The Living Well Journal - Autumn Edition
The Season of Letting Go and Listening In
Autumn invites us to slow down and look at what we've been carrying. Nature shows us how releasing can be beautiful, trees let go of their leaves without struggle, making space for a short rest and then a new growth. We can do the same with outdated beliefs, habits, and stories that no longer fit who we're becoming.
Your Inner Hypnotherapist - The Leaf Meditation
Find a comfortable spot where you won’t be disturbed. Close your eyes and take a few gentle breaths, noticing the rise and fall of your chest.
Imagine standing beneath a large tree in autumn. Feel the cool air on your skin and hear the faint rustle of leaves around you. Each leaf represents something you’ve been holding onto a worry, an old belief, or a habit that is ready to change. Watch as a gentle breeze moves through the branches. You don’t force the leaves to fall, but they begin drifting down naturally, one by one. As you observe the leaves falling to the ground, notice how much lighter the tree becomes. That same lightness may already be within you.
Feel your shoulders soften and your chest open as the leaves drift down. Sense how your body begins to relax, creating space for what you are ready to release. As each leaf touches the ground, it becomes part of the earth, nourishing what will grow next.
Take a deep breath in, and as you breathe out, slowly open your eyes. Notice the sense of lightness you carry back with you. Take a moment to observe how this feeling shows up in your body and mind.
You may silently repeat the affirmation: “I release what no longer serves me, making space for what is ready to grow.”
If you're curious about how hypnotherapy could support you, find out more.
Lift Your Mood - Autumn Wellness
Add these seasonal foods to your autumn routine. They nourish body and mind when cooler, shorter days can leave you low on energy. They're useful all year, but especially now as the season is changing.
The Golden Spice for Inner Calm
Turmeric contains curcumin, which research suggests may support the production of serotonin and dopamine. Adding a pinch to soups, lattes, or roasted vegetables could give your mood a gentle lift during the evenings.
The Warming Root for Energy
Sweet potatoes are just so comforting, they also support balanced blood sugar levels throughout the day. Rich in beta-carotene and fibre, they help keep your energy levels up, which naturally supports a calmer, more stable mood.
The Fruit That Supports Sleep
Apples contain quercetin, an antioxidant that may help reduce stress and support better sleep quality naturally. A baked apple with a sprinkle of cinnamon in the evening can provide comfort and natural support for winding down.
Grounding Practices for Autumn
As the days shorten and the air cools, it’s a natural time to slow down, reflect, and focus on nurturing your body and mind. These simple practices can help you stay balanced and connected during this transitional season.
Get Your Feet on the Earth
Even as it gets colder, spending a few minutes with your feet on grass, soil, or fallen leaves can help you feel more settled. This physical connection to the ground can calm an overactive mind.
Notice the Natural Light
Autumn light is softer and shorter. Step outside during daylight hours, even briefly. Your body's internal clock responds to natural light, which supports better sleep and happier moods.
Create Warmth Rituals
As temperatures drop, bring warmth into your day intentionally. A hot water bottle on your lap whilst reading, warm lemon water in the morning, or lighting candles in the evening all signal safety and calm to your nervous system.
Allow the Quiet
Autumn naturally invites less doing and more being. Give yourself permission to slow down without guilt. Rest is how your body and mind restore themselves.
Autumn Self-Care - Your Free Guide to Seasonal Grounding
Spiritual Awareness
Autumn carries a particular kind of spiritual energy. It's the season that asks us to turn inward, to listen more than we speak, and to notice what's been quietly waiting for our attention.You don't need special abilities or years of practice to connect with this awareness. It's already present in the way you pause when you see the first golden leaf fall, or how you instinctively reach for warmer clothes and comfort. These aren't just physical responses, they're your soul recognising the rhythm of change and preparing to move with it rather than against it.
Download Your Free Guides
Helpful Rituals, Inner Child Connection
Meeting the Part That Fears Change
At certain points in life, we can feel the pull to move forward and the tug to stay the same, both at once. That tension is a memory. Somewhere inside, a younger part of you learned that staying the same, meant safety. Change, no matter how promising, can stir that old alert system.
This section invites you to meet that part of yourself. You might imagine sitting beside your younger self, listening rather than correcting. Ask what they’re afraid might happen if things change. Often, that small voice simply wants to be heard before it can rest. When the inner child feels seen, resistance softens naturally, and space opens for quieter forms of courage to appear.
Often, the part of us that resists letting go is a younger version of ourselves who once needed that protection, that habit, or that belief to feel safe. Even if it no longer serves you now, that inner child remembers when it did.
You can download your free guide - A Letter of Permission to Your Younger Self, Meeting the Part That Fears Change, which includes exercises, journal prompts, affirmations, and reflection space to support you on your way.
Change in Perspective - When You Don’t Know What’s Next
There are seasons in life when everything feels uncertain, when the road ahead is hidden by fog, or the way forward twists in directions you didn’t plan for. In those moments, it’s easy to question yourself, to wonder if you’ve lost your way.
Keep Walking, Every Step Knows Its Way
But life, much like nature, has its own rhythm. Sometimes you are meant to stop and at times, you are meant to walk without knowing the outcome. Every step you take, even the unsure ones, holds meaning.
You might not see it yet, but each step is carrying you towards something you’re ready for, an understanding, a change, a new version of yourself.
You are being guided, even when it doesn’t feel like it.
Think of how the leaves fall without fear. They don’t question when it’s time to let go. They simply trust the season. In the same way, when you move through your days with faith in the process, life rearranges itself around you.
You don’t need to have the full picture. You only need to take the next step, then the next.
Trust the movement itself and trust your feet to know the way.
Journal Prompts
What part of your life feels uncertain or unsettled right now?
How might it feel to trust the process instead of controlling it?
What does “walking forward” look and feel like for you today?
Listen In
Take a moment to notice your feet on the ground, the support beneath you.
Say softly in your mind:
“I am safe. I am moving forward. Every step knows its way.”
Stay here for a few moments before returning to your day.
Affirmations
I trust the path unfolding before me, even when I cannot see where it leads.
Each step I take moves me closer to peace, purpose, and understanding.
I am guided, supported, and always moving in the right direction.