New Age – Page 2 – Daily Muse

“In the depth of winter I finally learned that there was in me an invincible summer.”~Albert Camus

Solstices are a time to celebrate the changing of the seasons. Depending on where you are in the world you will be experiencing either the Summer or Winter Solstice on December 21, 2017.

The Summer Solstice is the longest day of the year and the Winter Solstice is the shortest. Since I live in the Northern Hemisphere I’m going to talk about the Winter Solstice on December 21, 2017. (Sorry Summer people!)

What is the Winter Solstice?

“The word solstice comes from Latin sol “sun” and sistere “to stand still.” In the Northern Hemisphere, as summer advances to winter, the points on the horizon where the Sun rises and sets advance southward each day; the high point in the Sun’s daily path across the sky, which occurs at local noon, also moves southward each day.

At the winter solstice, the Sun’s path has reached its southernmost position. The next day, the path will advance northward. However, a few days before and after the winter solstice, the change is so slight that the Sun’s path seems to stay the same, or stand still. The Sun is directly overhead at “high-noon” on Winter Solstice at the latitude called the Tropic of Capricorn.”~Farmer’s Almanac

The Winter Solstice celebrates the longest hours of darkness. According to spiritualists it is also known as the dark night of the soul. This is the night when the veil between dimensions is the thinnest. If you take time to listen, you may hear the whispers of messages from beyond.

As we wind down the year this is the time to honor your shadow self. The Solstice is a powerful time of self-reflection, recharging, renewing and birthing new ideas. The longest night allows us to quietly reflect on the past year and to think about where we would like to focus our attention in the year to come.

“The winter solstice has always been special to me as a barren darkness that gives birth to a verdant future beyond imagination, a time of pain and withdrawal that produces something joyfully inconceivable, like a monarch butterfly masterfully extracting itself from the confines of its cocoon, bursting forth into unexpected glory.”~Gary Zukav

Winter Solstice Rituals

There are a lot of Winter Solstice rituals including “burning” pieces of paper listing those things you want to let go of. Unless you have a fabulous fireplace or a proper “burning bowl” there is another option. Light a candle or simply turn one on. (I only have electronic candles due to a cat with a very bushy tail.)

Write down what you want to let go of, hold the piece of paper to your heart and surround yourself, and whatever memory, person or situation you wrote down, with golden light of forgiveness. Allow the golden light to fill you up with love and peace and compassion. When you’re ready, put your paper in a shredder or tear it up and throw it out.

The Winter Solstice is all about the feminine “going inward”. It is a time for self-nurturing. A time to check in with your spirit and soul. As you journey within open your mind to feel, see and know the calling of your heart. In your mind’s eye visualize where you’d like to focus your energy and attention.

“Nature looks dead in winter because her life is gathered into her heart. She withers the plant down to the root that she may grow it up again fairer and stronger. She calls her family together within her inmost home to prepare them for being scattered abroad upon the face of the earth.”~Hugh Macmillan

It is said that it’s always darkest before the dawn and what lies in darkness only does so because we have not yet looked (or lit a lamp) in its space. During this beautiful time of year, light a lamp in the darkness. In fact go within and shine YOUR light!~With love and light Debbie

SpiritLightInsight.com

Debra Taitel is a gifted Clairvoyant Visionary, Energy Healer, Author, and Intuitive Business Consultant providing insight and guidance to clients around the world. In addition to her clairvoyant readings, business consulting and healing work Debra also offers one to one personal empowerment sessions and leads meditation workshops to help people heal and awaken to their own truth and spiritual gifts.

Return to Center — Photo Credit: Will van Wingerden

Each of us can be “within” and “without” as we move through our daily lives. What do I mean by within and without?

The easiest way to describe it is that when we are “within” we are aware. Aware of our surroundings. Aware of our thoughts and aware of our bodies. We are fully present and accounted for.

When we are “without” our thoughts are somewhere other than where we are in the present. We often experience feeling spacey or “out of it” and unable to connect.

There are many reasons we choose to move from center but generally it is because of competition, underlying pain, an emotional trigger or invalidation. It’s also possible we decided someone else has our answers or is better or brighter or knows more than us and so we move our energy and attention away from ourselves.

No matter the reason, the result is always the same. Going “without” is truly “going without”. We are without our own counsel and wisdom. We move our attention outside of ourselves which causes an inner shift and we almost instantly lose clarity.

Each of us has our inner workings and processes. These include our thoughts, feelings, emotions and spiritual connections. Then there is what goes on in the world around us. It’s easy to get caught up in those things outside of us and out of our control but the reality is when we return to center there is no “inside” or “outside” there is balance, a sense of self and neutrality. From this place we are in charge. We get to observe and actively participate in life.

Our spiritual center is a neutral, safe, quiet place where we are balanced and in charge of our lives. It is free of “energetic charge” and opens our eyes to truth. From center we are aware of both the “within” AND the “without”. We begin to recognize what is our truth and what is not. We experience moments of peace and begin to see that most of the drama and chaos is not really ours.

When we are centered, balanced and in charge we process then effortlessly bring in the energy and information that we have observed, learned and experienced….In other words, we bring in and have full and conscious access to our wisdom.

Each time we return to center we connect more fully with our mind, body, spirit and soul. We connect with truth, and wisdom and the more we practice centering, the more awareness we have. When we are centered we experience joy, inner strength, clarity, the freedom to be who we are, and have the courage to express ourselves and speak from the heart.~Shine Your Light Debbie

SpiritLightInsight.com