Meditation: Harmonizing With the Energy of the Winter Season, Part 1

by Josh Lane

Here in the Northern hemisphere, we are approaching the solstice, and with it, the entrance to the winter season. Beginning on the shortest day of the year, the winter and its mysteries open out in a time of outer darkness that blankets the landscape.

The qualities of this time resonate in tune with the North direction on the Wheel of the Natural Cycle.

As always, Nature offers us an abundance of clues that can help us to tune into what’s happening now, not only within the land, but within our deepest selves, too.

By now, the trees have shed their leaves and dropped their energy deep within their roots, gathering beneath the protection of the earth. The trees offer us a hint at how we, too, may flow with this season – releasing what was, and gathering our energies to prepare for what will be.

This part of the year offers a natural time to turn within. In the stillness and quiet of the winter’s silence, the light within becomes apparent, unmuted by the din and distractions of the busier times of year.

Dreams, visions, and the deep yearnings of the soul find a resonant chamber within one’s mind and heart, as the attention turns to the warmth of the fireside and the peaceful stillness of the season.

Reflections of the year’s past flit by, as understandings gained through life’s experience deepen and take root. Wisdom accrues as memories gather, and we prepare to for forward with lessons learned from another wheel of change under our belts.

Only now, as we look back at the entire year, can we see the larger patterns that have been at play. In their turnings we can see the trail of our own actions and reactions, gaining more clues as to who we are, and who we might be becoming. For, to know where we are going, we can gain much by tracking where we have been.

As we approach the solstice, it is a natural time to slow down and take stock. Even if your days are busy (as many of ours are), finding even a minute of stillness here or there is extremely beneficial.

I invite you to take a moment now to find the place of inner stillness:

As your eyes take in these words, allow your peripheral vision to expand and take in the space around you. As your vision expands, notice that your realms of thought and awareness grow to encompass new realms, too, as you become aware of the bigger picture around you.

Next, take a deep breath and slowly exhale, letting go of anything that no longer serves you.

Now, become aware of the greater landscape that upholds and surrounds your home or place of work…

Sense and feel the cycle of the season around you…

What is the land doing right now? What are the plants and trees doing? What are the animals modeling in their movement and behavior at this time?

Simply extend your awareness and feel the tide of activity that flows with this season…

And again, feel this tide moving within your own being as part of the larger cycle…

Feel your body attuning to the season and its teachings…

Now, center this natural wisdom by sensing your heart beating. Simply feel the sensation of your body, and the flow of the life force deep within you. Allow this rhythm to bring you into the stillness, and enjoy the sense of peaceful being that this place offers you.

When you are ready, slowly move your feet and hand a bit and gradually return from stillness into outer motion, refreshed and attuned to the season.

Put this simple little meditation into practice once a day through these next couple of weeks, and you might be pleasantly surprised at the quality of stillness and attunement that can open through it.