It’s solstice week!
If, like me, you live in the northern hemisphere you’ll know that we’ve arrived at the darkest time of the year.
I’ve come to love the depth of the solstice. The pervasive darkness reminds me of one my favorites quotes by St. Francis of Assisi: “All the darkness in the world can’t extinguish the light of a single candle.”
I wrote about being immersed in total darkness in The Cave and the Candle. It happened when I was on a tour of an underground cavern. At one point the guide switched off the lights. The cave became thick with blackness. He then struck a single match and the tiny flicking flame was clearly visible despite the darkness. I was only about eight years old but the deeper meaning of the power of light to overcome darkness took root in my young psyche.
Winter solstice is a natural time to turn inward. To reflect on all that’s unfolded during the year. To examine what we’ve learned and discovered and make plans for the coming year.
It’s tempting to celebrate the return of the sun and look only in the direction of new goals and possibilities, but the practice of inner reflection becomes most potent when we face the hard stuff; like grief or disappointment.
When we avoid taking a look at what hurts we depress our life energy. Paradoxically when we engage our pain life energy flows more strongly, and our body and being is enlivened.
So what can you do to deepen your inner reflections so that you emerge more fully alive?
1) Do nothing…..
Give yourself a day or two to do nothing in particular but simply be with yourself.
- Sleep longer.
- Switch off your phone.
- Write in your journal.
In this quieter state welcome the dark. Welcome your deeper feelings.
Soften judgment towards what feels painful or heavy.
Our inner darkness draws down the light of our soul to unite with the hidden light contained in what we’ve turned away from. The merging of our soul light with our inner light creates an expansion and raises our vibration. We then become a living bridge. Our human condition begins to pulse with divine light, and grace and love permeate our life and creations.
2) Sing and dance
In every culture around the world singing and dancing has been used to lift and invigorate the human spirit.When you sing or dance you turn on your creativity. And in case you’re thinking that you’re not creative, please know that you are full of creative intelligence.
Being creative is a form of listening. As you listen deeper to your body you step into the river of life and allow it’s subtle currents to move you.
I recently had a fascinating conversation with dance and movement therapist, Annabelle Coote, about the power of movement and creativity to heal the body, mind and spirit.You can listen to our conversation here.
Annabelle describes how one woman’s experience of depression miraculously turned around when she learned to let her belly lead the way.
This one exercise in body awareness taught her client how to listen to her gut, rather than the thoughts in her head, and elevated how she perceived herself in the world.
3) Support
When a depressed state lingers and feelings of tiredness or lack of motivation begin to feel ‘normal’, it’s time to get extra support.I’m often asked what I recommend when it comes to natural healing remedies. I’m a big fan of homeopathy. I discovered it’s power in my twenties after a couple of bottles of remedy helped clear a bout of depression.Homeopathy is a safe, natural form of vibrational medicine for minor to serious emotional and physical issues. It works best when paired with an intention to heal, rather than find a ‘quick fix’, because it’s medicine for the soul.
Homeopathic remedies are often found in natural health stores but for best results I recommend a consultation with a trained homeopath. It’s also wonderful for children because it’s non-toxic.
Earlier this year I invited Donna Powers, founder of Homeopathy First magazine, to explain how homeopathy works. If you’ve not used homeopathy before I think you’ll find it interesting.
You can listen to my conversation with Donna here.
And you can read more about my initiation into homeopathy and get a free peek of Donna’s groundbreaking Homeopathy First magazine here.
Thank you for taking a moment to read Heart Notes today. I’m taking a break over the holiday’s and look forward to re-connecting with you in the new year.
How ever you’re spending the holiday season I wish you and your loved ones warmth, joy and love.
