Welcome to this guided meditation and ritual for the summer solstice.
This is the longest day of the year and marks the beginning of summer,
A season of heat,
Delight,
Of fruits and fresh corn on the cob,
Of swimming in natural lakes,
Rivers,
And oceans.
It is the time to be outside and soak up the sunlight to celebrate the natural gifts of the season.
The word solstice translates to sun stillness.
It's a moment when the sun seems to pause in the sky,
Just as it does on the winter solstice,
The mirrored moment in the solar year.
Even though it's a season of facing outward,
Of being social and being outside,
It's also an important time to slow down and pause with the sun,
To consider this moment of peak or pinnacle in the year.
You can do this ritual outside with a bonfire or inside with a candle or a fireplace.
If you haven't already,
Gather a piece of paper and a pen and any flowers or fruits you may have access to that are local and in season.
If you don't have any of these things,
You can simply imagine.
Sit before your flame and close your eyes.
Take a moment to notice your body in space.
Feel your feet and the parts of your body that are connected to the ground.
Take a moment to honor and acknowledge the land that you are on.
If you know them,
Call up the names of the traditional peoples of this land and consider your relationship with the sacredness of this land.
Notice the space you take up,
The wonderful fleshiness of your body,
This amazing body that can process food and turn it into muscle,
Bones,
Energy,
Even thought.
This body that has been through so much,
This body with its scars from the last winter and from the many winters before,
This body that has survived.
Place your hands together and feel them.
Interlace your fingers or rub your palms together,
Feeling your hands.
Take a moment to thank your body for all that it does for you,
Even while acknowledging that the body is rarely perfect.
Take a moment to consider the harvest of your life this past year,
Since the winter solstice at the end of December.
What have you been working on?
What have you been building?
What is happening in your life now?
What is the harvest of your life at this summer solstice moment?
Pick up the fruit or flowers that you have with you and breathe in the scent.
If you don't have anything,
Just imagine your favorite fruit or flowers in your hands.
Feel the soft petals or the skin of the fruit against your cheek.
Sit with these questions of harvest while you hold the flower or fruit close to you.
Draw in the scent.
If you'd like,
You're welcome to taste the fruit as you do this.
Enjoy the harvest of the season as you consider the harvest of your life this year.
Take your time,
And if you would like,
Journal on what comes up for you.
And if you'd like more time than I'm offering you here,
You are welcome to pause the recording.
The summer season is the time to taste the fruits,
To enjoy what you've been working on and sit down with the harvest to feast.
It might also be a time to pause and consider what isn't in your harvest this year.
What do you want more of in your life?
Take some time to sit with this question.
If you like,
Write the answers down.
Again,
If you need more time than I'm offering with this question,
Feel free to pause the recording.
It's easy enough to think our way around these questions,
But we sometimes forget to feel about them too.
Finally,
We'll take the time to let our bodies speak to us.
Breathe down deep into your belly,
Feeling into your body.
What would your body like you to know today?
What messages does your body have for you on this summer solstice moment?
Take your time with this question as well.
You may like to write down some of the answers.
Again,
If you need more time,
You're welcome to pause the recording.
When this practice feels complete for you,
Thank the fruit or flower and the flame for welcoming the summer solstice with you.
If you are using a candle,
Blow it out.
Bow gently to the sacred land beneath you and to your amazing body that has survived another winter.
Happy summer solstice!
I hope you continue to enjoy the fruits of your harvest this summer.
Thank you for listening.
