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A post shared by ecofolks (@ecofolks) on Nov 22, 2018 at 9:00am PST

The winter solstice is the longest night of the year (in the Northern Hemisphere).

It is a turning point in the cycle of the year. In the silent, stillness of the deepest night—light is born.

The birth of light is a symbol of the potential within you, within each of us: to find purpose, meaning, direction, and joy in life—particularly when things seem dark. Every life has its winter solstice times, when there’s more darkness than light.

Darkness is not a mistake.

It’s part of the natural cycle of growth and renewal. The winter solstice is a reminder that things always go dark before the light emerges.

So, how do you know you’re in a winter solstice phase in an area of your life?

You know you’re in a winter solstice phase when:

>> The beliefs, attitudes, structures, and goals that fueled you in the past have stopped working.

>> The harder you push, the slower you go.

>> The self that you’ve identified no longer fits who you are called to be.

It’s time to let go.

During a winter solstice phase, the task is to empty yourself, without knowing how you will be reformed or what your vision for the next turn of the cycle will look like.

This takes trust:

>> Trust that only by letting go of old forms, can you make space for something new to be born.

>> Trust in the darkness—recognizing that “those who dwell in darkness shall see the light.”

>> Trust that the old structures of selfhood need to be dismantled because to hold yourself together at this point is to fight against the awakening current of your life.

Now is time for stillness.

It’s in this stillness and silence that you can reconnect with that which is deepest within you. Light emerges from the stillness.

But, now it’s time be still and befriend the darkness.

Love & Shanti,
E & D

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Awakened Goal Setting:Practices for Realizing a Truly New Year: I’ve been writing/recording a series of reflections on how to transform goal setting from a striving activity to an awakening ritual. To catch up, you can read/listen to these here.

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