Winter Solstice Meditation

Whether you view this seasonal transition as the darkest night or the return of the light, this meditation will bring inspiration and intention into the flow of the seasons. Light a candle and sit with Anne-Marie Emanuelli, Creative Director at Mindful Frontiers for 20 minutes of meditation that includes a centering intention, affirmations, poetry, and silence, all lit by the warm light of candles.

Transcript

Welcome all to this winter solstice meditation. Solstice is the time of year. It's in the midwinter time of year when there's the most darkness, The longest night, The longest dark time of year. But also it is an exciting time because we know that the light is returning. I particularly love the green seasons and the solstice for me represents knowing that spring is coming a little bit at a time. And so whether we choose to honor this special time of darkness, Maybe it's an introspective time for you, Or whether you see it as the return of the light. Either way, It's a very special and auspicious time of year. And I'm very glad that you're here with me to meditate together. I will be sharing an intention, Some guidance, A poem, And we'll sit also in silence together. So let's get started. Before I ring the singing bowl that signals the beginning of our formal practice, Let's check in with our sitting posture and make any adjustments that you need. We are striving for comfort and for groundedness. So check your sitting area, Make sure that you're anchored and you're comfortable, Whether you're in a chair or on a cushion, Make any adjustments that you need. Maybe check in with your shoulders, Maybe a few shoulder rolls might be nice to get started, Just to kind of lubricate the joints, Maybe even some stretching from side to side that we could do in a sitting posture. Reaching our arm overhead, Bending a bit in the opposite direction to bring a nice stretch to the side of the body. And if you would like, You can also twist in your seat to bring some flexibility, Lubrication in the lower back, Maybe even stirring the pot, Turning at the lower back area of the pelvis, Making sure that everything is warmed up. Checking in with our legs, Our back, Making sure that we are able to sustain this posture and making a choice decision about our gaze, Whether we would like our eyes closed or partially open and what we wish to do with our hands. Just choose for yourself what's comfortable. With the singing bowl, We begin our formal practice, Welcoming inspiration, Compassion, Contemplation. For this practice, I invite you to choose your own anchor for your attention. Most common is of course the breath, Watching it go in and out of the body. We may also choose to use sound as our anchor. We may also choose to use the sensations in our body, Our fingers, Our hands. And we may do a scan from top to bottom, Bottom to top. I'd like to invite you to please choose your own anchor. Open awareness is a practice that you have in which we allow whatever comes to our awareness, We just allow that to be the anchor to come and go like clouds in the sky. We welcome this solstice, This full moon, Endings and beginnings, The darkness and the light. Let's feel our sitting posture grounded into Mother Earth, Held by her. Her back is straight and alert, And the top of her head, A crown, Reaching to the sky and welcoming inspiration. The affirmation or the intention that I have chosen for this practice is, I now live in limitless love, Light and joy. All is well in my world. I now live in limitless love, Light and joy. Taking a couple deep breaths. Letting that intention into our bodies, Into our mind, Into our hearts. Let's feel our sitting posture grounded into Mother Earth, Held by her. So we're welcoming the light of the solstice time. We're honoring the darkness that must come in order for the light to return. The holy time of that longest night of the year. Feeling a connection to spirit, To heart energy and compassion for ourselves and for others. Honoring Mother Earth, Father Sun, Mother Moon, The light coming back through the sun and the full moon shining blessings on us at this time. We are bathed in love, Limitless joy, The return of the light. Remembering that there is always light after darkness. Whether darkness represents a going inward and a resting time. Or whether it has some other emotional connotation. There will be light. Let's sit with that in silence for a bit. Rugtag. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .