My last post has been quite a while, but I hope to go back to writing regularily in 2010 again. The post for today is late, too, because it is a pathworking for winter solstice, or Yule.
Right now, it is dark, very dark. Many people now leave their houses in the morning when it is still dark and return in the evening, when it is dark again. It is during this time of the year that we have time for slowing down, for introspection, because the lack of light keeps us in our homes. Of course, this is less true in our world full of artificial light, but it is still noticeable.
The days grow shorter and shorter and we long for the return of the sun. Then, at the winter solstice, it is time: The sun child is born, and brings with it the promise of light and life returning. Even though we know that it is a long time until spring, we rejoice and celebrate the promise that it will return.
Pathworking Winter Solstice
Make yourself comfortable. Take some deep breaths and relax. Let go of stress, anger, anxiety.
Close your eyes and go to your safe place.
It is gloomy today. Turn around and look for a door. It is there, quite unobtrusive, with an eight spoked wheel engraved. Open the door. It is night on the other side, you can see some stars that give at least some illumination. Before you, there is a path through a winter forest, covered in fresh snow. Follow that path. It leads you through the forest, among huge trees. There are animal tracks in the snow everywhere, from the tini signs left by a bird hopping on the ground, to big paw tracks.
Strangely, most of the tracks seem to be leading into the direction where you are heading.
The area is hilly, and your path leads you downwards, getting steeper. ... You reach the bottom of the descent, and the trees give way to a wide open meadow. The edges at the meadow are filled by the animals whose tracks you have seen – and a lot more. Fortunately, the leopard and the bear are at the far end of the meadow, peacefully besides each other. Everybody is quiet, and peaceful, as if they are waiting fore something. You ask the squirrel next to you what is happening, ant it answers: “Can't you see it? There – the Goddess gives birth to the new sun.” It points across the meadow, and indeed there is a hushed light coming from the entrance of a cave. “And hight time, if you ask me, too.”
You join the animals in their silent vigil and watch the entrance of the cave. It is still night, but dawn seems to be setting in, and it is slowly getting brighter.
Suddenly, the light at the entrance of the cave grows brilliant, and at the same time, the first rays of the sun cross the horizon. You hear the animals cheer the birth of the sun.
A woman leaves the cave, carrying a baby on her arms. It seems to be the source of light from the cave, it radiates a warm light. The Goddess looks tired. She addresses everyone present: “Behold Him, the reborn Sun. From now on, the light shall grow in strength, until it is time for the dark to return.”
The baby stretches its arms towards the sun, and it seems as if the sun stretches its rays towards the child. The cold of the snow is forgotten, and you watch the display. ...
It is time to return. Slip away silently. You realize that a lot of the animals have done the same, pusuing their own business once they have seen proof of the return of the sun. You follow the path that led you there, up the hill and through the forest, until you stand before the door again. You open the door and return to your safe place. ...
From here, return to your body. Take some breaths to return and readjust. Count from 10 to 1. Open your eyes. Welcome back.
Wednesday, December 30, 2009
Sunday, November 8, 2009
Retrospection
As a new year has begun, it is time to look back over what happened during the last year. Take something to write and go to a quiet place where you will not be disturbed. Light a candle and some incense, if you want to. If you have been writing Daily Pages in the last year, or some kind of journal, take that with you, too.
First of all, think about important topics or areas of your life. Restrict yourself to three or four areas if possible. For me, they would be something like family and friends, religion, work and writing.
Mentally go over the last year for each of these areas. Try to answer the following questions:
What happened in that area of my life during this year?
What have I done and achieved in that area of my life during this year?
What were my goals? Did I achieve them or not. If not, why? Especially compared to those goals I have achieved?
Look into your journal while you answer those questions. It will help you to remember achievements, events and failures you already forgot. Repeat this exercise with all of the major areas of your life, maybe tackling one area each day.
When you are done with all of the topics, there is one last question to consider:
What kind of a person have you been over the last year?
Write the results of your retrospection down. It will help you to sort your thoughts, and we will need the notes again at the end of the month. Additionally, if you have done retrospection for some years, your notes can help you to see the broader picture of your life.
First of all, think about important topics or areas of your life. Restrict yourself to three or four areas if possible. For me, they would be something like family and friends, religion, work and writing.
Mentally go over the last year for each of these areas. Try to answer the following questions:
What happened in that area of my life during this year?
What have I done and achieved in that area of my life during this year?
What were my goals? Did I achieve them or not. If not, why? Especially compared to those goals I have achieved?
Look into your journal while you answer those questions. It will help you to remember achievements, events and failures you already forgot. Repeat this exercise with all of the major areas of your life, maybe tackling one area each day.
When you are done with all of the topics, there is one last question to consider:
What kind of a person have you been over the last year?
Write the results of your retrospection down. It will help you to sort your thoughts, and we will need the notes again at the end of the month. Additionally, if you have done retrospection for some years, your notes can help you to see the broader picture of your life.
Introspection
In some traditions, the New Year starts at Samhain. The year starts with the dark half, with winter, just as the day starts with the evening, at sunset. Therefore, for me the time around Samhain is the time for introspection, for looking back over the last year, and for looking forward into what I want to do and be next year. In terms of the three aspects of the divine, introspection means getting into contact with your divine Self. And that is what we are going to do during this November: introspection. We start this week with retrospection and look back over the last year. Then we will do two different exercises to explore ourselves. Finally, on the basis of these results, we will make plans for the next year.
Sunday, November 1, 2009
Samhain
Blessed (belated) Samhain to everyone.
I am sorry, but what happened this Smahain was kind of unexpected and I did not manage to write a meditation this week. I will hopefully resume blogging next weekend.
I am sorry, but what happened this Smahain was kind of unexpected and I did not manage to write a meditation this week. I will hopefully resume blogging next weekend.
Saturday, October 24, 2009
Prayer to the earth
After getting up in the morning, before you do anything else, go outside. Bring a cup of water with you. Go to a place where you can stand barefoot on the earth, your garden or a nearby park, or somewhere in the wilderness. Do a grounding exercise, and connect to that earth beneath you. Become aware of the air around you, the winds, the sounds that reach you. Take the cup of water, and take a sip from it. Then, pour the rest on the ground, meditating on the live giving qualities of water. Turn towards the sun, and feel its warmth, its heat, reach you. Be aware of the fire that is necessary for life. Enjoy standing there, in the centre of the four elements. Speak a short prayer to thank for the life-giving qualities of each of the elements, of the Earth.
Then, go back inside for breakfast or whatever you do to start the day. Repeat this little exercise over the day as often as you like. Try to do it at least thrice: morning, during the day, and in the evening.
Then, go back inside for breakfast or whatever you do to start the day. Repeat this little exercise over the day as often as you like. Try to do it at least thrice: morning, during the day, and in the evening.
Sunday, October 18, 2009
Bringing religion into your daily life
Part of the reason why I started writing this course was that I wanted to find a way to build a regular meditation practise that would help to integrate religion and spirituality into our daily lives instead of reserving it for special holy days. This week, I want to have a look at the interaction of our religion and our life.
In my Wiccan tradition, one of the first things we ask our students to do is to analyse a news story from a religious point of view. This week, we are going to do something similar: each evening, analyse your own story, the story of this day, from a religious point of view.
That, of course, raises the question: what is your religious point of view? This is a question everyone has to answer for himself. A good starting point would be the ethical guidelines of your religion. They might include the Wiccan rede (“If it harms none, do what you will”), the law of return (“what you send out will come back to thee”), and the fact that your actions, your choices, are your own responsibility.
To start, make sure you have about 20-30 minutes of uninterrupted time. Get comfortable. My recommendation is to have pen and paper ready and write everything down, but you can also do this exercise in your thoughts only if you want to.
Mentally, walk through your day: what have you experienced? What might be the deeper meaning of your experiences? Of course, not everything has to have a deeper meaning – but some things might, and you will never find it if you do not start looking for it. What have you, yourself, done? How have you interacted with other people? What choices did you make? What will be the consequences of your actions, your choices? From a religious point of view, based on your own moral and ethical guidelines, were your actions, interactions and choices the right ones? Or did you cause unnecessary harm, make poor choices, or act unwise? If you did, try to find out why. Accept your responsibility for your own actions. If you followed the advice of someone else, think about why you did that instead of following your own good sense – but do not put the blame on the other person. What would have been a better course of action?
Do this exercise each evening over a whole week. If you want to, you can include it in your daily pages or your personal journal. After the week, go back over the whole week. Has being more aware of your actions and choices caused you to act differently? Why?
In my Wiccan tradition, one of the first things we ask our students to do is to analyse a news story from a religious point of view. This week, we are going to do something similar: each evening, analyse your own story, the story of this day, from a religious point of view.
That, of course, raises the question: what is your religious point of view? This is a question everyone has to answer for himself. A good starting point would be the ethical guidelines of your religion. They might include the Wiccan rede (“If it harms none, do what you will”), the law of return (“what you send out will come back to thee”), and the fact that your actions, your choices, are your own responsibility.
To start, make sure you have about 20-30 minutes of uninterrupted time. Get comfortable. My recommendation is to have pen and paper ready and write everything down, but you can also do this exercise in your thoughts only if you want to.
Mentally, walk through your day: what have you experienced? What might be the deeper meaning of your experiences? Of course, not everything has to have a deeper meaning – but some things might, and you will never find it if you do not start looking for it. What have you, yourself, done? How have you interacted with other people? What choices did you make? What will be the consequences of your actions, your choices? From a religious point of view, based on your own moral and ethical guidelines, were your actions, interactions and choices the right ones? Or did you cause unnecessary harm, make poor choices, or act unwise? If you did, try to find out why. Accept your responsibility for your own actions. If you followed the advice of someone else, think about why you did that instead of following your own good sense – but do not put the blame on the other person. What would have been a better course of action?
Do this exercise each evening over a whole week. If you want to, you can include it in your daily pages or your personal journal. After the week, go back over the whole week. Has being more aware of your actions and choices caused you to act differently? Why?
Sunday, October 11, 2009
Autumn candle meditation
The season I like best is autumn. When the weather is fine, I like to go outside, enjoying the last warm rays of a sun that is quickly loosing its strength, and watching the changing colours and the winds that carry away the leaves from the trees. When the weather is rainy, however, I like to do an autumn candle meditation.
For this meditation, you need: a rainy day, at least half an hour of time when you will not be disturbed and a comfortable chair that faces a window with a good view. I like to do this in the attic where the rain is drumming on the roof light, or in a place where I can look out into the garden. You also need a cup of hot tea, maybe a blanket and of course a candle.
Prepare your tea, and make yourself comfortable, facing the window. Start the meditation by lighting the candle. Be calm and relaxed. If you want to, focus on your breath for a few minutes in order to relax. Then, allow yourself to watch the autumn rain. Enjoy the warmth of your tea. Let everything else go. No hurry, no planning, no reflection – just let everything else go. Whenever your mind wanders back to something that happened yesterday, just bring it back to the moment. Whenever you start thinking about something you will have to do tomorrow, just come back to the present moment. Be present. Whenever you feel anger, fear, stress, let it go and come back to the present moment. Just be.
End the meditation by blowing out the candle.
For this meditation, you need: a rainy day, at least half an hour of time when you will not be disturbed and a comfortable chair that faces a window with a good view. I like to do this in the attic where the rain is drumming on the roof light, or in a place where I can look out into the garden. You also need a cup of hot tea, maybe a blanket and of course a candle.
Prepare your tea, and make yourself comfortable, facing the window. Start the meditation by lighting the candle. Be calm and relaxed. If you want to, focus on your breath for a few minutes in order to relax. Then, allow yourself to watch the autumn rain. Enjoy the warmth of your tea. Let everything else go. No hurry, no planning, no reflection – just let everything else go. Whenever your mind wanders back to something that happened yesterday, just bring it back to the moment. Whenever you start thinking about something you will have to do tomorrow, just come back to the present moment. Be present. Whenever you feel anger, fear, stress, let it go and come back to the present moment. Just be.
End the meditation by blowing out the candle.
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