Midwinter 22 December 2011

Today is officially the shortest day and the longest night of the year in the northern hemisphere - the winter solstice.  Since earliest times, because of the sun's vital importance as a source of light and warmth, human beings have observed the progress of the sun across the sky, and as early as Neolithic times built monuments like Stonehenge and Newgrange to observe the solstice.  (The solstice is actually caused by the tilt of the earth's axis and it's orbit around the sun.)

Around the world mythologies and traditions have developed over the centuries to mark this peak of darkness before the days begin once again to lengthen.  At their heart is the concept of birth or rebirth, new beginnings and the return of the light.

Saturnalia was one of the most important and most popular of the Roman festivals and featured feasting and exchange of gifts, and the social order was temporarily reversed as masters and slaves changed places.  The Dongzhi festival, celebrated by the Chinese, Koreans and Vietnamese, entails families getting together and sharing special food.  Yule festivities derive from the late Viking period and its Midwinter rituals, and continues with Wicca as a pagan festival marking the rebirth of the sun.  Even Hogmanay in Scotland originally marked the return of the sun.

Christmas or Christ's Mass, on 25th December celebrates the birth of Christ.  Midnight Mass, carol singing,  the decorating of our homes, feasting with family and friends and exchanging of gifts are very similar to rituals and traditions elsewhere for the birth of the new solar year.

Even if Christmas didn't exist as a Christian festival, we would still feel the need to mark this time of darkness before  the lengthening of the days once again in the progression to the summer solstice.  Midwinter is a natural time of withdrawal and reflection prior to celebrating the return of the light.  Advent, and particularly the winter solstice, is an opportunity for us to confront the darkness in our world, as well as the darkness within ourselves, and to honour it.

The psychologist C. G. Jung talked of the necessity of becoming aware of the darkness, of making the unconscious conscious on the path to becoming truly evolved individuals.  Our only hope in changing the world is in changing ourselves and becoming more conscious human beings.

At a time when our world is so troubled with crises, let's hope for new beginnings, rebirth and transformation as we learn to collaborate, co-operate and become more compassionate as we face the challenges together.  Let's hope 2012 sees a major shift in consciousness!

Seasonal greetings!

International World Peace Day - 21 September 2011

Two words spring to mind this International Peace Day - Recollection and Reconnection.  Let's re-collect who we truly are, and let's re-connect with the divine source of life.

While the world seems to be spinning out of control, and crisis follows upon crisis, we can at times feel hopeless about what's going on.  But there's really no need to.

If we take time just to stop in our frenetic lives, and re-collect the disparate parts of ourselves into an integrated whole, we will feel more at ease with ourselves.  If we can re-connect with the heart - the centre of our being energetically - then we can maintain a more balanced life.

Peace starts with each one of us.  By stopping, and using the technologies of meditation, yoga or prayer, we can be in touch with our deepest roots and open our hearts.  Starting with ourselves and offering ourselves compassion, we can live more authentically and easefully.  We can then extend that compassion beyond ourselves to all those who are in pain and suffering.

At our core we are whole beings, and when we act from that core, we are more able to be of use to others and to serve the cause of world peace.

By cultivating peace in ourselves, we can help in the process of changing the culture from one of competition and aggression  to one of co-operation and peace. Only with conscious evolution can the world become more peaceful.

Midsummer's Day June 2011

A wonderful morning after much needed rain - how fresh everything looks and how restorative it is to drink in the beauty of nature.

Resist the habit of listening to the news - the noise of the world is all too insistent - violence, wars, refugees, debt, the rising cost of living, the abuse of the vulnerable, rampant greed. We don't need to be reminded of the horrors of our world, but instead we can focus on its beauty.

If our attention is perpetually focused outward on what is going on in the world we can become depressed and fearful. Instead we can choose to change the lens through which we view things. If we take time to look within, we can connect with what is really important. Watching the flow of the incoming and outgoing breath, the mind becomes peaceful, while at the same time we awaken to the possibility of transformation. We are more able to give of ourselves and thus make a contribution to a better world for all. We cannot be brought down by the world's suffering, but in shifting our perspective we will be connecting with thousands of other people around the world who are evolving as we are and helping to change the culture.

'Today is what it is because yesterday was what it was. And if today is like yesterday, tomorrow will be like today. If you want tomorrow to be different, you must make today different.' G. I. Gurdjieff

Our task right now - March 2011

In the first few months of this year we have seen crisis after crisis unfold, from Australia and New Zealand to Egypt, Libya and Bahrain.  Now we are witnessing catastrophe for the Japanese people with the worst quake since records began, a devastating tsunami which has killed so many, and a nuclear reactor disaster whose deadly consequences are as yet unknown.  And yet how brave and dignified the Japanese are in their time of tribulation.

So much suffering is deeply shocking.  How can we best respond to such tragedy, besides donating to the relief organizations to help with the work they carry out?  Our TV screens and phones connect us to the events as they happen and we are deeply affected.  We share in the suffering because we are all part of one humanity.  Although we may feel powerless and overwhelmed by it all as we try to fathom why such things happen, these events remind us of how impermanent our lives are and force us to look within for answers.  There can be only one response in the face of so much misery - we can open our hearts and become channels for love and compassion for those who have died or have suffered loss.  We can pray that those who are understandably afraid for the future find the inner strength to cope with what each new day brings.  We can be with them in their time of need.

For all of us the world is changing, and our task right now is to find deeper meaning and purpose in our lives.   We seem to be living in times of transition, in a world of death throes and birth pangs, where the very crises we see around us are forcing us to question our way of life.  We are challenged to play our part in this transition by becoming fully evolved human beings, working for a better world, a world of co-operation, of compassion and of peace.

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