Coming Home Meditation Tuesday 9-10:15am EST ~ Temple of the Body
As the winter approaches, we can prepare our inner world as a sanctuary and place of refuge, reflection, and comfort.
Dear Friends,
The days are very short in the Hudson Valley this time of year and only getting shorter. Right now, we have approximately 9.5 hours of daylight. That’s 14.5 hours of darkness. The sun set this evening at 4:26pm. In my opinion, that’s mid-afternoon! I don’t know why I am offering all of this data, except that I *think* I am trying to wrap my mind around this: WINTER IS COMING.
Of course, this is not something to wrap our minds around. This is something to be experienced directly—a cycle of Nature. With each turning of the season we are offered a new chance to attune to earth and the elements through our direct perception and embodied experience. In doing so, we receive deep teachings for and from the animal body, the primal nature, the indigenous soul.
Winter (in the northern hemisphere) is a natural time of darkness, slowness, and interiority. Think about hibernation, incubation, meditation…the archetype of the hermit whose impulse is to retreat from the busyness of daily life and listen deeply within. Thinking about this today, I began to feel a longing for the comfort of my own inner world, the secret caverns of my heart, my solitude. I wanted to spin my cocoon. Do you feel that, too?
This weekend as my Joy of Embodiment course, which started in September, came to an end, we noted the passage of time and all of the changes that took place for us through the fall. Several participants noted that gathering each Sunday afternoon for 12 weeks had been like going to “church.” That notion of finding church with each other through embodiment got me thinking (as I often do) about the body as a temple.
It feels like a good time to visit our own inner sanctuary through meditation. We can sweep the corners, make repairs, clear out any old junk, light candles, burn incense, decorate the altar with fresh offerings…make the place nice for our winter retreat. I know this practice always warms my heart and takes me deeper into myself where I remember things I wish I’d never forgot. It’s lovely, a prayer.
Join me tomorrow from 9-10:15am EST for a Coming Home meditation and share. All are welcome. Pay what you can…suggested donation is $15-20 via Venmo: @ElizabethSchuyler-Brown.