Meditation for embracing winter.
Find a comfortable posture either sitting up or lying down.
Set yourself up in a space where you are free of any distractions and you can relax into stillness.
Start to bring your awareness to your breath.
Breathing in.
Pause and release.
Breathing in.
Pause and release.
As you breathe in this time,
Visualize a pure and clean white light entering your nostrils,
Filling your throat and your lungs and down into the belly.
And exhale.
Let go of every drop of air stored in the belly previously.
Releasing.
Releasing.
As we are nearing the winter solstice,
Which is the shortest day of the year,
Where the sun stands still and the days are getting shorter and the nights are getting longer.
We find the time to turn inwards and honour the magnificent cycle that is essential for all of life.
In this space,
I invite you to move deeper into the darkness,
Dear one,
And not avoid it.
Breathing in.
And breathing out.
Release.
With each breath,
I invite you to move deeper into the silent space within.
Into your inner world.
Visualize yourself walking through a vast night landscape.
You can feel the earth,
The ground and the grass beneath you.
You can feel the coolness of the night breeze on your skin.
You continue to make your way through the night,
Taking each step with intention.
Your footsteps start to feel lighter and lighter as you move through the night.
You are able to move with ease,
With safety and security.
You are guided by the petite,
Lone star that leads you towards a warm bonfire.
You can hear the crackling of the wood and you can see the fire dancing in the night.
You sit before this warm and magnificent bonfire.
And become one with all that is beneath you,
All that surrounds you and all that is above you.
Taking in this moment.
Breathing in.
And release.
In this moment,
What message is being revealed to you?
What do you need to know in this exact moment?
You are safe.
You are whole.
And you are protected.
When we sit with and in the darkness,
We remember that actually we all come from the darkness.
When we were in our mother's womb,
The darkness held us.
It nourished and nurtured us.
When the days start to become shorter,
We begin to come back to ourselves and to our origins.
Now that we move into the winter season,
We tune into the energies of yin,
Which also represent the energies of the moon,
Of coolness,
Of passiveness and of receptiveness.
In this space,
We can practice letting go instead of holding on.
Like a caterpillar shedding its skin.
How can we follow in its practice and shed the layers that weigh us down?
The layers that stunt our growth,
That feel so tight and stifling,
That keep us where we are instead of where we want to be.
A fun fact is that certain caterpillars actually shed multiple times before they evolve into a butterfly.
And it's best to not disturb a caterpillar during the shedding process as this may interrupt its natural cycle and cause harm.
What a magnificent lesson to learn from the caterpillar.
As humans,
We too can surrender to the process and allow what no longer serves us to shed.
And not interrupting or interfering with this natural cycle.
This is an opportunity for us to immerse ourselves in the season of watching and waiting,
Of letting go and surrendering.
Instead of holding on with a tight grip,
How can you let go in this moment?
How can you surrender to the seasons and allow the elements to take their divine course and bring more awareness to what you need?
How can we work with the elements and not against them?
Trust,
Dear one.
Surrender,
Dear one.
Slowly,
The fire fades,
But the night sky is illuminated by a vast bed of stars.
The stars,
The elements and the darkness are here to support you,
To guide you and to hold you.
Just come back to your breath,
Come back to yourself and come back to your heart.
Breathing in,
Pause and release.
Breathing in,
Pause and release.
And one more time,
Breathing in,
Pause and release with a sigh.
Now,
Slowly become aware of your body,
Become aware of your body and the contact points between the surface that you are on right now.
Whether it be the base of the spine,
In the shoulders,
Bringing awareness to your neck and your beautiful eyes.
And I invite you to send gratitude and appreciation to yourself for showing up,
For being here and for being brave,
So brave to journey into the void.
And know that this winter,
This period of darkness is here to hold and to nourish you.
Taking a deep breath in and exhale.
Now gently open your eyes.
Thank you so much for joining me.
.
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