Day 354/366 days Towards Self-Mastery.
Today we are celebrating the summer solstice, also known as Midsummer Night.
To be honest I have little experience with solstice ceremonies, beliefs and rituals. However I am intrigued by the coordinates of Saturn and Jupiter alignment, and I'm hoping to see something in the nights skies this evening.
What this means for us from an astrological, spiritual, religious, cultural or any other perspective I'm not sure about. It is an interesting phenomena and it is a significant happening from a field perspective, energies and influences and how we respond to them.
There's a feeling in me that our bodies are tuned to these events and the impact will be relevant to our individual life experience and physical resonance.
In the deep centre of Australia this evening, there will be a significant ceremony conducted by Australia's indigenous peoples. Their story has it that a ceremony that was commenced a long time ago was interrupted, and this is their opportunity to complete it. The completion of this ceremony, if I have this correct, will join the major energy centres of our planet earth, enabling a more expansive flow of energy through her and consequently through all of us. It's a time of empowering creative energy.
Well I can certainly do with some of that.
The indigenous peoples have a strong connection with this land, the energies of this land, the unseen and the mystical of this land. They know stuff that our Western eyes and ears and knowing and sensing doesn't yet have the capacity for.
It's a special time and they are welcoming all of us to join them. I will be meditating from 7 - 9 this evening to lend my stillness to the ceremony. I have no idea what contribution that will make, and it doesn't need to be known. I simply feel drawn to spend this sacred time of theirs in stillness.
Part of me wants to honour the knowledge and wisdom of this incredible culture. And that is enough of a reason for now.
So if you're looking for a way to celebrate the solstice you can't go wrong by spending some time in stillness.
Allowing life to touch you, to mingle with your cells, to heighten your awareness, and to bring you peace.
366 days Towards Self-Mastery
When I considered my New Year's intentions for 2020 I had just one: To allow my heart to love what it loved...and let it lead me. (If not now, then when?)
I've spent months working on integrating my life. To live life more fully with my home life, my interests, my work, my responsibilities, all coming together, all connected. I want to give each the attention that they desire and need, and still have time and energy for the others. That means living and working from the heart.
As I was clearing out my bookshelf over the Christmas break I discovered Simple Abundance. I set it aside to explore it on New Year's Day as I lazed through another delicious day of nothingness. Sarah, the author, says this book is about living in grace. Living in grace I realised, is about Self-Mastery.
My thirst for understanding the human condition has driven me all my life, and hand-in-hand with self-mastery it has been a life-long goal. And seeing as I love to write, that living in grace is about self-mastery, and I love a bit of a challenge, then if I am truly going to let my heart lead, I really don't have any other choice. So scary as it feels, I'm starting out on a daily mission of leaning into the suggestions of this daybook and making a daily post to keep me accountable. If not now, then when?
I'm Josie. You can find out a little more about me here.
Simple Abundance: A Daybook of Comfort and Joy: by Sarah Ban Breathnach.
This book is written for the Australian and NZ market because it refers to seasonal changes. It's available on Amazon here if you'd like to follow along.