Solstice Ritual

A guided audio to usher you into a safe space to honestly reflect on what is here now. A mindful pause, a ceremonial ritual. At the still point there the dance is. Mark the still moment and honor your own presence.

Note: I mention the year 2019 in this audio, the process for this year is the same!

Transcript

Let's see,

Great.

Yeah,

Welcome to Solstice Ceremony.

This is something I really wanted to share with you because it's something that I do every year anyway.

I consider the 21st as my end of year and I make a habit of doing a process where I review everything that has happened in the past year and how that's hit me,

How it's impacted me and whereabouts I'm holding on to things that maybe I don't need to hold on to,

The things that I'm really proud of and the things that I want to carry with me and it feels like a very fitting end to a section of time,

Arbitrary as it may be.

I find it really useful to hook our experiences onto things that are bigger than us.

So we often will hook onto a birthday or onto a moon phase for instance or onto a turn in the seasons and it helps to give this a sense of the passing of time and also of transience which I describe as the biggest happy sad feeling that I know of and it's basically the understanding that we are here for a short time only and that's really powerful when we can check in with that feeling and it's a really it's a benevolent force if we let it be because we realize that we don't have time to waste.

So I'm going to be just admitting a few people as they come in while I speak and I just want to set up this container for us.

It's really important to me that we have a solid container to be in together today so that we are held and in that holding we allow the body to start to release because we get a sense of safety.

So I'm going to instruct you as part of the meditations and the guided journaling to do different things with your body so that your body feels soothed and so that you feel really comfortable.

So I want to make sure that you've got everything that you need right now so make sure you've got a drink if you need one that you're nice and warm and cozy that you've got your journal and you've got something to write with just get anything that you need to have beside you and do that now in preparation.

I did mention bringing crystal if you love your crystals then that could also be something really nice to do.

Okay so I'm just welcoming people as they come in hey hey hey yeah lovely lovely and I'll be doing that hopefully quite smoothly as I speak and we're welcoming more people and you'll all get this audio afterwards if you want it as well so that you can add to or do your own process if that feels appropriate for you.

So I'm going to start us off by just like I said I've set up this container of us feeling safe and held we are here for one hour only together everybody is on mute apart from me and I'll be guiding you through a process which will help you to have a an embodied review of the year that has passed for you so far and to help clarify anything that might need to drop in a little bit deeper or anything that would like to be released before we make our return to the light as we move forward.

So solstice comes from the two parts of the word sol obviously is sun systeia is to stand still so it's at this seemingly still point of the sun in the sky when the tilt of the the axis of the earth makes it appear as if there is this moment in time where we have stilled and everything has become quiet which feels really apt for the process that we're about to do because taking stock and reviewing what has gone and what our intentions are as we continue takes a moment of pause and the way that life is now and the way it's set up often that's quite difficult to access everybody is always expected to be constantly on constantly messaging back straight away constantly available so as we carve out this moment of stillness for ourselves let's let it be ceremonial and let it be important and impactful to our own process.

Okay so I wanted to start with a part of one of my very very favourite poems if I can just find this now which is by T.

S.

Eliot and it's about the still point at the still point of the turning world neither flesh nor fleshless neither from nor towards at the still point there the dance is but neither arrest nor movement and do not call it fixity where past and future are gathered neither movement from nor towards neither ascent nor decline except for the point the still point there would be no dance and there is only the dance and this is us being alive this is our dance so we get to create whatever style and flow of dance that we want to if we are intentional about the way that we live and part of that intentionality is making space for all the interactions all the experiences everything that has happened to us and for us and the market has left upon us and to have a real honour for that is part of the ingredients that help us to be changed and to evolve so we are actually part of our environment we're not this rigid structure that cannot be touched or moved but we are a moving part of the machinery of living and in that movement there is our evolution there is our dance and there is everything that is available to us so i'm going to invite you now to come properly into your body whatever that means to you right now check your temperatures all good and maybe take your shoulders all the way up to your ears as you breathe in and then as you exhale just roll them back and down towards your waist so that your shoulder blades start to come together nestled around your upper spine make any movements with the head and the neck that you need to maybe scrunching up the small muscles in the face and relaxing the face softening around the eyes and just bringing one hand onto the heart space really connecting in with the heartbeat with the function of that vessel that is keeping you alive and then as you start to notice how still you are and notice what's going on underneath your skin all of the workings and the noise of the body start to draw your awareness back towards the back of your body and the back of your brain and in doing so you begin to create a space between who you know yourself to be and all of the activity going on in the forebrain the film of the past the present the future any worries and anxieties any dreams and aspirations whatever speed that movie is playing at however colorful start to notice that in the space of the breath there is a pause between that solidness of who you know yourself to be your inner spirit and everything else that is happening just breathing a little bit deeper from the back of your body all the way down your spine as you inhale filling up the bowl of your pelvis with your breath and as you exhale softening your face your neck your shoulders any areas of holding or tension in your body extend that invitation for them to feel free and safe to relax and release and it's not a command it's an invite your body will know when is the right time for you gently drawing your chin down to your chest taking a deeper breath and then as you exhale just raising the chin keeping the eyes closed taking yourself back back through the months back through all the days back and back and back to this same time last year the winter time the solstice of 2019 now you may have reviewed some of your journals or diaries and you may know in your mind the most impactful events of that time i'm just going to create a gentle loop around the winter of 2019 so from the 22nd of December to around about the 21st of March that three month period there and we just allow the wisdom of the body the memories of the cells and the tissues to play with the the awareness of that point in time so our subconscious remembers every single thing that has ever happened to us and it's not a case of trying to find it with the mind it's a case of being receptive in the body and feeling held and relaxed enough to let that awareness wash through us and over us now your mind may be panicking at some point that you can't remember or you can't do the task see if you can if that happens with you just draw yourself even further back back towards the back of your brain the back of your body imagine the inside of your shoulder blades and just leaning up against them like the back of a comfortable chair and just maybe taking a deeper breath softening your internal focus just sitting with the question what do i want to let go of and there's no need for a definitive answer it's just sitting in awareness with that question for that period of winter time 2019 trusting in the body that the body always knows and you can't get it wrong just quietening your focus and slowly slowly metaphorically wandering forwards in time now to the spring time to the end of march 2019 all the way up until midsummer the 21st of june sensing in your body any felt memories of that particular space of time anything that you have recently re-read in your journal or your diary and just bringing all of your body awareness back into that time and space feeling what you felt then hearing what you heard and seeing what you saw then now if you notice any pockets of tension in the remembering in your body bring your breath to those spaces full exhalations really being mindful to activate that relaxation response with your exhale and your inhale if you have water you can take a sip of water and just hold it in your mouth which activates your vagus nerve and instructs your system to be soft and to be soothed and maintaining that steady breath and allowing any feelings to arise and to take up however much or little space they need to visualizing them like clouds in the sky so you are the sky and the clouds will come and go always softening your aspect to yourself thinking in different terms thinking in the micro and the macro so the micro of your internal world and your feelings and your thoughts and then the macro of your environment and everything that is happening globally which in march began an extreme set of circumstances for the whole world and really taking note of any deep feelings that come with that maybe a sense of frustration or grief or anger or relief just being with that taking note of whereabouts you feel that sensation in your body notice where you're feeling any tightness i can sense the tightness in my throat and just below my ears and across my temples and as i'm conscious and mindful about my exhalation it moves to my eyes and my face starts to feel softer and more relaxed so when we are held in this energy in this group energy of shared intention creating this space for us as individuals and as a group honoring and intending to keep that space safe and loving release and relax on a very deep level and this is the joy of creating intentional spaces for processing and sometimes the things that you stumble upon in this type of review can surprise you surprising emotions or even thoughts that maybe you didn't realize that you were holding you didn't realize they had made a home in your tissues just extending that invitation once again to your body to release what no longer serves if it feels safe to do so and to carry the wisdom and the gifts in some of the more painful moments of being human big exhalation and your minds with me just wandering forwards to the summertime summer to autumn 22nd of June up to the equinox the 21st of September in our cycles in our menstrual cycles this period is the the autumn the preparation for the shedding and the internal homing of menstruation in the winter or week four i just notice what that brings up for you symbolically as well as the year that has gone by and where we find ourselves now what is alive for you right now in your most recent past in the summer to autumn what has been alive for you what is still holding you are there parts that have made a home in you that you don't wish to carry forwards back into the light are there important lessons that have become a part of you that you know you will carry forward from this day on if those learnings and that wisdom had a desire for you what would it be what would those learnings and teachings and wisdom wish for you and for your highest good sitting with that question once again taking a deep breath in and a big sigh out relaxing the whole body bringing your right arm across you placing your right hand under your left armpit so your right hand is cradling the side of your heart holding gently around your ribs bringing your left arm around you and your left hand to hold onto the top of your right arm as if you were giving yourself an embrace breathe in feel the ribs expand breathe out allow everything to drop soften the back of your neck feel held when we speak of capture capturing a moment capturing a sensation in the body these things are all we have we have a series of moments a series of feelings and sensations a series of thoughts traversing from one place to another capturing that imprint of what it feels like to be alive in this moment to be safe in your body in your environment to have that privilege of paying mindful attention to how you would like to be in this world capture that allow that to fill you and releasing the arms and placing the palms one on top of the other in your lap thumbs touching making a little bowl coming back to your breath drawing your awareness all the way back now all the way from any busyness in the forebrain the noise in the front of the body the digestion the heartbeat all the sounds that happen in the front of the body sitting yourself comfortably back like you might do in the driving seat so that you can get really good peripheral vision really wide view of everything that is coming towards you and then visualizing slowly walking forwards from the autumn from the 22nd of September all the way up to today to the midwinter solstice to this still point notice the quality of your more recent memories and whether they feel more colorful stronger louder than the previous ones and just noticing which pieces have had the most impact on you in the last three months this final quarter as we prepare to settle and become still in what would be our menstruation period if we're looking at our cycle through the lens of the seasons we come into this ultimate yin phase of quiet and dark and still and needing to conserve our heat and our energy in order that we can move gracefully into the next period of living and of being and if you know what your tendency is if you live by your cycle if you know the things that you need and the things you desire in this part of your cycle how do they apply to coming into this deepest darkest point of winter how are they the same and how are they different there is a strange dichotomy of wanting to hone in at midwinter and to be quiet and still and self-reflect and then also the external ramping up of Christmas and all the expectations around that not to mention all of this year's constraints around that where some of us may be feeling sad or lonely because we're unable to see our loved ones just being with that and softening bring all of your breath and your awareness and your weight down into your sit bones sinking down into the bowl of your pelvis visualizing roots growing down through your legs out through the soles of your feet and down into the middle of the earth really rooting your energy down into the planet and allowing some of that energy to come back up and feed you as you breathe in breathing in all the way up your spine up to the crown of your head and exhaling softening noticing how it feels to be this conduit flexible conduit between the power of the earth and the limitlessness of the sky and to be a vessel for life to express itself through if there was a clarity to come from this intentional unpacking and observation of the year gone by might there be words for that clarity for that wisdom that's within you it's always within you you might think that it comes from outside but the outside is just a trigger the wisdom is always within you taking three more mindful breaths and then slowly coming back to center coming back to the midsection of your body a couple of inches below your belly button that point in yoga we call the hara and qigong it's called the lower dantian the power center of who you are just taking a few breaths into and out of that space and then slowly coming back and opening the eyes just rubbing the hands together and just resting them a couple of inches above your face just feel the warmth of your own energy and then releasing and if you have your journal and pen beside you take that take a sip of your drink if you need to i'm just going to write a few questions for the next part of our journey i'm just coming back into the room back into your body so if you had any specific language come to you or words when you were asking your body what was the clarity and wisdom gathered from this time that we have just come through then please write those down and sometimes it doesn't come through as language or words so don't worry if you didn't get anything i'll just give you a moment to do that and then on a fresh page i'd like you to write a couple of questions for our return to the light or 2021 as regular people call it so the first question is what is my desire just leave a little space in between the questions so you've got room to write the next question is who do i need to be in order to align with my desire the next question is what help or support am i calling in okay then i'm going to ask you to go back to the first question and to swap the pen over to your non-dominant hand and to write whatever comes through to that first question what is my desire get really up close and personal with your with any feelings of wanting to control the outcome wanting to make it neater and more tidy or wanting to really analyze and question the process think of this as really allowing your body to have free reign and for the wisdom of your body to express itself through the pen in a way that we probably don't do that often so you can continue down the list second question same same process writing with the non-dominant hand who do i need to be and what support am i calling in and being as easy as you can be with this flow of process and especially especially when it's someone else's process sometimes that can bring up its own blocks so keep the awareness in your body and within the felt sense and the remembrance that these ceremonies and processes are something that we willingly partake in so that we can honor our being human and they are ultimately for our highest good and that our bodies know everything and our subconscious knows everything so the next part of the process you can do in a few different ways we're going to create and embody some of the vision for our desire and what is to come and start to intentionally create and i sometimes like to use a symbol for this which is why i said bring a crystal if you like your crystals and and really any of these things are are just symbols we imbue them with their power so we are the ones who have the power but often we find it easier to to hook onto an external object or focus onto an external object and it kind of becomes our lucky talisman a bit like maybe you know when we're kids and we have a special toy it becomes special because we make it so so for this next part then you can use your crystal you can use your journal or you can just be in your body and be with your body and let that be the special token that is going to help you remember all of your intention for what's to come so our desire and our intention is is the battery if you like it's the power source to our efficacy in creating the kind of life that we want once we have the masculine structure of the the clarity and the shape then we can power with our intention and desire and we can let our feminine life force fill up the container that we've created if we don't have a container the life force just dissipates or it can actually be destructive because it's powerful shakti force is so powerful so let's create this container and let's harness this life force and choose something that we can have as our hook to remind us of how powerful we are okay so just coming back into a comfortable sitting position choose whatever you choose have your i've got a really lovely piece of citrine here because it's one of my favorite stones um and i've also got a selenite candle going on down here which i love but you can use your journal i've got a special pink journal um or you can just use your body you can just literally get embodied in this process and in this moment so if you need to make any kind of movements or shake it out or really just kind of get yourself re-acclimatized within your body then please do that now so that you can feel really really at home and feel as if you are a clean slate ready to be imprinted and once you've done that let's take a big deep breath in through the nose and a big sigh out good if you're feeling like movement or a bit fidgety i'm going to invite you to tap on your collarbone i'm going to invite you to just use two fingers and just tap on your collarbone to whatever rhythm feels comfortable for you this is just again another aid to your focus because stillness can be tricky for us not designed to be still for great lengths of time so again just sinking back towards the back of your brain and the back of your body and i would like for you to rest your focus and attention on the answers to your questions that you just wrote down so the answer to what is my desire rest your attention there what sensations does that bring up for you what feelings in your body what thoughts even are there conflicting thoughts are there excited ideas inspired thoughts and then the next question of who you need to be rest your attention on that where do you feel that can you tune in to your power centers so that space i mentioned before just below your belly button is a point of force but there are also other centers going up your body so your solar plexus the i am of the body what can you sense there when you rest your attention on the answer to that question on who you need to be what does it feel like does it have a sound or a shape or a color and then just moving on up to the heart center that space all across the chest connecting to your throat to your expression of who you are i'm really sensing into any extra information that is being delivered to you there i'm bringing to mind a visualization of a bright blue color to the base of the throat as if it was a shining light raising the chin slightly just to give your throat the openness of expression and coming down to your heart space and visualizing a rose gold glow around your heart that as you breathe starts to spread throughout your body to the edges of your skin mingling in with this bright golden yellow light of the solar plexus solar for sunshine this is the power of you of who you are so we have this awareness of the answers to our questions that have come from our subconscious and from our bodies the parts of us that know everything and then this beautiful rainbow of colors and feeling of energy linking up feeling of connection and harmony between what we deeply know our intuition and our felt sense and our embodied sense and this beautiful visualization of the power of our life force and how that could be expressed into the world what we can create really softening into the back of yourself basking in the glow of these colors and of the energy that you sense within your own body and take a moment now to capture a snapshot this imprint of who you came here to be and then an allowance for everything that is bigger than us to let that happen for the highest good in whichever way it sees fit so really letting go of the how letting go of this idea that we know how something is going to happen or how we're going to get to a specific outcome and staying with the energy of that so that we are open to possibility we are absolutely wide open receptive to any way that what is meant to be is going to be what is meant for us never passes us by we don't need to struggle or panic or rush so coming back now back into your belly take a full in-breath all the way down to your belly and exhale another in-breath even further down filling up the bowl of your pelvis exhaling relax your pelvic floor soften all around your sex organs full relaxation of the body as you integrate all of this awareness and use it to carry you forwards and then slowly opening the eyes when you feel ready to just sitting resting in that awareness I just want to read something to you which is a really lovely antidote to this sense of getting caught in the mad rhythm of everything outside of us you are not a machine with a mind you are a highly conscious being in a body that requires nurturing and rest highly conscious beings have a deep desire to connect with positive energy and experience the resulting beauty and bliss so we'll just close that loop of our experience the container of our time here together by taking three mindful breaths breathing all the way in and all the way out just bring your hands up to your heart center into Anjali mudra so this is the gesture of honor to the heart and as we bow our heads down we relinquish the control of the mind and surrender to the wisdom of the heart and the body so go gently back into your day and carry this beautiful softness of honoring yourself and your experience with you and drink lots of water and I hope that you found something here that was of benefit to you and if you need any help or if you want to have a conversation I'm open on messenger and email very happy to do that with you thank you so much for being with me that's lovely thank you have a lovely rest of your day happy solstice