Reflecting on the Winter Solstice ✨ Rewind Sleep Meditation

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[00:03:42] The winter solstice, the darkest and shortest day of the year, happened recently.

[00:03:47] The day itself obviously offers us more actual darkness than light.

[00:03:53] Some people struggle with the season of winter and feel more sadness around this time.

[00:03:58] But for others, this deep part of winter can be a time of healing and restoration.

[00:04:04] One of my favorite images to meditate on is a pitch black night sky with countless sparkling stars adorning it.

[00:04:12] I went to Hawaii several years ago and spent time on the big island.

[00:04:17] Nighttime there was incredible because the Milky Way can so easily be seen.

[00:04:23] I remember looking up that very first night on the island and feeling my jaw actually drop.

[00:04:29] How could something this beautiful, this unspeakably stunning, be hiding in the night sky every night, everywhere, but only be visible in certain places or at certain times?

[00:04:43] But there it was, for me to see and marvel at every night of that vacation.

[00:04:51] Sometimes darkness can be synonymous with inner challenges too.

[00:04:55] Sadness, depression, or perhaps a lack of clarity or ability to see the next step in one's life.

[00:05:03] I am someone who is very forward-looking, who loves to have a plan and see the next ten steps ahead.

[00:05:10] But life is rarely that straightforward.

[00:05:13] The truth is that most of the time our paths are slightly obscured.

[00:05:18] We simply can't always know what is ahead.

[00:05:21] And maybe it's completely appropriate to be in the darkness, the night of life sometimes.

[00:05:28] Perhaps you've heard the term dark night of the soul.

[00:05:31] This phrase is often used during those really significant challenges in one's life.

[00:05:37] The death of a loved one, the ending of a significant relationship, or a serious health diagnosis.

[00:05:44] These times are often deeply transformative, but rarely anything any of us would willingly sign up for.

[00:05:51] And much like the deepest, darkest night of winter, or the cloudy sky when we can't see the stars or moon,

[00:05:58] the light is still there.

[00:06:01] The lightness will return.

[00:06:03] Now that the solstice has passed, every day a little more of that light gets revealed.

[00:06:10] If, in this time of winter, where one year is ending and the next is just beginning,

[00:06:16] you're feeling unsure or stuck or feeling some inner obstruction,

[00:06:21] tonight's meditation will help soothe any concerns or worries and welcome the light that's there,

[00:06:28] ready to shine upon you in perfect timing.

[00:06:32] For now, though, settle in, get cozy in the quiet of your bed, and let's meditate together to

[00:06:40] Reflecting on the Winter Solstice by Billy Gill.

[00:06:44] Well, whose woods these are, I think I know.

[00:07:00] His house is in the village, though.

[00:07:03] He will not see me stopping here to watch his woods fill up with snow.

[00:07:09] My little horse must think it queer to stop without a farmhouse near,

[00:07:14] between the woods and frozen lake, the darkest evening of the year.

[00:07:20] He gives his harness bells a shake to ask if there is some mistake.

[00:07:25] The only other sounds the sweep of easy wind and downy flake.

[00:07:31] The woods are lovely, dark, and deep,

[00:07:35] but I have promises to keep, and miles to go before I sleep,

[00:07:42] and miles to go before I sleep.

[00:07:47] The winter solstice occurs on this darkest evening of the year.

[00:07:53] The poem, Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening by Robert Frost, evokes the cold, dark, introspective solitude

[00:08:03] that captures the essence of winter.

[00:08:06] The horse is the traveler's only companion in the night.

[00:08:10] A moment of quiet reflection in the stillness of a forest slowly filling with snow,

[00:08:17] what images, thoughts, questions might play in your mind on such an evening,

[00:08:23] should you find yourself in these woods too?

[00:08:28] At this time of the year, those of us in the Northern Hemisphere

[00:08:32] have all witnessed the darkest evening of the year.

[00:08:35] Whether or not there was snow, easy wind, or downy flake,

[00:08:40] at the solstice, you will have borne witness to a cosmological event that affects the lives of every human being,

[00:08:48] simply because all of humanity exists on planet Earth.

[00:08:53] The darkest evening of the year is the effect of the Earth tilting away from the sun on its axis.

[00:09:01] During the winter solstice, the North Pole is tilted farthest away from the sun.

[00:09:07] As a result, the Northern Hemisphere experiences the shortest day and longest night of the year.

[00:09:14] On the contrary, in the Southern Hemisphere, the South Pole is tilted toward the sun,

[00:09:20] marking the summer solstice with the longest day and shortest night.

[00:09:25] The tilt of the Earth is responsible for the changing seasons on Earth.

[00:09:30] The angle of the light, the rhythms of the day and the night,

[00:09:35] the briskness of the air give rise to the tremendous transformation of myriad ecosystems around the world

[00:09:42] as the spring, summer, fall, and winter all emerge from the changing dynamics of the solar system.

[00:09:50] It's evident in the poetry of Robert Frost that our minds change in response to these dynamics as well,

[00:09:58] which you may well have noticed.

[00:10:01] The winter induces reflection on the year that has passed, what is now being left behind.

[00:10:07] The word for solstice derives from the Latin sol, meaning sun, and cistera, meaning to stand still.

[00:10:17] During the solstices, it seems as if the sun's path across the sky stands still for a brief moment before reversing direction.

[00:10:27] After the winter solstice, the days in the Northern Hemisphere gradually start to lengthen

[00:10:33] as the North Pole tilts back toward the sun, bringing about an increase in daylight hours

[00:10:40] and the gradual shift toward spring and summer.

[00:10:43] The stillness of the scene as the traveler decides to stop without a farmhouse near between the woods and frozen lake,

[00:10:52] the darkest evening of the year, is that same moment as when the sun itself appears to stand still.

[00:11:01] From the perspective of every being on the planet, heaven itself is standing still.

[00:11:07] At this moment of stillness, this pause, we are invited to feel the internal shift within ourselves,

[00:11:22] to move away from the past and simultaneously face the future even at the very same present moment.

[00:11:32] The eternal now.

[00:11:38] Feel your body relaxing deeply into your mattress.

[00:11:43] And feel any unnecessary tension melting away.

[00:11:57] Allow yourself to become calm and steady as you experience the quiet wonder of this winter scene.

[00:12:12] Feel your breath become steady and smooth as you pause here for a moment in these woods.

[00:12:20] These woods are lovely.

[00:12:29] Dark.

[00:12:30] Deep.

[00:12:34] Lovely.

[00:12:36] Dark.

[00:12:38] Deep.

[00:12:42] Easy wind.

[00:12:45] Easy wind.

[00:13:32] For one moment, all your business, all your to-dos and all your responsibilities will have to wait.

[00:13:44] Eternity is making itself known here in these woods on the darkest evening of the year.

[00:13:58] The sound OM is said to be the sound that nature makes when she is pleased with herself.

[00:14:08] What this means is that there is a resonance within each of us that we share in common with the totality.

[00:14:16] That is the meaning of the sacred sound OM in yoga.

[00:14:26] It is the sound that is not the sound of two things striking together.

[00:14:32] Every other sound is generated by the pairs of opposites acting upon one another.

[00:14:40] OM is the sound which is its own cause.

[00:14:44] In your mind, produce the sound OM.

[00:15:11] Either hearing OM or breathing easily for some time.

[00:18:29] You feel the depth of these woods.

[00:18:34] The crisp, fallen snow.

[00:18:39] The inky, black sky.

[00:18:41] The loveliness of the star.

[00:18:52] You pause as though something beyond your will has called you to stop in your tracks and take in the peculiar sense of this unique moment.

[00:19:07] This call to awaken.

[00:19:11] To look around you and witness what is here.

[00:19:21] What is happening is that you have been called to this secret meeting, which is no secret.

[00:19:30] Here, in these woods, you present and the future have convened to honor the light.

[00:21:37] In the summer, we welcome the coming of the dark.

[00:21:42] After long, hot months, we look forward to a change of pace as the seasons shift.

[00:21:52] In winter, we welcome the light in its infancy.

[00:21:59] Christians celebrate the birth of a child who is the very principle of light and the dawn in the birth of Jesus.

[00:22:08] The Taoists recognize the winter solstice as the principle of utmost yin and the transformation of yin into yang.

[00:22:20] The light, which is emerging and being born from the womb of the darkness, is the dawning of a new day, a new year, a new season, perhaps a new life or a new world.

[00:22:37] With the dawn, we bid the night adieu.

[00:22:41] The light gradually grows and grows, and the darkness recedes but never goes away.

[00:22:50] It is out of the depth of this utmost yin that yang emerges.

[00:22:57] The darkness is the mother of the light.

[00:23:02] Even so, the light is always with us, even in our darkest moments.

[00:23:13] The silence of this moment.

[00:23:17] The lovely silence of this moment allows you to be still.

[00:23:28] Sun appears to stand still as the sky decides to turn the other way.

[00:23:43] So too, notice the pauses between the inhales and the exhales of your breath.

[00:23:59] Notice the moment when the breath turns around and becomes an exhale.

[00:24:04] Breathe in, breathe out.

[00:24:55] Between the woods and frozen lake, you stop.

[00:25:00] Of course, you have miles to go before you sleep.

[00:25:04] There will always be more to do, more to accomplish, further to travel.

[00:25:13] These moments of stillness may seem few and far between.

[00:25:19] Indeed, it takes discipline to regularly practice being calm and still amidst our daily activities.

[00:25:30] Still, the sacredness of these moments, which occasionally manifest themselves before us, can't be overlooked.

[00:25:41] They are worthy of your attention.

[00:25:45] They are pivotal moments.

[00:25:49] They are this moment.

[00:25:53] Feel your mind becoming calm and still as you release the cares and worries of the day, of the events of the year.

[00:26:16] They are now transforming into what will be.

[00:26:24] See yourself on the path you wish to travel.

[00:26:33] These are the promises you have to keep.

[00:26:40] Your intentions for the year ahead and the next cycle of seasons lie before you like an open road, as we just experienced recently.

[00:26:58] The moment of the solstice, that moment of stillness.

[00:27:03] We turn toward the light and walk the path that we choose with the warm and radiant light of the dawn upon your face.

[00:27:18] See the expression on your face that you want to see.

[00:27:45] Breathe in.

[00:27:59] Breathe in as you lie comfortably in bed.

[00:28:14] Envision the North Star.

[00:28:20] During winter evenings, it can be found relatively high in the northern sky.

[00:28:30] The North Star is known for its purplish aura.

[00:28:36] In this meditation, envision this purplish light beaming down from the North Star and entering the crown of your head.

[00:28:48] As you visualize this light beaming into you from the North Star, you are imagining that whatever wish you have for your life is now taking on this form of purplish light emanating from the North Star as it showers this light down upon you.

[00:29:13] And receive whatever it is that you wish to cultivate in your body and mind.

[00:29:26] What are you inviting into your life at this pivotal moment?

[00:30:12] Breathing slowly and smoothly.

[00:30:17] Allow the belly to rise and fall.

[00:30:22] Rise and fall.

[00:30:32] Notice the stillness.

[00:30:36] Notice the moments of transition.

[00:30:39] Notice the inhale becoming an exhale.

[00:30:45] Notice the exhale becoming an inhale.

[00:30:52] Notice the opposites transforming into one another.

[00:30:56] Notice the entire universe breathes with this pattern.

[00:31:11] Listen to the quiet stillness on this snowy evening.

[00:31:16] The darkest evening of the year.

[00:33:35] Whatever you wish to see come true in your life.

[00:33:40] Visualize it as the purplish light of the North Star.

[00:33:47] High in the night sky.

[00:33:50] Twinkling with purple hue.

[00:33:54] Radiant beams of light pouring themselves down out of your head.

[00:34:02] Allow this light to cleanse you.

[00:34:09] Releasing what no longer serves you.

[00:34:13] Letting go what it means to let go.

[00:34:36] Fills fill you in the energy of fulfillment.

[00:34:45] See yourself receiving this benevolent light in through the crown of your head.

[00:34:52] Welcoming.

[00:34:56] Welcome the gifts that life is bestowing upon you.

[00:35:03] Look into this receiving.

[00:35:10] With the next exhale.

[00:35:12] Allow yourself to become empty.

[00:35:16] So that the next inhale can fill your body, mind and spirit with fresh renewal and regeneration.

[00:35:30] Moment to moment.

[00:35:32] This cosmic principle plays itself out on a cellular level just as it does on the level of the planet.