Photo credit @freepik.com
WINTER 2024/2025
Brrr...it's cold outside. And dark. And wet. Winter! Everyone is drawing within, especially at the end of the day which now comes earlier and earlier.
Winter has got to be good for something, though--in spite of the inactivity that surrounds us. But that's the point. Inactivity. Rest. Sleep and dreams. The energy that began with Autumn's turn inward has now reached its conclusion. We're as deep within as we can go. We've reached our core, the very essence of who we are. Our DNA.
OK, but what are we supposed to do here? We are Americans after all. We need to be doing something.
Winter's task is to connect with that essence, that core of who we are, so that when we begin to re-emerge in the Spring we do so better informed of what we still need to express of ourselves into the world.
Winter is ruled by the Kidney meridian. Kidney, our pilot light. We need to know that even in the deepest, darkest, coldest part of our lives, we hold a light that glimmers of Summer's sun--shining, so we can see our way through the darkness that surrounds us; burning, so we can feel its warmth. All to propel us forward into what is yet a new world that awaits our shaping.
Treasure the darkness and the cold for the priceless pearl we find there.
Blessings, wayfarer.
"Winter Sleep", Mary Oliver
If I could I would
Go down to winter with the drowsy she-bear
Crawl with her under the hillside
And lie with her, cradled. Like two souls
In a patchwork bed--
Two old sisters familiar to each other
As cups in a cupboard--
We would burrow into the yellow leaves
To shut out the sounds of the winter wind.
Deep in that place, among the roots
Of sumac, oak, and wintergreen,
We would remember the freedoms of summer,
And we would begin to breathe together--
Hesitant as singers in the wings--
A shy music,
Oh! a very soft song.
While pines cracked in the snow above,
And seeds froze in the ground, and rivers carried
a dark roof in their many blue arms,
We would sleep and dream.
We would wake and tell
How we longed for the spring.
Smiles on our faces, limbs around each other,
We would turn and turn
Until we heard our lips in unison sighing
The family name.
Photo from freepik.com
SPRING 2024
Ah, Spring. After the inwardness of Winter, life beckons us outward again.
Sprouts push through the once-frozen soil Animals venture forth, shed their heavy coats, and mate for yet another generation of young. Where we once waited for what seemed an eternity for trees to bud, they now come forth with such startling speed and strength. Expansive, explosive growth. All because we as a globe have tilted our northern face toward the sun.
The secret of the Chinese sages is this: All this is happening within us as well. As without, so within. If we've done it correctly, the slumber of Winter has guided us to our depths and shown us our true self in all its innocence and beauty. With Spring, we're re-emerging with the task of giving that self flesh and sharing it with the rest of the world.
We can compare this to physical sleep and awakening. Who really knows where we go when we sleep? The poets and mystics have left their clues, but that's for Winter to ponder. Spring is us arousing, yet not fully awake. The essential message from night's visitation is barely lingering in our consciousness for us to capture, so we might better inform our wakened life. What will we do with that dream, that messenger from beyond? It came for a purpose and now it's our responsibility--to grasp its vision and to make choices to flesh it out. Some spiritual traditions have prayers for just this time of day.
"Thank you, living God, for enlivening me once again--
for returning to me my soul with such tenderness--
how faithful You are."
(loose translation, Jewish prayerbook)
Our task is to harmonize these inner and outer worlds, as we move upward toward the Light. The better we do this, the healthier we become. And we can only do this for ourselves, as no one else has beheld the mystery of our inner being.
This unfolding was originally intended to be spontaneous, from glory to glory as they say. But we find ourselves in a world of obstacles. How we respond to these obstacles is a good first indicator of the health of our Spring energies. We grow now not in spite of our obstacles, but because of them. Our seasonal course, The Lightness of Being: Spring, introduces us to the tools we need to capture the gifts of this season. Spring's energies move fast and fierce, like the wind. To go through it unaware is to be blown to and fro by the circumstances of life. We are meant to master these energies. They serve us well on our upward journey home.
Blessings, Wayfarer.
Photo credit @GeoDesign
SUMMER 2024
Get ready, things are getting hot!
Everything you imagined in Winter and planned for in Spring that has taken root is now in full, explosive bloom. Maximum growth, extravagant abundance, seemingly enough for all to share. And with such beauty. Exquisite flowers. Who knew there were such brilliant colors, such sweet scents, such luscious fruit? And everything about us is at the height of activity. Birds and bees flying from flower to flower to imbibe its nectar and joyously carry seed for next year's growth. Everything is animated, alive. It's impossible to stay indoors.
All the abundance you see around you is a faint reflection of the extravagance you hold within you. At the center of your being is a priceless treasure, the Pearl without price, whose essential nature is to give of itself with unrestrained generosity--ever flowing outward, ever replenishing itself. Your heart, the Light of your being, untarnished innocence dwelling in what the sages call the Crimson Palace. It responds to pleasure. It seeks companionship, someone to share its riches.
The very qualities that make the heart desirable, though, also make it vulnerable. So it has been given guardians--one set to discern whether what approaches the heart is safe, another to discern whether what approaches is wise or true to heart's nature. Only what is harmless and beneficial may gain access. We're reminded of the early chapter in Genesis where we read that after our original parents were shunned from Paradise, the path back was guarded by angels with flaming swords. The fire of Summer still guards the way to the paradise of our essential nature.
One way to determine the health of your Summer element is by asking how guarded you are, even to yourself. Are you aware of how priceless you are? Do you walk with ease, knowing that Life within you is unfolding as it should with exquisite beauty and expansive abundance? Are you continuously giving to others of yourself and of your possessions, knowing that as you give it will be replaced in even greater measure? Or, conversely, do you lack discernment and let in harmful influences and relationships? he health of your inner Summer is also seen in whether your eyes sparkle, whether your speech is speckled with laughter, whether you walk with a bouyant lilt. If you, like the rest of us, need a little work in this area, sign up for our course The Lightness of Being: Summer to learn more how to engage the extravagance this season extends.
Blessings, Wayfarer.
Photo by GeoDesign
AUTUMN 2024
I love autumn. Before my eyes, the bright, hot busyness of summer's yang transforms into the darker, cooler, quieter yin. The continuing dance of creation.
One discipline I'm reminded to do this season is to resist turning on the lights at home as the sun sets and instead light some candles---enough light not to bump into walls or step on the cat. Its effect on me is profound, as the demands of the day's activities are paused and the deeper energies of the evening rise to bless me with another type of strength and wisdom.
In Chinese medicine, autumn is represented by the Metal element---so, think treasures. Hidden within every event, every relationship, every experience is a treasure brought to us to move us forward and upward on our path through life. It is Metal's task to discern the essence in those encounters, consolidate it, then discard the form from which it came. In this world, form does not endure; only essence endures. So, as we watch the leaves drop from the trees and the sap collect at its roots, as crops are harvested from the fields and preserved in our pantries remember that this same process is going on within you as well. How easily can you let go of what no longer serves you? And, when it's gone, are you able to discern the essence of what it brought you---how it moved you forward in your growth as a child of this world? What precious gifts Heaven has brought us.
Blessings, Wayfarer.