My Thoughts After the 2024 U.S. Election...

Like many of us, I’ve been feeling all kinds of fear, anger, grief and rage this week.

Of course my own feelings are likely nothing compared to those of you who are residents of the United States and most especially those of you whose basic human rights are now at stake. Words cannot express my empathy and solidarity for you. Hopefully with time, my actions will speak louder than words anyway. 

Donald Trump was elected once again to be president of the USA. Maybe you are shocked, maybe you’re not, but one thing is clear: the patriarchy and supremacy culture is alive and well. 

Though I am in the northern part of Turtle Island (on the land currently colonized as “Canada”) I, like most of the world, am feeling the impacts of this election. I received a few messages this week from folks eager to hear my thoughts as someone “on the front lines of decolonization” as one friend said. 

Before I could string any sensible thoughts together, I honestly had to disconnect from my phone and social media, binge-watch cheesy holiday movies on Netflix, and steep myself in joy and pleasure as much as humanly possible. On Thursday, two days after the world heard the news, I happened to have a mini vacation day planned as my husband surprised me with a Michelin star restaurant experience and a concert as an early birthday gift. It couldn’t have come at a better time.

As much as I enjoyed releasing the weight of the world (if only for a day) I knew deep down, even during my joy and pleasure, that this is another initiation - calling me and calling us deeper into the work of decolonization. Even through my grief, rage, the heaviness of this news and more than a tinge of hopelessness, I felt my ancestors stoking the flames of this fire they’ve instilled in me. 

But it’s not just up to me. Decolonization is all of our work to do. Take a few minutes to read my blog post “what even is decolonization and why is this word so controversial?”

We each have a role to play and it goes beyond words and certainly beyond silence or even voting. Even if you voted for Harris and even if she’d won - we’d have so much work to do.

Still, we can’t ignore the people that are hurting and who will be harmed most by Trump’s presidency including Black women and folks, transgender people and the LGBTQIA community, all marginalized genders including cisgender women, immigrants, Native Americans (who are not even part of the conversation during elections), people of the global majority and basically anyone who isn’t white, male, rich, and Christian. This is colonialism in its truest form. 

I’m not going to get into policies and platforms (I’d have very little to go on anyway with Trump’s “concepts of a plan”) but I’d like to speak to this from a spiritual perspective and an Indigenous perspective.

Spirit gave me this thought: what if Trump winning is just what we need in order for the entire empire to fall? 

I’m not an expert in astrology, numerology, or fortune telling, but my friends who are experts have been saying that 2024-2025 will be times of “crumbling” and “power to the people”. In numerology, we’re heading into a year number 9 which is all about endings. Astrologically, Pluto is in Aquarius and history shows us that every time this placement has happened, there’s been a revolution including the Haitian Revolution, the French Revolution, Irish Rebellion and even the American Revolution. Watch this video from Serene Sovereign for that breakdown.

Again, I am not an astrologer so I am bringing Laura K Chung to The Round Table: Decolonize Your Coaching Business this November to discuss how we can use astrology for collective liberation! 

How does this election impact you as a coach, healer, or space-holder?

As someone in the business of supporting humans, whether it’s through a psychotherapy practice, mindset coaching, energetic healing or teaching a class- your job is to be there for people and that includes witnessing them when they are hurting. While coaching is not therapy, and you may feel ill equipped to talk “politics”, you should know that acknowledgement and presence goes a long way. Silence and “business as usual” also goes a long way - in the wrong direction. Now is not the time to bypass the real, heavy emotions your clients are very likely experiencing. 

Whether it’s a public post or private messages - check in on your people. My current business mentor Caley Dimmock made a point of pausing business related Q&A for the day on November 6th and checked in on us as humans instead. She often checks in on me personally too when she knows my heart is heavy, like on September 30th - the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation in Canada. This is leadership.

Being a leader is not about likes and follows, it is about service to one’s community. It is a massive responsibility. Indigenous Elders know this and have always taught us this. But in the modern coaching industry, “leadership” has been equated to fame and fortune and we’re all being called now to re-indigenize. 

What exactly does re-indigenizing your coaching practice look like? That’s what we’re going to spend two days exploring together at The Round Table: Decolonize Your Coaching Business. This is my signature class and panel discussion which has now been taken and loved by over 200 leaders. To give you an idea, it’s looking at things like:

• Are you acknowledging your privilege(s)? Why is that important?
• How do you hold space for people with different lived experiences?
• Are you avoiding uncomfortable conversations? 
• How do you move through personal discomfort to better serve more clients?
• What does inclusive and liberatory leadership look like?
• What are tangible ways you can decolonize your practice? Hint: there are many! 

And if you’re nervous and know there will be a lot here to grapple with, you can upgrade your ticket this round to a 4-day pass which includes a pre-event lounge to receive extra support and somatic care and a post-event debrief to ask your questions in a non-judgemental space. 

The Round Table is happening November 18-21 in the evening EST and recordings will be included for the times you cannot make it live. 

What’s giving me hope right now:

The shining glimmer of hope for me in these heavy times is the community (this includes you) that I have found myself surrounded by that’s been built on shared values. A few years ago, during a week like this week, my Instagram feed would’ve been filled with business as usual “high vibe” and “manifestation” content that is the epitome of spiritual bypassing.

But instead it’s filled with words of wisdom from Black and Indigenous leaders, acknowledgements of grief and rage, solidarity for Black women and LGBTQIA, and guess what? None of this content “lowers my vibration” as my former “spiritual leaders” would have had me believe. Instead, it lets me know that I am not alone and I am seen and cared for. That is profoundly healing, and that is our job as coaches and healers - to truly witness our clients. 

Another big beacon of hope is the coaches and leaders signing up for The Round Table and committing to at least the first steps of decolonizing their practice. I do feel that more and more people, especially those who hold the most privileges, are actively listening. Seeing so many coaches who care about the ethics of this industry is very encouraging and The Round Table is truly a soothing balm for anyone who has started to question if they even want to be a coach anymore because of the colonial tactics that have led to an industry that is often lacking integrity. 

Now more than ever, it’s a beautiful time to have a business that is rooted in humanity and collective liberation and now more than ever, folks are buying from businesses that align with their values. This is exciting because any amount of money = power to vote for the people and values that you believe in.

That which is no longer serving humanity is sure to fall away over the next few years and if we take deep breaths, take good care of ourselves and one another, I do believe we can emerge better than we were before.

More aware. More conscious. More connected. 

Sending peace and care,

Emily