The Sacred Heart Of Darkness ~ Reimagine And Reconnect

What is your relationship to darkness? To stillness and silence? In this talk Jo explores a little of how her own relationship has changed with this exhale into the dark point; this necessary rest and pause within the cycle of creation. What if everything we fear about the dark is simply part of us waiting to be embraced and acknowledged? Let Jo gently guide you to re-image and connect to the Sacred Heart of Darkness, to orientate within and find tenderness, comfort and holding. And perhaps to be embraced by darkness is to be embraced by life itself?

Transcript

The Sacred Heart of Darkness The darkness of winter,

And darkness in general,

Can be challenging.

That inward turning,

That slowing down to pause,

Opportunity to reflect.

The summit can be daunting,

Disorientating,

Or bring up thoughts and feelings of fear,

Lack or loss.

It can highlight what feels dark or scary within us.

Places we don't care to see,

Parts we want to ignore,

Things we don't want to remember,

Or how we feel about ourselves.

Sometimes it is more about how we feel within the darkness.

We might wonder and fear what is outside in the dark,

What lurks and what waits.

But what if this is all part of ourselves,

Waiting to be seen and acknowledged,

Coming into our awareness for loving attention,

Compassion,

And care?

My name is Jo,

And I have written this talk about my own journey with darkness,

This inward pause,

This inward turn.

I used to prefer the light,

The lighter moments,

The lighter seasons,

The brightness,

Until I realised that something was calling me into those darker places,

Those darker moments.

And through working with the Wheel of the Year,

And really honouring the transitions into autumn and winter,

And receiving the gifts of that time,

And then working with the lunar phases,

And going inwards at Dark Moon and New Moon,

And intentionally being with myself,

Being with parts of myself that wanted to be held,

That wanted to be felt,

Seen,

Received.

Something really magical happened.

I started to feel more and more whole in myself.

I started to feel more present in a way that I previously hadn't.

That those places,

Parts,

And moments even,

That I was trying to avoid in myself,

Got less and less.

Where I wasn't pushing myself away,

I wasn't ignoring things that needed attention or loving care,

But I was actually making opportunity to really be with myself and my internal needs.

I learnt to caretake myself,

To really listen to what was needed on the inside.

And I started to feel more embraced by myself,

More embraced by life,

And able to sink and rest into what I now refer to as the Sacred Heart of Darkness.

Let's take a breath together,

And let's take a journey into what I'm calling the Sacred Heart of Darkness.

My hope and intention is that this will give you a different perspective,

Or maybe it will confirm a perspective you already have,

Or give you the courage to go into the darkness just a little,

Just enough,

To feel what is possible,

The nourishment,

The care,

The tender holding,

So that you can also start to feel this shift from the inside,

To transform from the inside,

And to empower you in your life.

Take a breath,

And another.

And as you breathe out,

Notice that you can breathe out a little further,

And take time to sigh or breathe all the way out,

All the way out,

To empty.

And for a moment,

Simply wait,

Soften,

Sense,

Sense deeper,

Sense further.

This beautiful emptiness at the heart of winter,

At the heart of darkness,

The out-breath,

The pause and the emptiness,

Not yet ready to move and be filled.

When you feel ready,

Just let your breath return to normal,

As we carry on through this inquiry and this journey,

Being open,

Curious,

Looking to nature.

We feel and see a pause,

A wintering that happens regularly if we're in a temperate climate,

Bare trees like skeletons against a winter sky,

Cold hard ground in a state of stasis,

Everything held in suspended animation without any rush,

Without any agenda or push to move forward.

This,

In my opinion,

Is so exquisite and inviting when we take time to stop and notice.

It invites us into a surrendering,

A quietening,

Being received exactly as we are in the moment,

Exactly as we are,

Nothing is asked,

Nothing is asked of us except to relax and surrender into the moment.

How often do we rush through this pause,

This delicate,

Delicious and necessary time of deeper rest,

Contemplation,

Prayer or inward listening?

The richness of the emptiness and darkness,

Such a necessary and valuable part of the flow of life and part of the flow of creation,

From inspiration,

Seeding,

Growth,

Evaluation and then release and renewal.

We need the perspective of rest,

We need the pause,

We need to create space in which to be filled again,

To be inspired again.

What if we take time to rest and listen within?

What would we notice?

Reimagining the darkness.

Take a moment to imagine yourself in a really comfortable,

Warm place,

Feeling truly held,

Supported and nourished,

Completely safe and at ease.

Let your breathing steady,

Anchor yourself within your seat,

Your body connected to the earth.

Affirm and reassure yourself how loved and safe you are.

And if you're willing,

Let yourself relax and be held there,

Really connected to yourself and to the essence of who you are.

Sink deeper,

Find the steadiness at your heart.

Go deeper still,

Really noticing from that core,

That heart,

From within your heart when you're ready.

Imagine that the light around you begins to gently lessen and fade,

Like the setting of the sun.

Sounds diminish as you become ever so gently and gradually immersed in darkness.

Notice.

Can the darkness and the exquisite silence add layers of comfort,

Wrapping you,

Holding you,

Bringing greater contentment and an all-encompassing embrace to your already safe and nurturing space?

Like being cocooned in a beautiful,

Rich,

Deep,

Velvet,

Luxurious blanket.

Feel grounded,

Even safer and more present within yourself and within this experience.

If you are comfortable,

Linger.

Linger,

Explore and be curious.

Lean in.

What else do you notice?

How does this deepen?

Expand?

Observe and witness for yourself.

And when you are ready,

Simply let the sun rise once again.

Knowing that you can come back and move in and out of this darkness at will.

Just as we have done,

From a safe,

Grounded space.

Each time perhaps sensing increasing subtlety of sensation,

Subtlety of thought and awareness within the practice.

You are in charge of the experience.

There is absolutely no rush or forcing.

If this doesn't feel right to do now,

Come back another day.

Just come into possibility.

Be in playfulness.

And as you stay closer,

Listening and witnessing.

If you were able to lean in,

To linger.

What shifts?

What changes?

What stays the same?

What did you notice?

Silence?

Stillness?

Steadiness?

Nothingness?

If there is uncertainty or fear,

Go deeper.

What is beyond?

What is beneath?

Is there something within the silence?

Or simply the expanse of silence itself?

Go deeper.

Right to the centre.

To the sacred heart.

The absolute,

Unequivocal,

Steady,

Silent now.

With its cradling and expansive allowing.

Deeply tender holding.

All-encompassing love bathing you.

Can you allow yourself to be bathed and emptied by this timeless pause?

Only to find yourself filled by this same quality of existence.

Find yourself embraced by darkness.

Both utterly empty and completely full.

Without the mind stuff.

Just the space.

The womb-like cavern of pure potential.

Pure nothing.

And yet everything.

Enveloped with such strength and such tenderness.

When we are in darkness,

Where do we turn to orientate?

We cannot see around us,

So can we reach within?

Trust the power within.

Trust yourself.

Can you allow yourself to be fulfilled by this darkness?

Is there a slowing?

More time?

Do you sense more within the less?

Can you let yourself be embraced by all the darkness?

All that this moment of winter,

The rest and the pause of the out-breath has to offer.

Taking yourself into the darkness with your own heart,

Strength and essence as your guide.

Welcoming any thoughts,

Feelings,

Sensations.

Any fragmented parts,

Any aspects of you that naturally come into awareness to be included in this embrace.

In this holding.

To bring all of you,

Piece by piece,

Into wholeness.

Into inclusion.

Only to dissolve again into the emptiness of the pause.

I found that I can add supportive qualities within and around me to really relax into the present and into this experience.

What can you add today that will add layers of this holding and embrace in your own life?

Blanketed with tender care,

So that it is increasingly possible to be comfortable in the slowing and in the pause.

Notice that which warms you and how you can make small changes to really care for yourself.

Giving time to notice,

To linger and to sink within the comfort of the body.

As we do so,

We may notice that we can flow in and out of this pause more regularly.

That darkness,

Like winter,

Isn't just at night,

Isn't just a season,

But an invitation to turn inwards and refuel again.

And again,

As we take time to rest and to receive and be resourced from within.

Embracing darkness has been utterly magical and completely life-changing for me.

To really trust and develop ease within this process has come to support me with inner strength.

It has transformed my relationship with myself and with life itself.

I found deeper peace,

A true strength and a lightness of heart and an innate joy that carries me through my days and through my life.

I continue to make peace with life as it is,

Less fixing or trying to change that which is in front of me.

I sense a deeper belonging within my own life and within my own heart,

Within this sacred heart,

Which allows my heart to remain more open.

I've learnt to lean into experiences,

To soften,

To stay,

To witness,

To listen with the whole body and whole of my being.

When stillness arises,

I can bathe and be in the stillness,

Become the stillness and the peace.

In that moment there is no doing.

I can simply melt into the tender sensing and awareness of now.

May you begin to trust the darkness,

Make peace with the shadows and slowly,

Over time,

Turn to face the unknown and find yourself there.

May you be there with yourself,

For yourself,

In love,

In compassion and inclusion and perhaps to be embraced by darkness,

By the sacred heart of darkness,

Is to be embraced by life itself.

Thank you for taking time to listen and to be here in reflection and inquiry with me.

How is your relationship to darkness now,

To the sacred heart of darkness and the heart of yourself?

If you have any reflections or comments,

I would love to receive them.