Welcome.
This is Allison with Mindful Pause Center.
I'm so glad to share this seasonal practice with you today.
How are you relating to the darkness of winter?
How would you like to be?
In a culture like ours that doesn't slow its demands to align with the season,
Darkness can present challenges.
We can meet that challenge by taking time to reflect on what's available to us in the darkness and to prepare for the return of light.
For this practice,
You might wish to have a candle and matches or a lighter close at hand.
So choosing a posture that will support you.
This can be seated,
Lying down,
Or even standing up.
And just beginning to notice,
As you settle into the posture,
What the body feels like.
Where do you feel the tug of gravity connecting you to the floor,
The cushion,
The mattress,
Perhaps the outdoor world?
I'm beginning to sense,
As gravity settles you into the posture,
Where do you feel supported in the body?
This might be a sensation like warmth,
Or a sensation like stability.
Stability.
You might notice places in the body that feel good,
Or simply neutral.
You might also look for places in the body where there is ease and bring your awareness there,
Sensing what ease feels like.
Where do you feel supported in space?
How does the environment around you offer support?
Maybe it's a sense of privacy.
Maybe it's a sense of quiet.
It could be quality of light,
Or perhaps how much space you actually have around you.
Maybe even memories associated with this place.
What about this space offers you support in this moment?
Where is there a sense of safety?
And not perfect safety,
But just enough safety that you can allow yourself the vulnerability you need for this practice.
That safety might come from the felt sense of being supported in your body and in your space.
It might come from knowing who's nearby,
Around you,
On hand.
It might be the wall at your back,
Or the way you have a comforter across your legs.
Allowing yourself to take in a sense of support and safety.
Feel its presence.
And if at any time in the practice,
You need to take a break,
You can come back to this felt sense of support and safety.
Or you could open your eyes to pause the practice all together and take some time until you're ready to re-enter.
If it feels good in this moment,
You can notice the body breathing itself.
Felt sense of this rhythm between inhaling and exhaling.
Letting the exhalation in particular bring you more into a sense of ease with your posture.
So from this sense of support and safety,
Just dropping in the question,
How is the darkness present for you in this moment?
Not needing to answer this question with the reasoning mind.
Simply waiting to see what comes forward.
How is the darkness present for you?
Does it have a texture?
Smooth or bumpy?
Tacky,
Jagged,
Edgeless,
Soft,
Hard?
Does it have a color or a sound or a tone?
Perhaps a mood?
Is it proximate,
Intimate,
Close to you?
Or is the darkness at a distance,
Not so personal,
Small,
Large,
Wide?
Perhaps the darkness has sensations,
Its own temperature,
Vibrations,
Pulsing.
As you begin to notice how the darkness is present for you,
Can you be with it?
Can you make space for the darkness?
The answer is no.
You can go back to that safety and support you established at the outset.
And just rest there.
The answer is yes,
That you can be with darkness.
And rest,
Make space,
Observe.
As you allow the darkness to be present,
Does it change?
Stay the same.
What does the darkness offer?
Again,
Letting this question drop in,
Not needing an answer.
What does the darkness offer?
Perhaps any answer that does surface will be more felt and intuited than known in language.
It's also possible that a word or a phrase might come,
And maybe nothing,
Maybe just a sense of openness.
Taking a moment,
No matter the experience,
To offer some gratitude for taking this time to explore a relationship with darkness,
Offering that gratitude in whatever way makes sense.
And then allowing now that the light also has a presence.
How is it arriving for you now?
Is there an image?
Does it have a texture?
A color,
A tone,
A sound,
A mood?
How proximate or distant is the light?
And as the light comes forward,
Dropping in the question,
What does the light offer you?
Now,
In this moment,
In this season,
What does the light offer?
Can you be with this?
The answer is no.
Going back to that sense of support and safety you found and established at the beginning of the practice.
If the answer is yes,
What happens as you sit with the light,
Make room for it,
Relate to it?
If it feels good,
You can bring this awareness into the act of lighting a candle.
And as you take in the flame of the candle,
Either eyes closed or soft gaze,
Having a sense in this moment of how you would want to share this spark.
Perhaps in this time,
It's important that you keep it close and mobile.
Mostly for yourself.
You may also feel ready and willing to share,
To send it out,
To include loved ones,
Neighbors,
Strangers,
All beings everywhere.
Resting now,
Quality of presence that's here,
However that might be.
Slowly now,
To end the practice,
Beginning to move the body in a way that feels good.
Feet,
Hands,
Wrists,
Shoulders,
Neck.
Stretching bigger if it feels good to work out any kinks from the posture.
And as your eyes open or your gaze lifts,
Looking around the space that you're in,
Perhaps back at that candle flame.
Letting the nervous system know through the senses that the practice is complete.
Thank you for your practice.
Did you feel supported by this practice?
Leave a short word or phrase in the comments to let me know.
I'd love to be connected.
Until next time,
Take good care.
