You’re Not Lost, You’re Shifting: Learning to Trust the In-Between

Have you been feeling a little disconnected lately; like you’re watching your life unfold instead of fully living it? You’re not stuck or broken… you’re shifting.

In this episode, Erin talks about that strange in-between season where life feels unfamiliar, yet nothing is “wrong.” She explores why this phase often shows up during times of deep energetic, spiritual, and physical growth, and how to recognize it as a sign of transformation rather than disconnection.

You’ll learn how to reframe this “off” feeling with compassion, understand the energy shifts happening beneath the surface, and find practical ways to ground and reconnect with yourself through it all.

This conversation is a gentle reminder that the moments when life feels "off" or uncertain are often the ones where you’re aligning most deeply with your next stage of evolution and expansion. You're in the liminal space between who you were and who you are becoming.

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Send me an Email: erinebbsandflows@gmail.com
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Chapters
00:00 Navigating the In-Between Seasons of Life
07:20 Understanding Energetic Shifts and Liminal Spaces
12:48 Reframing Discomfort as Growth
18:58 Practical Tools for Grounding and Presence

Transcript

Ebbs & Flows (00:00.078)
Have you ever gone through a season where life starts to feel like a movie you're just watching? Like you're present, but you're not fully connected. You're not necessarily sad or stuck, just off. Things feel different. Familiar spaces don't feel the same. The things that used to excite you feel quieter. And you can't quite put your finger on why.

I've been feeling this way lately and instead of rushing to fix it or label it as something is wrong, I've started to realize that sometimes this feeling is actually a sign of alignment. It's the space between chapters where your energy, identity or direction are shifting, even if you can't see where it's leading you yet. So in today's episode, I want to talk about this in-between season, that feeling of watching your life instead of fully living in it and how it's not something to fear.

but something to witness and notice. Because often these off moments are where real change and growth begins. Let's talk about what's really happening beneath the surface when you feel this way and how to ground yourself through it with compassion and trust. Hello and welcome to Ebs and Flows with Erin or welcome back to Ebs and Flows with Erin. Thank you for joining me today. I'm so excited to be talking with you. As I mentioned in the intro, we are going to be talking about that feeling when

You're living your life, but you don't necessarily feel like you're completely present in it. And the things that used to come naturally and easily to you, or the things that used to excite you, and the way that you used to feel going throughout your day to day, just don't feel the same. And you're not exactly sure why. I have felt this way lately. I know I had my, the summer I crashed out podcast episode last month. And while my crash out ended.

and I no longer have been feeling dysregulated necessarily or any specific negative emotion. I've just felt off and like something is different and I can't put my finger on why. And my initial natural instinct in this state is to try and figure out what is going on and what has changed or what is quote unquote wrong.

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with me and I started out that way. But then when I would open up with people and tell them that I've been feeling this way, so many people said that they have been able to relate for this last while, which I do believe we are just generally in a time of changing and shifting. And I'm talking energetically where, yeah, we don't really necessarily have the option, it's just happening. That's a whole bigger conversation to have. But through these conversations with people,

who could relate to just feeling off the last while in life, not really knowing why. It reminded me that I have felt this before in life and in reflection, it was always leading me into some sort of expansion or change or growth. And it doesn't feel that way when you're in it. It can feel like you're watching a movie. That's what I said to my therapist recently that inspired me to kind of

record this episode, I told her my life has felt like a movie that I'm just watching happen. And I'm going through the motions. It's not that I'm not trying to be present. Even when I'm present, I'm just feeling different. It's not bad. It's just strange feeling. And as I've said, I've been here before and now I've been revisiting the things that I've learned before. What's really happening underneath

the surface most likely when you're feeling this way and having this sort of season in your life. And it can be comforting and encouraging while you're going through it. So today we're going to talk about that. What could really be going on while this is happening and ways to ground yourself throughout this process of feeling this way. But most importantly, if you have found yourself feeling this way, like you're not fully in your life, but just observing it, I want you to know that there's nothing

wrong with you. You're not broken and you don't need to force yourself into old energy. The natural instinct when we start to feel off or different is to try and figure out how we can feel normal again or figure out how we can feel or operate like we always have or like we were doing. And one of the greatest things I have learned that I have to remind myself of that I don't always remember in the moment is that

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We never want to go back to normal. There's no such thing as normal and we don't want to force ourselves into old energy or old versions of ourself because that is what just keeps us stuck in life. And sometimes the universe, spirit, God, whatever it is that you believe in, the higher power and the energy of the world is making you feel different or uncomfortable or off because it's aligning you for something better.

We're aligning you with the frequency of expansion and growth. And this leads us into understanding what's really happening during this season. But I just wanted to say, I understand and relate to feeling like, why can't I just feel like I've been feeling or operate like I've been operating throughout my day to day. Operating like I've been operating for however long. And you just wish you could go back to that.

But going back to that is not the answer. And it's kind of just not possible either. And as much as you try, you're just going to prolong the process of feeling maybe off or different, eventually maybe feeling stuck, instead of kind of trusting and allowing this season of feeling off or different to transpire and trusting that eventually you're gonna reach a place where you feel more solid.

in yourself and your energy. So like I said, let's get into understanding what's really happening when you're feeling this way. Like I've kind of mentioned, it can very much be an energetic shift that's happening within you and the physical realm is not caught up with it yet. Your frequency, your vibration is shifting, it's expanding, and it takes time for the physical world to catch up to that adjustment.

We talk a lot about vibration and frequency. Everything is energy, vibration, frequency on this earth and beyond. And I don't know if you've ever heard it or read it somewhere, but I know in my studying of energy, healing and energy work, it is often said that when you're going through a season where you're feeling off or even struggling, a lot of the time these things are actually signs that you're about to expand. In some...

Ebbs & Flows (07:05.28)
capacity and this can be happening for a number of reasons you may have been very consciously and actively doing energy work or healing work to heal things within yourself and realign your energy or cleanse your energy and you're actively doing this work or You're not conscious of it at all, but you've been growing or healing and your energy is Shifting because when it comes to expansion or growth of any kind

We have to be an energetic match for that which we desire. It takes time for that shift to catch up and show itself in the physical world. So this leads us to feeling energetically off. I hope that makes sense. It's the way that I explained that. I'm feeling like I could explain that better. Like I said, been feeling just like a little off. Even when it comes to sitting down to record my podcast, it's not that I don't

still enjoy this. is my greatest joy. And I find so much fulfillment from recording and editing and publishing podcast episodes. But even sitting down in my studio and recording, I'm just feeling different. Hopefully I'm still able to articulate myself somewhat well. I hope this is able to be valuable or make sense. But anyways, let's move on to psychologically.

What does this mean when you're going through this season or this feeling? And number one is that your nervous system might be recalibrating after a season of stress or change, processing old emotions, old trauma, old stress or tension, and your nervous system and your energy, your vibration, your frequency go hand in hand. So this makes sense. And most people are carrying a lot of unbalanced energy in their nervous system.

they are very dysregulated and there are layers and layers and layers to work through. And as you work through the layers and you release and you start to come into a more flexible nervous system where you're able to enter a more regulated state more easily, it can take again, a while for your physical realm to catch up to the shifts that are happening throughout your body, your mind.

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Okay, spiritually what does this mean? I mentioned being in liminal space before. So liminal space is being in the in-between, where old parts of you are falling away and new ones are still forming. So you're in this in-between state where you're not quite solid as who you once were, but you're also not quite arrived at who you are becoming. The actual definition of a liminal space is a transitional

in between state of mind where an individual is between a past identity or life stage and a future one that has not yet been fully formed. This can be a period of uncertainty and anxiety, but is also a crucial time for transformation, self-reflection and personal growth. And some characteristics of psychological liminal spaces are a transitional phase. So it's a threshold state between what was and what is next.

A time when old structures of identity are gone, but new ones have not yet been created. And while it can be uncomfortable, this period is also a powerful opportunity for introspection and redefinition. The brain becomes more flexible and open to new connections and insights during these times. So essentially what's really happening here, it's like your soul knows that you're meant to expand, but your body and your environment are still catching up. So you feel a little disconnected and off.

not because you're lost, but because you're in transition. So most importantly, how do we reframe the feeling? Shifting the narrative from something is wrong to something is unfolding. Because as I said, we're so quick to think that something's wrong and that we need to get back to normal when things feel off or different because it's uncomfortable. And as we've said a million times on this podcast, our nervous system does not want us to do anything that makes it feel uncomfortable, even if it's the best

thing for us, for our health and our wellness, the greatest blessing or miracle in our life. Our nervous system doesn't want that to happen because it wants to stay comfortable. And doing what you've always done and being the same as you've always been is what feels most comfortable and safe to your nervous system. But we don't want to stay the same and go back to normal because there is no normal. We are here to evolve and grow and change. And sometimes the off feeling is the new normal.

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trying to settle in. And whether you've been doing deep healing work or just shifting routines or habits of your own or changing relationships or career paths or whatever it might be, the things that once felt comfortable may start to feel strange and you're not losing yourself. You're just outgrowing an old version of yourself. And we are always at our core ourselves. So I don't like to say that you are

becoming a new version of yourself, but you're becoming a more evolved, different version of yourself. It doesn't mean that you're a completely different person, but you're evolving and growing. And that's what you want to do throughout life. That's what makes life fun and exciting and beautiful. And for me, what's been most disorienting during this phase is that I feel peaceful, but also disconnected.

and off at the same time. And I can't quite put my finger on why I feel any of those ways at any given time. It does feel like I'm stepping into a new frequency, but I don't feel fully settled into it yet. And I don't really know what it entails for me in my life or what it means, but a lesson that I'm really trying to lean into.

that I encourage you as well, because a lot of peace can come from it, is that we don't always have to figure things out. Not everything needs to be figured out. And there can be a lot of peace that comes from that. Just accepting and trusting that everything's unfolding the way it's meant to unfold. And that's not to say that it's easy. It's definitely not easy to always lean back into trust and faith that things are always happening in your favor and happening how they're meant to happen. But when you can...

notice when you're not feeling that way and then try and bring yourself back to that. That's most important is noticing and over time it will come more naturally to lean into the trust and the faith and eventually you will arrive and feel settled once again and this will continue to happen throughout life because as I said we're always, hopefully, always growing and changing and evolving. It just doesn't always feel

Ebbs & Flows (14:09.514)
Okay, so I want to offer some simple, gentle, practical tools that you can use to reconnect with yourself at this time. For myself recently, I have made it a goal and I'm dedicating myself to getting back to doing some of these practices daily because I know that when I'm feeling this way, when I'm in this state, it's important for me to prioritize my well-being.

and practices that help me to feel present and grounded in my body and my energy are the number one way to do that and can likely speed up the process of arriving in a more settled, grounded state. So number one is of course, working with your body. So doing things like stretching, going for a walk outside, doing some breath work.

Dancing any form of mindful movement. It can even be lifting weights. You just want to be mindful while you're moving your body it's so important to move our body because as we've said so much is energetically happening beneath the surface and We move energy through our body by moving and working with our body and our breath So we really want to be doing that at this time I have structured myself a morning and evening routine now of all the things that I once did

very regularly that I fell off of when I crashed out. And then now I've been in this space, but I'm using this space now to go back into myself and introspection and coming back to the practices that have changed my life for so much of the better. So my evening routine is to do 10 minutes of stretching and rolling out with a cork ball, then five minutes of tapping, EFT tapping, and then five minutes of

reiki meditation, and then five minutes of journaling. And my morning one is similar with a few differences and getting to the gym still as much as I can. I'm really sad because it's getting cold here where I live and I live for my outdoor long walks. And yes, I can still go on them. It's just like not the same as the summer months or the fall or the spring, but whatever. It's okay. I'll live, but.

Ebbs & Flows (16:27.38)
Yes, moving your body at this time. So important. Next is limit overstimulation, which I really had to catch myself with this one and put some boundaries up with myself because it's so easy to constantly distract yourself, especially when you're in the space where you're like, okay, I don't even really know who I am right now or what I'm feeling. I'm confused. And instead of sitting with that, it's very easy in today's world to just

constantly be listening to music, listening to podcasts, watching a show, watching a movie, scrolling TikTok, scrolling Instagram, a million ways to distract ourselves with overstimulation. And that's just not, that's not gonna be helpful at all. I had to call myself out for that one in recent times. And I mean, if it is really difficult for you to not be on your phone on certain apps a lot, there are, at least on iPhones, I don't know about other phones, but on iPhones,

There are app time limits you can set for yourself. I haven't gotten to that point, but hey, whatever you need to do, you're gonna notice a difference. Or for myself, how I started like setting the boundary again was like, okay, if I'm getting ready for bed, getting ready for the morning, if I'm cooking, if I'm folding my laundry, like certain tasks that I would typically throw on a podcast or a show, I'm like, no, just do this task without.

playing anything else to distract you or to have anything else going on. And those little mini breaks from stimulation actually make so much more of a difference than you would think. Like I at least I notice it pretty instantly after a day of like just creating those mini breaks for myself. So really trying to limit over stimulation. And if you can get into nature, if you can meditate, get into silence, if you can't get into nature, like I said, it's getting really cold where I live.

playing nature sounds. I've been listening to or playing nature sounds while I sleep. I usually play frequencies, healing frequencies. For the last while, I've been playing nature sounds and that's been really calming to my nervous system. Yeah, just limiting overstimulation and anchoring into really simple daily rituals. Not trying to overcomplicate anything right now or introduce big changes to your routines or your days, but

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If you like to enjoy your morning tea or coffee, make sure you're allowing yourself to do that. If you want to journal, make sure you're making time to do that. Giving yourself that extra 10 minutes in the morning so that you can move slower as you enter your day. As I've just mentioned, I have reintroduced my nightly and morning routines. So it doesn't have to be overly complicated. And especially at this time, we don't want to be really doing more. We want to be doing less, but

more intentionally so that we are creating space for whatever change and expansion to take place. And when it comes to journaling, I want to offer a few prompts because I know I said this to my therapist as well the other day that sometimes, especially at this time, journaling has almost just felt overwhelming because I usually just like to free script, just write whatever is coming out of my brain, get it onto paper. But at this time I've felt

overwhelmed with that concept, like I have no clue where to even start or what I want to say. And so prompts are helpful in times like this, so you have something to answer. So I want to offer you a few that can hopefully be valuable if you're feeling this way. So number one reflection question is where in my life do things feel unfamiliar? And could that be a sign of growth?

Number two is what am I being asked to observe rather than control?

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Number three, what feels peaceful even if I can't explain it?

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And number four, how do I want to feel at the end of every day?

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This experience is not about snapping out of it. It's about allowing it to happen. And sometimes integration requires stillness before clarity arrives. And being still can be a challenge for many of us. And that's not something to beat yourself up about, but it's something to be aware of. And then ask yourself, where can I create stillness in my life? And I will tell you that in reflection, every time

I've either felt this way or I've been challenged but I relaxed, created stillness or space in my life. That is when the greatest expansion, growth or healing ended up taking place. It just sometimes takes time. So if you are moving through this season in your life right now, where life feels unfamiliar or off, I hope this reminds you that it does not mean that you're off track or behind. You might not have the words for it yet, but that's okay. You don't need to rush to define what is changing.

You just need to stay open to it. Give yourself grace and let this version of you arrive slowly. And when it feels like you're just watching your life unfold as if it's a movie, remember that even the transitions are still part of the story. You're still living it, still growing through it, still becoming. And that's what life's about. It's about changing, growing, and evolving. And these things don't just happen overnight. But when you look back in reflection, it will always all make sense that it happened

in the timing that it did and the way that it did. Thank you so much for spending this time with me today. I hope that today's episode could be valuable to you. I am learning to let myself exist in these phases without needing to label them or figure them out. And it's not always easy, but it's possible and it's worth it. We are here learning and growing and healing and connecting together.

So if this episode resonated with you, I'd love if you shared it with someone who it could maybe resonate with or leave a quick rating or review to help others find it. And I would love to hear from you on Instagram, send me a text in the podcast description below. It's the first line, send me an email. I have all the ways, always linked below how to connect with me. And I love to connect with you guys and we're in this together. I'm personally excited to see.

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where life is taking us all. I'm sending a lot of love and gratitude and I will talk to you next week. Bye bye!