How to Avoid a Shut Down Nervous System to Easily Manifest

You don’t need to push harder to manifest what you want. You need to feel safe receiving it. In this episode, Shannon unpacks why a shut down nervous system can silently block even your clearest desires, and how to move into new timelines without triggering fight, flight, or freeze. 

This is about softness, guiding your subconscious gently, honoring your body, and building the kind of safety that makes expansion feel delicious.

You’ll explore:

• How to recognize nervous system shutdown in everyday manifestations
  
  
• What safety actually looks like on a somatic level
  
  
• Rituals and sensory tools to rewire your body’s response to having more
  
  
• The secret to creating lasting, soul-aligned shifts without collapsing

Mentioned in the Show:

Act As If Ritual

Havest Your Desires Guided Experience

Check out Squeeze of Life...Ashley does amazing breathwork guidance

Chapters

• 0:00 Welcome & Introduction
• 1:49 Your Body Knows First
• 3:35 Learning From My Healing Journey
• 6:46 Honor Sensation Over Strategy
• 12:11 Stretch Don't Snap
• 14:22 Building Safety Through Ritual
• 18:50 Allow Integration & Let It Be Gentle
• 19:51 Upcoming Event & Closing Thoughts

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:00

Hey, loves and welcome back. I am so glad you're here. If you are new, I am Shannon and this space is all about manifesting from the inside out. No forcing, no pretending, no skipping the deep stuff Real conversations to help you live the life that your soul already knows is yours. So let's get into today's episode. There is a version of you out there already living the life that you have been whispering about. They aren't just ticking off boxes or achieving goals. They're savoring moments. They're waking up excited, deeply anchored in peace and surrounded by nourishing relationships and moving through life with a rhythm that feels like home. And the journey to becoming that version of you.

Speaker 1: 0:43

It doesn't require a massive breakthrough, some kind of dramatic leap or a 30-day sprint. The only thing it requires is learning to guide your subconscious and your body towards that new reality in a way that feels safe, soft and deeply supported. Because when the nervous system senses danger, even subtle subconscious things, it doesn't care about your vision board, it doesn't care about your scripting journal, it's going to shut down the whole thing, not to punish you but to protect you. And I think a lot of times we feel as though if we're blocked or if our nervous system shuts down or if our subconscious gets in the way, it's an internal punishment lodged against us, that it's something deeply personal about you doing something wrong or not being enough. That is not the case. It just does it to protect you because that's how you were created so you can stay safe. It's important to stay safe, but sometimes that gets muddled between actually keeping you safe from danger and taking you into something that is extraordinary. So that's what we're going to explore today is to how to move timelines gently without triggering collapse, resistance or fear. So I want you to grab your favorite drink, cozy up and let's get started.

Speaker 1: 2:04

I want you to understand that your body knows first, before the shift happens in your reality, it's happening in your energy, but even before that, it happens in your nervous system. Your nervous system is the bridge between your conscious desires and your subconscious patterns. It's like a tuning fork that tells the rest of you we're safe to go forward or nope, nope, this is unfamiliar Pull back, pull back, pull back. So you can do all the affirmations and you can visualize the relationship or the home, the vibrant health. But if your body feels that having those things may come at a risk or at a loss or that overwhelm you, then your subconscious is going to start sending out those stop signals, and this is where we often feel the most frustrated in manifestation, because you know what you want and you feel connected to it on a soul level, but it still doesn't come. So there's a deeper truth here, one that we don't talk about a lot in the manifesting space because it's not glitzy and glamorous, right, it doesn't sound all. Get you in your feels for a second, which is what we see, which is what I'm really getting sick of, if I'm going to be honest with you, because we're talking about all of the things but we're not talking about the things that really make a difference, and that's that your subconscious and your body may not have trust in that version of reality yet, not because it isn't real, it's because it doesn't yet feel safe.

Speaker 1: 3:36

I talked about this, or I posted about this on a TikTok about one of the biggest things I ever manifested was when I was told I would never eat solid food again, and I decided at one of my last appointments when they said you know, we've done all we can to try and fix what is going on with you. You're going to have to have a feeding tube for the rest of your life. I was still in my 30s at this point. I wasn't ready to be on a feeding tube for the rest of my life. I didn't want that. But, thinking to myself, I'm going to eat solid food because the problem really wasn't the eating part, the problem at well. I mean that was the problem, but at this point the malnutrition was so bad that it was dire Like I needed to get nutrition. And so they said the only option was to get a feeding tube. That just didn't sit right with me. I knew I didn't want that. I was devastated, but at that appointment I decided that that wasn't going to be me, my body taking away from me, not functioning and that being my life wasn't going to be it In my soul. I knew that wasn't my reality. So I decided to change my story, doing what I do best, which is manifesting, and not only would I eat food again, but I would eat solid food and I would stop taking the swarms of medication that only allowed me to have puree foods. I did shift timelines, but I did not do it overnight or suddenly, like I didn't wake up one day and just start eating. I had to bridge to where it felt safe to be in that reality.

Speaker 1: 5:13

Being in the state of beginning from the onset of what they said was a chronic, uncurable illness, was very traumatic, very traumatic From the first onset through. Everything that I went through was mentally, emotionally and physically traumatic. There is no way I could say no, screw you and what you say, doctors, I'm just going to go ahead and eat solid food. That did not feel safe. So I had to gently guide myself to feeling safe to eat solid food again, and that's what I did. So it's not that you can't do it, it's that your subconscious and your body once again may not trust that version of reality. Yet there was no way that my subconscious, my nervous system, my physical body, mentally, there was nothing that felt safe in a reality of me eating solid foods like a person who had no issues. Yet I had to gently move there. So here's where it gets beautifully nuanced, because your subconscious is very loyal and it wants to keep you alive and regulated within the range of what feels familiar. At this point, what felt familiar was lots of medication for me and only having pureed foods, and I could only eat anywhere between four to eight ounces of puree at a time. So I wasn't even getting much from the little that I could get right, and it was so deeply ingrained into me that this is how I stay alive, because anything more than that could have had really bad consequences. So my subconscious was very loyal in keeping me in that spot.

Speaker 1: 7:06

I want you to think about yourself. If deep intimacy once led to heartbreak, then your body might freeze around new love. If joy is always followed by, or you feel like is always followed by, loss, then you may tense up when things are going well. If rest was shamed in your upbringing, slowing down may feel like a failure, even something that you consciously want, like spaciousness or sensuality or play deep connection. It may register as unsafe if it hasn't been historically allowed. So for like me, so for like me, eating solid food, getting proper nutrients, was completely better and safer for me, but historically, solid food, from the onset of my illness, meant that it was unsafe. It registered as unsafe. It registered more unsafe than having nutrients, and so this is why a lot of times you may feel stuck or you may feel blocked. But you're not stuck, you're truly just self-protecting in ways that you haven't yet named.

Speaker 1: 8:20

And this is where the softness comes in, because you're going to gently lead yourself into a new timeline. You don't want to force your way through these blocks. I know a lot of time people are like, no, you just have to go for it and get out of your comfort zone and, just you know, go balls to the wall. You don't need to override your nervous system with logic like that and you don't need to bulldoze your way into a new timeline. The new phrase these days that I keep hearing is exposure therapy. Just expose yourself to it and that's all fine and good. You do need some exposure, but if you expose yourself to the point where you shut down, it's not doing you any good. Instead, you partner with your body and you lead the subconscious with tenderness, not aggression. It's okay to move slowly enough so that every part of you can come along on the journey.

Speaker 1: 9:18

That's what I did with my eating. I just did it slowly. I didn't just quit on my medications, I quit them one by one. I didn't just start eating solid food. I started with soft, solid, squishy stuff that I could chew, that wasn't just puree, and I gradually built my way up. You know, vegetables were actually the last thing I ever ate, and I love vegetables because while speaking with my doctor, I told him what I was going to do. I told my doctor what I was going to do and I said what do I need to look out for? And he said vegetables, because they have waxy textures to them and that can get stuck. And then you choke because the wax and it's a long story. I'm not going to go into the whole story and take up all of your time with my failed esophagus story, but I gently moved my body and my mind and my reality so that every part could come along.

Speaker 1: 10:11

That's how you begin. You honor the sensation over strategy. So when we're trying to shift realities, our first instinct is to often to make a plan to do more and change habits and push forward. But the most powerful guidance you're gonna get is gonna come from within, like where does your body feel tightness? Where do you feel at ease? What feels nourishing versus contract?

Speaker 1: 10:36

So when I started and I was eating mushy food that wasn't puree but it wasn't really solid, I listened to my body and if it felt like it was going too far, I'd say, okay, that's enough for today, that's good. But then I would fall into the feeling of wow, I did it, oh, that feels so good. So there were physical things wow, I did it, oh, that feels so good. So there were physical things, but there were emotional things. And I fell into the emotional things. That felt good. I'll never forget the first time I took a bite of a chicken strip after not eating for three years, and I built my way up to that point. That's all I could do. One bite, but it was a softer meat. I cried in joy and that felt nourishing. The joy felt nourishing versus what felt contracting, which was, oh my gosh, am I going to choke on this right? So I really had to guide myself in that way. And that's what I mean when it feels nourishing versus what feels contracting, because you're going to have a little bit of resistance.

Speaker 1: 11:40

The point is to not go so hard that you get absolute resistance and you go into fight, flight or freeze. So you have to nourish the exposure and be gentle with it. This is a moment-to-moment awareness and it kind of maps out that next aligned step that your body is going to start to say yes to. And that takes me right into stretch. Don't snap, because manifestation is about expansion, absolutely, but it's not about going from a zero to 100 overnight. So when you leap too far and too fast, that is truly when your subconscious is going to go into panic mode. So instead I need you to find, like your growth edge, the place where something feels new and exciting, but not so overwhelming that you shut down. So instead of maybe completely reimagining your lifestyle overnight, start with one gentle shift that matches the frequency of the version of who you're becoming.

Speaker 1: 12:41

Maybe that is a slow morning, maybe it is a full, nourishing meal, an intentional walk, training your nervous system to associate expansion with pleasure, not pressure or pain. I'm going to say this one more time for you because I really need you to get this Train your nervous system to associate expansion with pleasure, not pressure or pain. When you go to pressure and pain because you're trying to rush through and get there, you're going to stay stuck longer because you snap into, fight, flight or freeze. So you're like, oh, I'm going to show up as this amazing version who's completely different of me, which is amazing. Y'all know I'm all about act as if I have the act as if ritual. It's on the website, I can put it in the show notes to use it, but it gently guides you in, acting as if it has how you want to feel.

Speaker 1: 13:38

So there's the pleasure, and it also has in there how you're going to stay grounded, because we don't want our nervous system to shut down and go into fight, flight or freeze. Freeze means you just stop, you just give up. I can't do this, nope. Fight means you're in total resistance mode. You're just resisting all of the things that are trying to bring you into alignment. And flight, oh, you're just. You're running, you're like you know what. I've changed my mind Kind of like freeze, like I just don't want to do this anymore. I'm just going to go back to the same old, same old, and that's where we don't want to be.

Speaker 1: 14:22

So you have to build safety. That takes me right into building safety and not just strategy, because you really need to be asking yourself often what would help my body feel safe with this desire. What small action today would build trust with my new identity? You have to build trust. It's a new relationship. Maybe you're going to drink water before coffee. Maybe it's a five minutes of breath work. I went to a full moon circle and did breath work a squeeze of life. I'll try and link her in the show notes as well. Go follow her Breath work was amazing, very helpful, so check her out.

Speaker 1: 14:52

Maybe it's letting yourself rest without guilt oh my gosh, still sometimes I struggle with this. Still sometimes, but not a lot Every now and again, but I used to so much. I think that's a big one, for women is resting without guilt. Every time you choose nervous system safety, you bring your body closer to the reality you're creating, not by snapping and being stuck, because truly that's what happens. Right, you really make this progress and then you're going so much that you stop and you snap because that subconscious just freaks out way too much. You're doing way too much and I know a lot of times you're like but I want it now, right now, okay, but if you get stuck and fight, flight or freeze, you're not making any progress at all. You're going to have to start all over again. So if we're gently guiding ourselves, we're truly going to get there faster than if we are trying to do the new trend of balls-to-the-wall exposure therapy that everybody's like. Oh my god, I'm just going to do exposure therapy and do it Once again. Yes, you are doing exposure, but how you do it matters.

Speaker 1: 16:04

To do this, you can rewire through ritual. To me, ritual is very powerful. It's a tool because it bypasses logic and it can speak directly to your subconscious. So some rituals that really do support new timelines may be lighting a candle, stating your intentions out loud. Well, shannon, why am I lighting a candle? It could be a candle, it could be a perfume, bringing your senses into stuff. Scent is a high motivator of memory and so if you're in stating your intentions out loud and there's some kind of scent that is there with you, it's more likely to connect with that subconscious. Placing your hand on your heart, while affirming that it's safe, it is safe to have this, it's a reassurance to yourself. It's like if you're going through something and somebody gives you this hug and says it's okay, it's all going to work out, and then, like, you instantly have this sense of relief from that connection, make that connection with yourself, placing your hands on your heart, hugging yourself, loving yourself and going back to senses.

Speaker 1: 17:09

You can also use sound or texture to anchor in this feeling of already having it to really truly bring this experience. I don't know if you've ever heard of the studies. I came out of the education field, but the studies. If you're studying and you're listening to music, or if you're chewing on gum, like minty gum, while you're prepping to take a test, you're more likely to be able to recall that information if the same music is playing while you're taking the test or if you're chewing on the same type of gum because you've created more of an experience during your study. The same thing is when you're acting as if more of an experience during your study. The same thing is when you're acting as if Engage, sense, sound, texture, all the things taste, because these cues speak in a native language of your subconscious. They're sensory, they're repetitive and they're symbolic.

Speaker 1: 17:55

And then let your integration be holy. Here's the part that we really often skip in our fast pace. I gotta have it now, world. And that is the pause After the breakthrough, after the realization, after the step forward. Integration is where the nervous system settles and where new patterns are rooted in. This is where your body exhales and says, yes, this is safe and we can stay here now, and I like it here, and it's no longer scary and it's no longer unknown, this feels good.

Speaker 1: 18:28

Rest is not the opposite of manifesting. It is part of the cycle and it allows what you've done and the work you've done to take root, so you're not going back and starting over again. When your body is asking for stillness, give it. When your nervous system wants quiet, listen, because this is where the timeline shifting is occurring, where it is solidifying. So if you do one thing today, let it be this Choose one desire that feels a little tender, one that's been lingering on your heart, and then ask yourself what is the smallest, softest step I can take towards this that still feels safe in my body. Then take it, not because it's a magic bullet, but because it tells your subconscious we are becoming, we are safe, it is okay to expand. You are supported here.

Speaker 1: 19:22

If you want support in this process, I am doing a Harvest your Desire, in-person guided experience that is going to go through all of this with you. So when you come up on questions, I'm there to guide you, to help you through your experience. It is going to be very intimate. There are limited spots, so you want to get them now, because spots are already filling up. Once again, it is in person. If you're like girl, I'm not in the DFW area then I have free resources that are always linked in the show notes or you know you could travel here, girl. Take a girl's vacation, come to the guided experience and explore the DFW area. Do vacation. Come to the guided experience and explore the DFW area. Do your thing. But I will put that in the show notes because I really want to see more women moving and shifting. And this is how we go about it.

Speaker 1: 20:10

Your dream does not require you to push hard and to go from zero to 100. It requires a softer presence. You don't have to chase it and you don't need to fight your way there. You can manifest through ease and through listening, through soft, consistent and sacred self-guidance. Let your nervous system be your oracle. Let your body lead the way. Let it be gentle. I will chat with you next week.