“The sculpture is already complete within the marble block, before I start my work. It is already there, I just have to chisel away the superfluous material.”
― Michelangelo
The complete sculpture is in the dark, waiting to be unearthed, to be seen, to be fully expressed. It's in the dark where we go to see the truest, most honest, most whole and free version of ourselves. We get to meet ourselves there.
Today we can look back at the entire year and see ourselves, acknowledge and love ourselves for our efforts, embrace our past and chalk it up to lessons learned and wisdom gained.
Today we can look ahead to the return of the light and mentally rehearse how we're going to walk through next year, letting the rotation of the earth give us a container, a time frame, for tuning in and trying on this future self.
What might happen if we relaxed into changing in some way, into evolving, into letting go of some "superfluous material"?
Might this superfluous material manifest as blockages or stagnancy in our bodies? Might that block keep our signal from coming in clear, easy and focused?
There are energy centers in our bodies, also commonly known as chakras, that have corresponding frequencies, nerve plexus, glands, and organs. The lowest and slowest of them is the root chakra which also represents the "I am" aspect of ourselves. It's deep and dark and at the root, the base of the spine, where our vitality sits and waits to be activated.
The winter solstice is, of course, when the earth's axis is tilted the farthest from the sun making the sun the lowest point in the sky for the northern hemisphere. The longest night, the shortest day, and the slowest, most inward time energetically. Once it's at it's lowest and slowest, there's only one way left to go.
It's a wonderful gift that nature is always reflecting cycles and patterns of life for us to see and synchronize our own energy with. All we have to do is pay attention and link up. How supportive is that?
The trees are still, all of their energy underground, low and slow. Same with the animals, the insects, the water.
We are part of the whole, not separate from it.
I notice in my clinic that most problems occur when people (myself included) are moving too fast, against the natural grain of what's happening in nature, especially this time of year. Dis-ease presents itself when we are stressed, tired, off balance, out of sync, misaligned, confused, unyielding, fixed, and generally not paying attention to the messages that the signs and symptoms are communicating.
When we are acting, thinking or being separate from nature, we experience the dis-ease of separateness. When we merge with, unify with, link with and sync up with nature, we experience the ease of wholeness.
Practices such as yoga, meditation, self-reflection, internal arts, all allow space and time to sync the mind and body up so they are working together instead of wrestling each other for some hierarchical order.
Today, can you spend some time being really present, in the quietest, darkest day of the year to go within and ask yourself questions that correspond to the energy centers of your body?
1 The Root: Who am I? How do I walk through my life? How's my vitality?
2 The Sacrum: Am I living authentically? If I felt safe to do so, what would I create?
3 The Solar Plexus: How much do I rely on others or something outside of me to "fix" my problems? How can I take full responsibility for my life? How's my confidence?
4 The Heart: How am I withholding love from myself and others? What might happen if I relaxed more in my heart? How can I open my heart more to myself and others?
5 The Throat: Am I telling the truth? Am I speaking what's true for me?
6 The Third Eye: Am I seeing clearly? Do I need to get a different perspective in order to see my blind spots? Show me.
7 The Crown: What do I know? What would I like to know more of so I can be more of who I would like to be? How's my understanding of life and of mystery?
8 The Soul Star: Can I teach my body what wholeness feels like? Somewhere in me is a knowing and a memory of this since it's where I come from - can I find that frequency, tune into it and let it wash over me like a waterfall of light? Show me how to relax into it. Uncover what I'm not so I can be what I am.
When I went through these questions and answers in my journal this morning, I chipped away a little bit more of the "not" and got that much clearer on the "I am".
I loved myself enough to get to know myself by spending time with myself, disconnecting from all the things in my outer world to put my attention on my inner world, my roots.
I'm of the opinion that the greatest gift we can give ourselves and others is the gift of our attention. You know when someone is being present with you because they're paying attention to you. It may be unsettling, unnerving to be so intimate with someone, so present with someone, sensing the space between you and all around you. It takes courage and vulnerability to be that seen, that noticed, that aware, that honest.
It's deep, it's dark, it's low and slow where time feels like it stops and is infinite all at once. This is the good stuff - this is where the trees and the bears are right now... nourishing their roots deep in the darkness so that when the light returns, they're ready. They're synced up, they're aligned, they're whole, they're nourished, they're free to express themselves fully in their being - being who they came here to be.
They don't think about it, they just are. They're free. No trying, no striving, no pressure, just being. Just watching them is relaxing, a relief to the nervous system.
May you go deep into the darkness and connect with this version of yourself, unearthing your most whole, most expressed, most honest, most free sculpture of your "I am." Relax into it. Enjoy your life. Be happy.
It's the greatest gift you can present to your self and others. May you continue to unearth and relax into being the love you wish to see.
From my heart to yours,
Love,
Sarah 💗