Wow, times flies. Fall came and went with its ups and downs and today marks day 3 of Winter. The winds have moved the cold to all parts of the U.S. in the last 24 hours forcing most of us to stay inside to be with our families, our pets, our roommates or with ourselves.
I feel grateful for being snowed in with icy streets around us as this invites a much needed opportunity to sit down by the fireplace with 3 kitties surrounding me while I try to use my focus to create. To put some thoughts on paper because this frees up some brain space, brings my heart joy and boosts confidence. Writing is a thing I love to do, but somehow never find the time for.
This is the first year where I’ve felt more curious to explore what happens to the earth on winter solstice and the meaning that this day has on all of us as we sync up with nature consciously or unconsciously.
Here’s what I’ve learned: the word solstice comes from the Latin terms sol- the sun and sistere- to make stand. Considered one of the most powerful points of the year, Winter Solstice marks the day when the axis of the Earth pauses, shifts and moves in the opposite direction. We experience the power of this standstill point and the shift of direction for 3 days around the solstice points.
What spiritual meaning does this act have on us humans living on Mother Earth?
Well, essentially our planet’s pause or stand still is a powerful metaphor for the energy that is available to us at the Winter Solstice. With this energy, we can change the direction of our lives with intention (heart’s desire) and build on this energy while we enter into a new year.
Winter Solstice is mostly known to be the one day of the year where we experience the darkest day and the longest night and puts into motion a process where nights grow shorter and days grow brighter until Summer Solstice arrives again.
During yoga classes leading up to December 21st, our teachers made efforts to bring awareness to this significant day. One teacher spoke of the darkness we are experiencing externally which can also lead to feeling darkness internally. She spoke of the darkness being a place where the unmanifested lives until it is ready to be manifested or brought to light.
This insight got my wheels turning. I imagined undiscovered parts of me hiding in the dark, forces of energy in stillness waiting to be released, new awakenings at rest in the silence until the perfect time to reveal themselves.
The gift of this epiphany: ‘My enlightment is cleverly disguised in my darkness, without one I cannot know the other. Whoa!
I decided to google unmanifested: a complete lack of self-consciousness, an absence of consciousness of anything vs. manifested: to make evident or certain by showing or displaying.
When seen in this way, it IS our darkness that paves the way for us to be able to see and know a new light, a new understanding, a new discovery, new realizations about life and more importantly about our Self.
The Self made up of energy which is the building block of our essence, our consciousness that is a forever changing process infinitely evolving until we take our last breath.
As someone who helps people who struggle with depression (darkness) and anxiety (fear), I wanted to understand this epiphany even further. Before researching, I thought about human internal darkness – the fears, the shame, the guilt, the worry, the sad, the angry, the lonely, the confusion, the hopelessness, the helplessness, the denial, the despair.
The emotions that ultimately lead to feeling an absence, an empty, a disconnect or a sense of not belonging. All forming heavy energy that feels dark inside, that haunts us, and tells us that we are unloved, not enough, not whole, that some ‘thing’ is missing.
Our fear gets stirred up by this darkness and infiltrates our minds as we begin to believe that the only way to feel what we want to feel – loved, valued, accepted, seen, heard, felt – is to fill our lives with all of the ‘things’ needed to feel and be in the light – money, stuff, status, degrees, achievements, jobs, accomplishments, titles, memberships.
The truth is that these ‘things’ ultimately hold no real value until we discover that it is in our darkness, our darkest moments when we actually pause, stand still and go inward so that we can know our heart, feel into what truly matters to us, remember our highest Self, and bask in the glory of the unconditional love that Christ has for every single one of us.
Ironically, my curiosity or my heart (however you choose to see it) encouraged me to look up the meaning of the word epiphany and to my surprise this is what I found.
Epiphany: A usually sudden manifestation or perception of the essential nature meaning of something. It is also the name given to the day that the 3 wise men found Jesus in the manger so it is also defined as the manifestation of Christ to the Gentiles as represented by the Magi (Matthew 2:1-12) or the manifestation of a divine or super natural being.
At this point, you may wonder why I’ve titled this writing about Christmas. The short answer is that all of this is symbolic to the time of year we are experiencing now.
Christmas is intended to be a holiday of honoring Christ by remembering the darkness he indured while living as a human particularly in his last moments of being tortured and crucified.
Christmas is about giving love in the form of our presence and time to those we consider close and to those we don’t even know. For example a homeless person or the old man sitting alone next to you at a restaurant.
Christmas is a season for us to bring joy to others by offering our warmth and kindness, our openness.
Christmas is a time to reflect on all of the ways that God (Universe) blessed us with gifts throughout the year. For instance, the experiences we had, the people we came into contact with, the opportunities that opened up for us, the beauty that unfolded during the seasons of Spring, Summer, and Fall.
Christmas is a holiday that allows us to celebrate each others existence through the giving of a present, a card, a visit or even just a phone call that says to our loved ones, ‘I see you, I think of you, I remember you, you are in my heart.
Christmas is not about overspending, getting into debt, feeling overwhelmed or stressed about getting the perfect gifts.
Christmas is not about feeling unworthy because you don’t make lots of money to spend on others.
Christmas is not the season to worship Santa Claus or the number of presents we will receive.
Christmas IS the day to remember and worship Christ as a divine spirit with a sacred heart who lived to teach us about love, acceptance, kindness, compassion, leadership, humility, forgiveness and the power of connecting with people by truly seeing them and the goodness in their hearts despite their imperfections and/or faults.
A special person in my life recently shared these words that perfectly sum up why we celebrate Christmas – the season to honor the birth of Christ.
Christ on the Cross
He has his head bowed to greet you
He has the crown on his head to adorn you
His arms out to embrace you
His feet stuck together to stay with you.
by Saint Catherine of Siena from the Dialogue of Divine Providence. Chapter 128
Merry Christmas to All. May this holiday season of 2022 be filled with Peace, Love, and Light for you and those around you.
*Click on link below if you would like to read the article that inspired my yoga teacher to speak of Winter Solstice which in turn inspired me to write this in honor of Christmas and the birth of our Lord Jesus.
https://www.on-seeing.com/home/2021/12/21/winter-solstice-darkness-meditation
nativity made in Colombia from corn husks
made by an artisan in Salento, Colombia