Entering the Dreamtime

the Winter Solstice

Today is the shortest day and the longest night. Even though we now have electricity and the holidays are filled with activities, our bodies harmonize with these larger, universal patterns of our environment and cosmology. The older I get and the more experiences I have, the more I understand that it is how we live that matters. A main focus of my studies in health is based on how we create our realities. This very deep metaphysical question has direct physical consequences. Much of our current science is based on a kind of subject/object structure that allows us to test our theories but it also has the unintended consequence of removing us from our deeper rhythms. If we instead can focus on our relationships and quality of the connections we make, the reality that we create will be intentional, meaningful, and nourishing. This is a different way of establishing our reality that taps into the creative fields and empowers our abilities to manifest and be one of the musicians in the symphony of life we experience.

This harmony we co-create during this time of year is represented through cravings of good food, creating cozy environments, sharing stories, ceremonies, and being in the company of those we love. These cravings are our inner instincts reminding us to nourish our yin, our inner self. To understand why this is important physiologically, consider that your heart has to work harder in the winter to keep you warm. Activities done in the winter are more taxing on the body than during the summer when the heat offers an extra energetic foundation. For this reason, energy conservation becomes a way of life in the cold winter months. This need for conservation and forced attention to where you put your energy is what makes this time of year perfect for letting go of what doesn’t serve you and what you want to invest in.

While this is the longest night of the year, which makes it the most yin 24 hour cycle of the year, the deep cold sets in over the next couple of months. Because the cold slows things down, dreaming becomes intensely powerful. This is an interesting aspect of nature to consider- one would think the day with the least sunlight would be the coldest, but this is not the case. There is a deep momentum shift that happens with the shifting of energy from yin to yang. Yin is heavy and substantive and comes like a tide. Yang is at its weakest and has little to no force to push back. Like the beginning of an avalanche, the cold (your dream) begins to cascade down with increasing force and the yang cannot hold it back. It continues to descend until the yang forces increase as we move to spring and heat doesn’t really establish any kind of presence until the spring equinox when yin and yang are at an equivalence.

The slow darkness of the winter allows the dreams to take shape, form into plans and as we make connections with others the plans begin to connect and form webs that will begin to channel the light. The light is the yang that energizes our dreams into manifestation in the real world. So what is more real? The relations we form during this dream time that serve as the foundation for our manifestation or the end object manifested? Too often we only pay attention to the object at the end, but perhaps the most important part is the web of manifestation that we weave together.

In less “civilized” times, these cycles were critical to survival. This dream time was carefully observed and prepared for. So much so, that monuments were erected to track the moving of the sun and moon. This particular stone circle resides in the Hebrides, in Scotland. The United Kingdom and Ireland are quite densely populated with these stone circles, much more than I initially thought.

This is another stone circle at Callanish on the Isle of Lewis. I wanted to share this picture because it breathes life into the stories told during this time of year by the fireside. It was said that these northern areas from Scandinavia to Scotland to Ireland to Iceland were once inhabited by giants. If you let your eyes blur a bit, the stones seem to contain a kind of presence of a giant people from a time long ago. If you think you are unfamiliar with this story, think again… Have you seen or read The Hobbit? The warring stone giants during the storm that the Dwarves get caught in are an homage to these giants. J.R.R. Tolkien stories are a wonderful way to let seasonal lore steep in to the holidays. If you have any interest in learning more about the stories of Celtic past, I recommend listening to Eilean Budd. Many of these stories have seeped into our subconscious from long ago, from various different cultures and may seem oddly familiar.

Through this post I hope to share that that while we may come from different cultures, there is a basic understanding of life that we all share even if it isn’t outwardly spoken of. It takes on different forms within different cultures. Whatever cultural teachings and stories you honor this time of year, I offer this perspective to focus on the relationships you choose to feed and develop through this transition of this dream time. Decide carefully and with intention to manifest what will support your best life. Next year will bring in a lot of energy with a yang fire horse year which can strongly activate the plans you begin to lay now. Giddy up barely begins to express it!