Tag Archives: Demeter

Let The Feelings Flow.

As the cold deepens, the energy of the dark womb draws us within, Demeter is mourning for her daughter and her grief is cold as ice, as cold as the underworld where Persephone has gone. The emptiness contains all that we have pushed aside in busier and brighter times, when distractions are easy to come by, and the shadow merely an interesting shape created by the sun’s rays. But now the trees are bare, and though the sun still shines from deep blue skies,  the pull comes from within, our shadow clamouring for our attention.

Surrender to that call, let go into the stillness that you will find as you descend into your own private version of the underworld. What is it that you cannot own or accept as a part of who you be, what aspects of self have you demonised or judged as being unworthy. That which remains unacknowledged can never be transformed or set free, so let yourself be………….all of who you are, this is the key.

We all of us have parts of ourselves that we don’t like very much, if you try to ignore this truth, if you push it down into the deepest part of your being, it will become even more powerful. It will control you from a place that you may not easily be able to access, the longer this goes on the more layers will gather and the harder it becomes to identify and therefore release. Here is a piece I wrote about how I did this very thing with the guilt I felt over my father’s death when I was 15:

My guilt was a mountain the size of Everest and I buried it as deeply as that mountain is tall.

The guilt festered away in the dungeon of my soul and within a brief few years it had eaten away it all, my self-esteem, my sense of worth, my love of self was gone.

It was in the midst of terrible storms on Australia Day that I realised that I had at last rebuilt my self-esteem, 33 years after burying that which I could not face or acknowledge to myself. To read more about that check out my post “Rebirth” on January 30 2013.

Rebirth

This one act of mine shaped my entire life, I cannot regret it for it has brought me to where I am, but I offer my experience as a lesson hard learned. No matter how painful it may be, allow your  feelings to move through you, express them in the moment and let them go, just keep doing that until you are clear, as long as it takes…………..

Shanti, shanti, shanti…………peace, peace, peace…………

Warming My Soul.

Air like ice is clear and precise, as it does it’s best to find a way into the warm nest that is me, layers of cloth, woolen scarf wrapping around throat, and boots taking care of the precious feet that connect me to the earth. Snuggling into warm blankets and hot water bottles, the softness of jumpers and brightly coloured beanies keeping the crown from losing life’s energy, the heat of the force of life. The challenge of getting up for a yoga class in the cold, cold morning, feeling the body’s heat rising as the asana wakes the inner radiator and turns it up to full!

blue-melon.com

blue-melon.com

Demeter is mourning her Persephone as the land loses colour, and everything is moving within, into the dark place of gestation, the place in which we may await the coming of the light. With mid-winter just past, the days begin to grow longer and longer, gradually, slowly moving towards the warmth of spring, but until then I shall follow my instinct to dive into my deepest self. That part of me yearns for connection with community, with other likely souls, there’s no need to go apart in order to dive within, my hermit more and more, a distant memory.

And so I activate my body with movement, finding many different ways to keep the fires burning within, so that the icy wind becomes my partner in the dance, providing me with a delicious contrast to the warmth that is me in my furry nest. This summer girl has learned to love the winter months, especially here in the hills where the cold is dry and the mists are haunting, the warmth of my community as good as the biggest roaring fire. My soul is aflame with the joy of a new life, a new dawn breaking over the remains of the old ways of doing and being, the only luggage that I will take on this journey will be filled with that which serves me.

dawn

Ok, so I may still have some excess baggage, I’m a work in progress………..but the load is so much lighter these days, there are moments when I have to look down to make sure I’m not levitating!