Brrrr….what a sweet end to fall!
Solstice, very early this coming Wednesday, is the official beginning of our wintertime blessings. And, as long as the warming trend starts up as predicated, the Circle of Well Being will come together on Monday evening, the 19th for a few hours. It looks like we will be in the 40’s by then!
We will gather branches at 4 pm, so do come with your boots and coat to experience the spirit of that! Please arrive no later than 5 pm and bring:
- A natural fiber journey blanket, journal and pens, pencils, colors if you like.
- Some healthy finger food to share.
- Drum or rattle if you like (there are plenty here if you don’t)
- A friend or co-hort – anyone is welcome, no journey experience is needed.
FOR THE HOLIDAY SHOPPER please feel free to come from 1 to 4 pm, or stay late, to check out Oregon Mineral and Mercantile’s full spectrum of holiday gifts. Here are some pics! Besides the obvious stone world, there is an unusual selection to consider for your gift buying, with some real superb deals starting at 25 cents for the thrifty shopper with lots of people in mind! Members of Ancient Ways, or Circle monthly class members take 10% off!
So what is it about winter that is such a blessing? Isn’t it just dark and cloudy with a lot of rain? Let’s imagine for a minute that you are the creator of your experience. And, that you are beautifully entangled with everything on our earth. You are another part of the generous and bountiful eco-system and terrain that envelopes everything in your life. You benefit directly, obviously and richly from the sustenance and nurturing we call Mother Nature. Depending upon where you live, you see the changes of the seasons. Here in the Pacific Northwest we receive the most dramatic shows of colorful growth, as well as shedding.
Our fall has again been blessing us with shedding everything that we are willing and able. Maybe a small annoying habit has left your life. Maybe you surrendered an attachment to a belief in how things must work to be fair and just. Maybe you let go of dreaming up the outer world as being what empowers you, and instead decided to imagine yourself able to influence the outcomes with different choices, not letting the material, political, economic, religious, or familial “world” hold dominion over you. Lots of shedding this fall! So now, we get to go into our cave!
YES to this sweet inside time to re-dream our lives! Hunker down and watch the embers of your soul. Observe what makes them flicker. See what stirs your spirit. Be really okay with slowing down and going inside. If you do this now, while the earth here is also sleeping, you will awaken in spring quite renewed with enough inspiration and hope to generate and grow a new year in an empowering and vital way.
We are heading into a wonderful time of restoration, but we must look within. The kingdom of heaven is within, and that is where we find that full spectrum of possibility. The potential that is ignited in the fire of our life is fueled first and foremost by our choice, by our preferences, by our decision to BE. I AM. Winter is a beautifully creative time to go inside and see how you want to finish that sentence…I AM… Making the choice to be authentic, be genuine and true to your heart, your path, your self.
Give the last few days of fall your best, and keep “shedding” up until late Tuesday night when your head hits the pillow, then ask for any remaining leaves on your tree to dissolve into the night. When you wake up on Wednesday, it’s like another form of holiday has arrived and it’s time to let yourself rest and naturally dream a new way forward. We are given 3 months to paint the blank canvas, when we will check in again at Spring Equinox and see what seeds you chose to plant for 2017.
Come and share your life and love with this community!