Silence and the Holy Dark: A Winter Solstice Meditation

“Why are you so afraid of silence, silence is the root of everything. If you spiral into its void, a hundred voices will thunder messages you long to hear”

~ Rumi

"Yet, no matter how deeply I go down into myself, my God is dark, and like a webbing made of a hundred roots that drink in silence." 

~ Rilke

We gather in darkness and silence to attune to the deeper wisdom of winter solstice and our own soul...together.  As the earth draws her energy down into the underground, as darkness prepares herself to give birth to renewed light, we wait in the transformative spaciousness of silence. 

Here's what to be prepared for in our gathering and some ways to engage at least 30 minutes of silence.

What to expect:

• We will begin with a short introduction and five short readings as each of five yule log candles are blown out. You are invited to bring a lit candle, which you will be invited to blow out as the fifth yule log candle is blown out.
• We will then enter silence.
• After at least 5 minutes, you are welcome to re-light your candle. This time is to feel into darkness and also carry our light into it. 
• During the last ten minutes you will be invited to share any reflections in the chat.
• We will end by blowing out our candles together after a short poem.

How to Be in this space:

• Please come into the space with your mic muted, in a quiet and darkened room. Or, turn your video off if this isn't possible.
• There will be no additional speaking or facilitation after the readings until the end. We are simply coming together to BE, breathe, listen to the dark, reflect and be in stillness.
• Allow your breath and the silence to lead you. See below for ideas for your meditative practice. 

Practices to Explore:

1. Flame Gazing: stare into the flame as you contemplate the power of your own inner light and how you are being called to carry that light.
2. Darkness as Ally: Feel into the darkness around you as a holding space, as a fullness, as a womb. Reverence the dark. 
3. Courting the Heart: Breathe into and allow your awareness to touch into the tenderness of your energetic heart space. Let the wisdom of your heart speak to you. 
4. Silence as Prayer: As you attune to silence from your center, allow whatever comes up for you to be a focal point of your awareness. Grief, joy, emptiness, fullness, whatever your inner experience is, allow your focus to be prayer. 
5. Rooting: Turn your awareness to the base of your posture at your sit bones. Invite your awareness to anchor here and imagine growing roots into the ground. Sense into the aliveness of this connection as you allow gravity to receive you. Let your lower body become heavy as it merges with the ground and your heart/spine lengthen toward the sky like tree branches. Breathe softly and slowly. Exhale through your roots, inhale through your crown.

Beginning your practice:

• Find a comfortable seated posture and come into complete stillness. Simply notice any tendency to want to move or fidget and come back within.
• State inwardly your intention for doing this practice.
• Invite your body to relax and soften as your breath becomes gentle and consistent. If at any point your mind wanders, which it will, you can simply come back to the breath or anchor practice.
• Bring awareness down to your heart center point and rest here.
• Drop down further into the placement just below your belly button. Feel what that place of deepening silence is like from here. Feel the movement of descent. The aliveness of stillness.

The idea and content of this gathering is inspired by and attributed to Micelle Rozak and Jessica Cudney at Way of Belonging.  with gratitude.