Happy Solstice! Yes, I am celebrating the Solstice! In the Northern Hemisphere, the days been growing shorter and as such the nights longer. The Winter Solstice marks a turning point where the days will slowly get longer again, and also the beginning of Winter. If you go by the calendar, solstice and every season change is the 21st. If you go by the lunar calendar, it is marked by the full or new moon phase nearest this date, it is the 22nd this year. Whichever way you choose to acknowledge & observe this, you cannot be wrong.
Solstice literally means ‘sun standing still’. It is a celebration of light. Light that nurtures every aspect of our being and all life in all forms on this planet. Spiritually speaking, winter symbolizes the season of contemplation and the spiral within. Just like nature retreats into itself as it is deprived of sunlight and tucked in under a blanket of snow, so to do we retreat into ourselves.
Naturally, you already began to experience this from Autumn’s reflective nature as it marked the beginnings of your spiral inward. As you navigate the reflections of the past year and you begin the final descent within, holidays arrive to serve as your pointer, so-to-speak.
What do I mean by this? Simply this, holidays and the year end bring with them extra activities and to-do’s’; clean the house for guests, celebratory meal planning, preparing the meal, gift shopping, closing the books for fiscal year end, exams, tests, school concerts, special shows, etc.,
All of these actions and activities serve as a pointer, they put us in close proximity to the shadowed patterns in our life that usually we can hide from by being engulfed in our daily routines. And, to put giant flashers on the pointer, we are in close proximity and downright surrounded by others who tend to trigger these patterns into action and overdrive. In this way, they serve as the pointer, or wayfinder of our spiral inward, if you will.
Here’s a 2-part Journaling Process to uncover, clear and release the shadowed patterns:
- Stop. Drop Everything Journal, This is supposed to be quick-fast list and jotting, that’s it. Then close the notebook and put it away until the next time. Each time you open it, begin a new page and do this until you have several entries. You will need either the notepad feature on your mobile device or one of those top-spiraled memo books you can carry with you. Every time you find yourself triggered or feeling off, STOP, Drop everything and ask yourself:
- What am I really feeling? [Write down the feeling],
- What triggered this feeling? [Write down the trigger],
- When have I felt this before? [Write this down too].
- Then carve out some time for yourself, rip out the pages, lay them out before you, read them. This is your longer journal entry and where, if needed, you can seek outside guidance from a safe and trusted person so that you can find yourself, once again, at your center.
- what is your inner landscape trying to tell you?
- What is there running in the background that is keeping you from living your JOY-filled life?
- Here is your longer journal entry and where you can seek outside guidance from a safe and trusted person so that you can find yourself, once again, at your center.
A few tips to support you and your transformation as you navigate this inward spiral:
- Pay attention to when you are tired, give yourself the extra rest your mind and body are asking for.
- Eat whole food. Nutrients, your body needs it, especially at this time of the year when there is so much rich, dense food and extra desserts for the having.
- Stay hydrated. This means clean drinking water, not coffee, tea, soda and other libations, but get plenty of water.
- Soak in the tub with a mixture of epsom salt, sea salts & baking soda -even add some good quality essential oils too. This is really good for mind, body spirit & soul!
- Have some energy work &/or body work, yes, this means a massage! Every part of your being will love you for it!
- Having difficulties quieting your mind? Find a good no-word audio such as singing bowls or classical music and focus on the relaxing lulling of the tunes rather than your thoughts.
I hope you find this exercise as effective as myself and my clients do so as you begin your re-emergence in the spring you emerge emboldened with a renewed sense of self; self-acceptance, self-trust and self-love.