Do you hear what I hear
Attune to the inner you, and what you hear (see and feel) changes
Hello, time of year when delicious cuisine surrounds us and excess tasks and activities potentially deplete us. Feeding versus nourishing comes to mind. We may all benefit from, in between the appetizers, entrees, desserts and extra shopping stops, nourishing our minds. Meanwhile objects that yank our senses to and fro predominate, Yoga asks us to grab the reigns.
Our life circumstances largely determine our perception, until we awaken to personal transformation, a very ongoing process. When my son and I walked into the house one day last week, he froze for about 10 seconds. He slowly, quietly walked to me and whispered in my ear, “I just heard someone cough.” His hearing is extraterrestrial, so I figured he heard something, I just wasn’t sure what, and the house is alarmed, so I didn’t suspect it was a person. I do, however, have some trauma surrounding this very subject, and wanted to protect him and ease his mind, so I grabbed “the reigns.” I also grabbed the nearest threatening object I could find and sort of confidently surveilled with a scissor, and he followed with a long amethyst wand. Coast was clear. I think it was the heat going on. It does sound like someone clearing a throat.
When we alter the mental input, our field of perception changes. We can guide this process in a positive direction by choosing to pause, to punctuate our winter solstice time with quieting, grounding, supportive engagement in rituals of introspection and deep nourishment. When we do, the magic of winter season may reveal itself through the cold darkness that characterizes its presence.
A sattvic motivation to stay on and not stray from our Yogic path as the holiday wave rises and falls feels essential. Most traditions stem from a more ancient version of the celebrations the moderns do today. A simple lifestyle modification I have been doing to tend to my inner spirit involves a nightly candle ceremony, in the dark, to honor and not reject the darkness. You may also use a log in a fireplace (I surely would if I had one), or even a lamp or an electric candle. Find pictures of loved ones gone, as they are an intrinsic aspect of our shine, as well as our grief. Set up a temporary ancestor shrine. Pray or chant, or pray and chant. Visualize your prayers rising up with the flame to the spirit realm, your ancestors receiving them. Spend some time together, knowing they are guiding and protecting you, and ask for the continuance of that.
And then…live your life with that input as part of it. Unusual occurrences may very well happen, as your field of perception broadens. Mine have been coming in dreams, revealing what I need to know about students to better support them with Yoga. Also, in sacred alignment with the mundane. For example, freezing at the bus stop for pick up on a frigid, blustering day, eyes closed, chanting a mono-syllabic sun mantra, a very loud sound mimicked me. I thought a person was behind me, but turns out it was a loud vehicle’s motor, roaring on the nearby main road. It sounded like the entire town was Hram-ing. And yet again, I bowed out of a chronically triggering experience for the first time ever, for a sustained period of time. And yet again, I swore off holiday spirit this year, but a tiny bit is creeping in, here and there, as well as the energy to meet what is here, right now.
If you’ve read this far, thank you for being here, and may symbols of light and life hold you today, this season and always.