Sacred Saunter: Winter Solstice
Overview
The Winter solstice is special time for embracing the wilderness within. The long nights encourage retreating into the walls of our homes and focusing inward toward our living spaces, our families and our own inner lives. Reading becomes more popular as are hobbies and other pastimes that are done inside the warmth of our dwellings. It feels so good to be cozy inside when its cold or wet outside!
This saunter is about connecting the wilderness outdoors with the wilderness within our bodies, our psyches, our souls. Truly, what we think of as two separate realms are intrinsically connected and cannot be separated. Bill Plotkin writes in his “experiential guide to the wilderness of the soul”, Soulcraft, “The essence of the human soul cannot be separated from the wildness of nature.” And, “There is no requirement that we be in wilderness, or even outside the city or outdoors. Nature is everywhere, and nature and soul are paired twins.” Our bodies that we live in twenty-four/seven are nature itself.
Because the inner and outer wild are so interconnected, we naturally go out into the wild to get in touch with the inner world, to find inner peace. And it works. Forest bathing, and its medical benefits, is one popular practice that underscores this truth.
The stars are particularly sharp with clarity in the thinner, winter night air. Our ancestors around the world created mythologies and stories based on the stars. This is where inner reflections and wisdom become the outer, told stories through millennia of generations. The stars hold the ancient practice of connecting the inner and outer worlds. In addition to the saunter below, you might wish to spend time outside in the evening reflecting with the help of the stars. What stories do the stars tell you?
Wild blessings!
Invitation
Find a place to spend some time outside. It should be a place where you can relax or walk through for at least 30 minutes.
Breathe in the cool air and simply notice the nature around you. As you spend time outside, pay attention to how you feel on the inside. Notice any arc of changes to how you feel the longer you spend time outside observing nature and breathing the fresh air.
Before you leave, give an offering of gratitude. It can be simply words of thanks or a song or a blessing you give to the beings you spent time with.
Reflection questions
Did you notice any changes in your level of inner calm as you sauntered in nature?
Were there any changes in how your body walked through nature? For instance, did you notice your shoulders relax or your breathing change at all?
Were there any other changes you noticed such as a change in thought pattern or increase in energy level?
Resources
Soulcraft by Bill Plotkin. An in-depth book of exploring the inner world through the outer world. He is the founder of the Animas Valley Institute found at https://www.animas.org/
A little science with graphics about the solstice can be found at https://earthsky.org/astronomy-essentials/everything-you-need-to-know-december-solstice/
Read about health benefits of forest bathing by Kaiser.
Simple solo rituals and things to do for the solstice can be found at DailyOm