. It’s when your mind makes new connections and sees possibilities you couldn’t see before.

• Neuroplasticity increases – The brain becomes more receptive to forming new patterns, which means you’re better able to choose a different response when you face the wall again.

Physically, your body uses this time to repair, rebalance hormones, and recharge energy reserves.

Energetically, it’s a reset—like clearing static from the line so you can hear your inner guidance again.

It’s not stepping back from the work—it’s priming yourself to meet it from a stronger, steadier place.

The Goddess at the Threshold

Hecate, goddess of thresholds, crossroads, and liminal spaces, is said to stand with her lantern in the in-between—where one path ends and another begins.

She doesn’t drag you through the doorway. She simply lights the way and waits for you to choose.

I think she was there with me, at the wall.

The door was her lantern-glow, just bright enough to notice if I was willing to look for it.

I didn’t know exactly what was on the other side. I still don’t.

But I stepped through anyway.

Today, as I write this, there’s a white feather on the ground next to me—a quiet blessing, a small sign: Yes. Keep going.

I don’t know exactly where this will lead me, but I do know this: after my break, there was new movement in the very places that had felt stagnant for so long. Inquiries, bookings, ideas, and energy began to flow again.

To me, that’s the clearest sign that I should keep going—that this is actually working.

Whispers from My Wild Soul

A blog series of soul remembering, healing, and transformation

These are the quiet truths that rise up when we slow down.

Reflections from the threshold of midlife, where the old stories begin to fall away and the wild soul stirs awake.

Here, I write from the heart—about crone wisdom, spiritual awakening, and the rituals that root me to the Earth and to myself.

These whispers are an invitation to return home to your own wise, wild soul.