Friday, December 21, 2012

Winter Solstice, 2012

I'm sitting at my writing table as winds up to 60 mph blow outside, whistling through the bared deciduous branches and heralding in the shift of my blogspot name from Harnessing the Winds of Change to Riding the Winds of Change. And what a ride it is!

My sister Anne had suggested the name change close to a year ago and I'm finally catching up to the idea as my life reflects the ride more and more. From day to day, moment to moment, my life twists and turns of its own accord as I real-eyes that I don't harness the winds that drive me, but instead ride them. And it is the manner in which I choose to ride that makes the difference.

So here's to the end of the Mayan Long Count Calendar and to New Beginnings as we all ride the Winds of Change. And to enhance the ride, I will once again set aside weekly or bi-weekly, one-hour sessions for the Winds of Change, announced through my e-mail list and this blog. As always, wherever you are, whatever you may be doing, by simply acknowledging our group time, you are contributing to the Winds of Change. I recently read a quote on a solstice greeting card from The Borealis Press housed in Blue Hill, Maine, that beautifully expresses the purpose of WoC time:

"A time to quiet our hearts ...
to soften our edges,
   clear our minds,
   enjoy our world
   and to
   share best wishes"
   that these days and 
   "... all the new year
   be joyful and peaceful."

I look forward to our renewed shared time together, as I hope you do, too, and encourage you to post comments here on this blog.
Namaste.

6 comments:

  1. Claire, thanks for the update. Will keep in touch with your blog.....
    Love,
    Mary

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  2. Thank you for your response. Namaste!

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  3. As this week's WoC began, I was standing in a few inches of snow in the woods beside a medicine wheel, dressed in layers against the cold. As new folks arrived we hugged a greeting until all 12 were present. Mary lit the smudge stick and the sweet scent of sage filled the air. When we were all cleansed by the holy smoke, the ceremony began. Half Sostice~honoring, half reactivation of the decade~unused wheel, we walked several times counterclockwise 'round the wheel to release the old~~drums and rattles calling out~~then several times clockwise, welcoming blessings. We then broke into two lines, and twined and crossed thru one another's line, symbolically mingling male and female, yin and yang, erasing the artificial division of seeming duality. We ended with drumming and toning, and quietly left the circle.

    WoC was still underway as I quickly made my way up the snow~covered path and down to my car, which had been left on the little paved byway when my trusty snow tires were unable to climb Mary's drive. I hightailed it into town to get ready for the next event in this Solstice extravaganza~~a silent meditation. As you all were finishing up, I was partnering with the singing bowl to begin that meditation. Thirteen were present, some who'd been at the wheel, others who hadn't.

    Two more events~~a visioning and year review, and a closing ceremony as the sun set over the western mounts~~finished out the day. As I said in an email sent off this morning, I felt nourished by the day.

    And today, as Jack Kornfield said, after the ecstasy, the laundry. Lots to do, things piled, and I'd much rather chant around a medicine wheel. Oh well!

    Blessings...and yippee that Clarisima will be hosting WoCs again!

    Loanne

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  4. Thank you for the sharing of these most sacred Solstice ceremonies. Your beautiful writing enhances the experience.

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  5. Even with my typo? Wester mounts?!! That was not a strained attempt to be poetic. (Sounds like a horse riding style!) Those were western mountAINs that the sun set behind!

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  6. And who would have known it was a typo? In my head, it was an abbreviation, like mtns.

    I also loved your Jack Kornfield reference, "after the ecstasy, the laundry" - isn't that so true? And it is when we experience ecstasy in laundry, and laundry in ecstasy that we will have broken free of the duality, the separation of spirit and physicality, to real-eyes that the mundane is indeed holy!

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