the longest night of the year

Today’s the winter solstice for our northern hemisphere: the shortest day of the year and longest night of the year!

The darkness of the winter solstice is a great time to go within and reflect on who we are becoming, our essence, and our trajectory.

We are reminded to let go of beliefs, images, expectations, and assumptions so that we can see & know life‐as­‐it‐is. The lesson can be one of subtraction.

Sometimes we have to go through the brooding and the melancholy to find the sweet stuff. So let’s enjoy this gift of time to reflect.

 

Can you? Will you?

Be still.

This is a favorite meditation I’ve  used many times. Based on the potent phrase from Psalm 46 it takes us step by step into ourselves.

The first step is: 

Be still and know that I am God.

Here we become aware of our inner image of God. Whether we believe in God or not,  look closely. An image of God/Spirit/Presence/Life Force is there.

And, it can obscure our experience of “life‐as­‐it­‐is”. It is just an image that we have accepted. We can let it go.

The second step is:

Be still and know.

As we let go of our beliefs and images, we become aware of a level of awareness called “witness consciousness.”

Our witness consciousness observes our thoughts, emotions, and experiences. There is a tremendous sense of freedom that comes as our consciousness shifts from being enmeshed in the “stuff” to witnessing it.

But as liberating as this revelation is, even our witness must be let go.

The third step is: 

Be still.

Next we enter the cessation of all the stuff in our mind. Even our subtle pattern of being the witness dissolves.

And then there is only life: the dynamic stillness that is breathing us all.

We experience the pulsing of this dynamic stillness as the rhythm of breath in the body.

And yet there’s one more step.

The fourth step is:

Be.

In this step we return to our everyday life-to our personality, our work and relationships. With an emphasis in the ordinary activities of our lives, we can now focus more on “being” rather than on “doing.”

 

 The concept of just being does involve subtraction and letting go of the confusion and the distractions ( and all our “stuff”) until we become peaceful and tranquil.

What an opportunity this time of year gives us as we move into the longer days!

You might like to try this meditation and see what comes up for you!

Be Still…

Can we? Will we?

Can you? Will you?

P.S. This was week 3 of my accountability practice for taking 20 minutes 5 times a week to just “slow down” and set aside my “busyness.” Today’s meditation was a great help! and I did 6 days!  See www.WisdomEnough.com/can-we-use-these-next-4-weeks/