Wednesday, December 20, 2017

Winter Solstice Soul Star

It's full swing into the holiday season and the last thing on most peoples minds is solitude and quiet. There are cards to write, parties to attend and presents to buy for God's sake! I sit in front of the window, at my large wooden desk filled will projects, and look out at the late afternoon sun as it makes it's way towards the Ortiz and Sadia Mountain peaks. Another December day coming to an end.

The scattered song of wind chimes fill the silence of my room. I watch prayer flags, hung tenderly  at summer's end, carry new and old blessings across the courtyard and surrounding high desert landscape. Muti-colored post it notes decorate the adjacent wall. A bird's nest with three blue eggs sits on one corner of my desk; carefully purchased and placed mid-fall, representing projects and dreams waiting to be birthed. So much left unattended, so much still to do. In my mind at least. No one is putting pressure on me. It is only an idea. An idea that can be dropped at any moment. With this realization comes a long exhale and relief.

Still, in all this ordinary beauty and knowing, I notice my mind seducing me towards the dust covered Prius and town. Errands and purchases waiting to happen. It is tempting. I watch my mind. Amusing and annoying at the same time. Eventually it  passes. I resist the urge to abandon this quiet time alone.  Another long breath. Then another. The tug of town loosens it grip. Put the kettle on. A mug of Barry's Irish tea and fig rolls set the stage for an afternoon at home.

This is the dance of the season. The natural world invites us inwards, while the artificial lights and familiar christmas carol music lure us into shopping malls and post offices. Not that it is bad--just out of balance. Go go go! Busy busy busy! Tis the season after all. Or is t?

Earlier this week I taught a class on Buiding Resiliency and referred to a term researchers often use, a "self-righting" tendency. We are all born with it. A desire for homeostasis. You have a choice. Will you help it or hinder it?

Winter Solstice invites us to help the innate "self-righting" tendency and  relax into the embrace of the darkness. It is the season to chill out! Will you give yourself permission to slow down, recharge and dream a new dream, or reclaim a long forgotten one? Do nothing? Have a cup of cocoa and light a candle? The longest night of the year lures us inwards, invites us to be quiet and honor the richness and mystery of the darkness. The invitation awaits your response.


Time has passed. No street lights in the high desert hills.  I peer out into the darkness, from behind my desk. I imagine the North Star floating somewhere in the black sea of sky above. The North Star can direct the way outwards and onwards. Tonight I am not interested in the North Star. My thoughts wander to my Soul Star. We all have one. Your Soul Star simultaneously shines above you, and dwells  deep within you. She calls you home to yourself and longs for you to shine in your authenticity and sovereignty.

Now is the time to turn your attention inwards. Time to rest in the dark, making space for your Soul Star to emerge and keep you company in your solitude. Time to ponder the question, I often ask in my Creative Discovery workshops, "What brings you fully alive dear one?"

"Sometimes it takes darkness and the sweet confinement of you aloneness
to learn
anything or anyone that does not bring you alive
is too small for you. "
~ David Whyte (Sweet Darkness)


Sweet Solstice Blessings Dear Miracle (aka You!). May you create time to rest in the darkness, and in the richness and grandeur of your soul. You are worthy of taking some time for your precious self. Please accept Winter Solstice's invitation. I am certainly going to.

It is no time to play small.

With Love,
Pasha
Author of The Joy of Creative Discovery: Practices to Reclaim Your Purpose & Passion
pashahogan.com


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