The following is a Comment that contrasts with my own remarks about the season:
"I feel compelled to write something positive about Winter and the time of Darkness. In Northern cultures, Winter traditionally was the time when labour ceased to be unremitting, when the fields lay blanketed by snow and families were kept at home. In the warmth of a fire, stories would be told and crafts would be undertaken to keep minds and bodies occupied during the time of 'rest'. Winter is a season when Nature slumbers. It is a season when the light of the Sun is supplanted by the light and warmth of the hearth. I love Winter in the North. It is a season of small lights and warm fires rather than a season of suffocating heat. It is traditionally a season of rest and meditation. Unfortunately, Western consumerism has robbed the season of most of its tranquillity. Instead of shopping compulsively or desperately in many cases, people should spend quiet time with their families and loved ones, honouring old rituals and traditions and creating new ones. The celebration of the Winter Solstice is the promise of rebirth and the celebration of Christmas is an actual celebration of rebirth. The birth of the Divine Child in a cave symbolises the rebirth of life in the womb of the Earth. The presence of the Animal Guardians, the shepherds (representing the old pastoral cultures) and the Magi (representing the urban culture as well as being the guardians of arcane knowledge) bring all elements of this world together in a celebration of rebirth. The 'Lord of Light' is reborn at the darkest hour of Winter. One needn't be Christian to enjoy the beauty of this ancient tale. After all, it is a tale that predates Christianity and is found in many ancient mystery religions. One of the most beautiful traditions of Yuletide is the Christmas tree. To bring an Evergreen into the house, decorating it with lights and ornaments, placing gifts beneath it, is to perform an ancient and powerful ritual of faith in eternal life and light. The Tree is the symbol of the World Tree itself. The Christmas tree bedecked with hundreds of tiny lights, bearing 'fruit' in the form of ornaments symbolising everything that is treasured and cherished by humanity as well as gifts for loved ones, is a glorious tradition. Again, it is an ancient tradition that has been incorporated into Christianity but one that belongs to all of humanity. The World Tree is the ladder to heaven, a connection between Heaven and Earth. Its roots are underground, its branches are steps that ascend from Earth to Heaven and its tip pierces the sky in a sacred marriage between Heaven and Earth. I do not fear the Darkness of Winter. Without the presence of Darkness, Light would remain undefined. It is in contrast that creation is found. I always thought it would be terrible to live in a place where night never arrived. Night and Darkness are kind. They allow us to sleep, to rest from our cares and labours. The Night is a blanket that surrounds us and cradles us as we regain strength to greet the new Dawn. That is my own feeling about the Winter Solstice and Yuletide.
Freyashawk, on the occasion of the Winter Solstice"
Showing posts with label solstice. Show all posts
Showing posts with label solstice. Show all posts
Saturday, December 23, 2006
Thursday, December 21, 2006
Thought Control
At last! “Tomorrow will be 0m 0s shorter.”
It’s interesting that today’s Winter Solstice coincides with the New Moon. The Moon will begin to grow as daylight begins to grow.
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On December 18 I listed some helpful truths. I want to add the most useful psychological technique I ever learned. It was taught to me by the only psychologist I’ve known who actually helped people change for the better – Dr. Leo Walder of Maryland. I sought him out because he was a behaviorist rather than a “talk forever” therapist. I felt behaviorism was a valid tool, and I wanted to get myself over something that was bothering me.
Dr. Walder said, “I’m going to teach you something called ‘thought control’. I know it sounds awful, but it really works. You close your eyes and picture what it is that’s bothering you – the thought that you don’t want. Hold it in your mind. Close your eyes. Hold it in your mind. . .”
When I was sitting there with my eyes shut, completely focused on what I did not want to think about, I jumped about two inches out of my chair when Dr. Walder shouted in a loud, sharp voice, “STOP!”
“There,” he said. “You do that every time you find yourself dwelling on what makes you unhappy, and you’ll stop thinking about it. You don’t have to yell out loud, but at least yell to yourself.”
It works. If you’re being nagged by something from the past – some resentment or jealousy or anger – or by some worry or fear about the future – confront it with a blast of “thought control” every time it raises its head and it will show up less and less often and eventually should go away completely.
It’s not a bad idea to actually shout out loud, but just a strong inner shout of “Stop!” will do. I find that it also helps simultaneously to visualize an explosion, or a “No Entry” sign – anything to dramatically disrupt the undesirable train of thought.
I’m sure one reason thought control works is that attention can’t be on two things at the same time. (“Another Unexpected Meditation”, Dec. 2, 2006.) If you stop the undesired thought, it will be replaced by another thought or image. (If the bad thought comes back, blast it again.) Shopping for a desirable replacement thought before you blow the bad out of existence is a good idea.
My mother lived happily and independently in her own home into her 90’s, and I’m sure she used a technique like “thought control” even if she never heard Dr. Walder’s term. She simply refused to entertain negative ideas. One of her own mother’s favorite sayings was, “The evil of the day is sufficient thereto” . . . meaning to me, “Never worry about the past or future.”
My mother often said to me when I told her about an upcoming trip or other pleasant plan, “Oh, good! That’ll give me something nice to think about for hours.” Her mind was always filled with happy news and happy anticipation, outings, plants and flowers, painting, music, decorating for every holiday on the calendar . . . even Florida Gators football games, when her driveway would fill up with the cars of guests who would walk to the stadium a few blocks away.
If something unpleasant came up in conversation, Mother would quickly change the subject. You might see her frown for a moment, and then the cloud would go away.
Some would label her a Pollyanna . My sister-in-law said (as a compliment, I think) that Mother was one person who could stand up and look reality square in the face . . . and ignore it completely.
“Pollyannaish” or not, I think my mother’s refusal to dwell on negativism, and her ability to keep beauty and fun in her consciousness, helped her enjoy a long and happy life. What alternative could have been better?
It’s interesting that today’s Winter Solstice coincides with the New Moon. The Moon will begin to grow as daylight begins to grow.
-----
On December 18 I listed some helpful truths. I want to add the most useful psychological technique I ever learned. It was taught to me by the only psychologist I’ve known who actually helped people change for the better – Dr. Leo Walder of Maryland. I sought him out because he was a behaviorist rather than a “talk forever” therapist. I felt behaviorism was a valid tool, and I wanted to get myself over something that was bothering me.
Dr. Walder said, “I’m going to teach you something called ‘thought control’. I know it sounds awful, but it really works. You close your eyes and picture what it is that’s bothering you – the thought that you don’t want. Hold it in your mind. Close your eyes. Hold it in your mind. . .”
When I was sitting there with my eyes shut, completely focused on what I did not want to think about, I jumped about two inches out of my chair when Dr. Walder shouted in a loud, sharp voice, “STOP!”
“There,” he said. “You do that every time you find yourself dwelling on what makes you unhappy, and you’ll stop thinking about it. You don’t have to yell out loud, but at least yell to yourself.”
It works. If you’re being nagged by something from the past – some resentment or jealousy or anger – or by some worry or fear about the future – confront it with a blast of “thought control” every time it raises its head and it will show up less and less often and eventually should go away completely.
It’s not a bad idea to actually shout out loud, but just a strong inner shout of “Stop!” will do. I find that it also helps simultaneously to visualize an explosion, or a “No Entry” sign – anything to dramatically disrupt the undesirable train of thought.
I’m sure one reason thought control works is that attention can’t be on two things at the same time. (“Another Unexpected Meditation”, Dec. 2, 2006.) If you stop the undesired thought, it will be replaced by another thought or image. (If the bad thought comes back, blast it again.) Shopping for a desirable replacement thought before you blow the bad out of existence is a good idea.
My mother lived happily and independently in her own home into her 90’s, and I’m sure she used a technique like “thought control” even if she never heard Dr. Walder’s term. She simply refused to entertain negative ideas. One of her own mother’s favorite sayings was, “The evil of the day is sufficient thereto” . . . meaning to me, “Never worry about the past or future.”
My mother often said to me when I told her about an upcoming trip or other pleasant plan, “Oh, good! That’ll give me something nice to think about for hours.” Her mind was always filled with happy news and happy anticipation, outings, plants and flowers, painting, music, decorating for every holiday on the calendar . . . even Florida Gators football games, when her driveway would fill up with the cars of guests who would walk to the stadium a few blocks away.
If something unpleasant came up in conversation, Mother would quickly change the subject. You might see her frown for a moment, and then the cloud would go away.
Some would label her a Pollyanna . My sister-in-law said (as a compliment, I think) that Mother was one person who could stand up and look reality square in the face . . . and ignore it completely.
“Pollyannaish” or not, I think my mother’s refusal to dwell on negativism, and her ability to keep beauty and fun in her consciousness, helped her enjoy a long and happy life. What alternative could have been better?
Wednesday, December 20, 2006
The Victory of Light
The precise moment of the 2006 winter solstice will be December 21, 2006 at 7:22 P.M. EST.
For some reason I am very attuned to the winter solstice, that moment when the days cease to become shorter, and daylight at last overcomes darkness and begins to gain on it. Maybe it’s because I was born only a couple of days before the solstice, and maybe because my moods are so affected by light – but I look forward to the last of the shortening days and the first of the lengthening days as a child looks forward to Christmas.
Of course the winter solstice IS Christmas and has been the occasion for a multitude of other human rituals and celebrations for thousands of years. It is also, by any logical symbolism, the beginning of the new year, even though our calendar starts the fresh year a few days late.
For weeks I’ve been watching Weather Underground (“Astronomy”) to see just how much shorter each tomorrow will be. As we have gradually moved from “tomorrow will be 1m 24s shorter” than today to the current “tomorrow will be 2s shorter”, I can hardly wait to see “longer” replace “shorter”. It feels as if a great stone pivot is slowing as it reaches an extreme point, balancing, and getting ready to swing back, bringing earlier sunrises, later sunsets, more and more light, and the promise of warmth and budding plants.
It’s hard for me to imagine that ancient humans – the more intelligent of whom were at least as intelligent as our best – really believed that they needed to HELP the Sun or its representative deity overcome the growing darkness, as we’re told they did. But ancient societies did put a lot of skill and effort and heavy construction into measuring the precise time of the winter solstice, and they did not have our knowledge of the cyclical astronomical causes of solstices to use as a basis of prediction. It would have been at least as satisfying to them as it is to me to be assured that once more the withdrawing Sun had decided not to keep moving away and let darkness reign forever, but instead is beginning a renewed journey toward the peak of the sky.
Celebrate, all! Let’s put Sol back into Solstice.
Light the fires, deck the halls, carry evergreens and mistletoe from the forests, fill our tables with fragrant feasts, let our music rise above the clouds. The blazing visible embodiment of God is returning. Only two more days!
For some reason I am very attuned to the winter solstice, that moment when the days cease to become shorter, and daylight at last overcomes darkness and begins to gain on it. Maybe it’s because I was born only a couple of days before the solstice, and maybe because my moods are so affected by light – but I look forward to the last of the shortening days and the first of the lengthening days as a child looks forward to Christmas.
Of course the winter solstice IS Christmas and has been the occasion for a multitude of other human rituals and celebrations for thousands of years. It is also, by any logical symbolism, the beginning of the new year, even though our calendar starts the fresh year a few days late.
For weeks I’ve been watching Weather Underground (“Astronomy”) to see just how much shorter each tomorrow will be. As we have gradually moved from “tomorrow will be 1m 24s shorter” than today to the current “tomorrow will be 2s shorter”, I can hardly wait to see “longer” replace “shorter”. It feels as if a great stone pivot is slowing as it reaches an extreme point, balancing, and getting ready to swing back, bringing earlier sunrises, later sunsets, more and more light, and the promise of warmth and budding plants.
It’s hard for me to imagine that ancient humans – the more intelligent of whom were at least as intelligent as our best – really believed that they needed to HELP the Sun or its representative deity overcome the growing darkness, as we’re told they did. But ancient societies did put a lot of skill and effort and heavy construction into measuring the precise time of the winter solstice, and they did not have our knowledge of the cyclical astronomical causes of solstices to use as a basis of prediction. It would have been at least as satisfying to them as it is to me to be assured that once more the withdrawing Sun had decided not to keep moving away and let darkness reign forever, but instead is beginning a renewed journey toward the peak of the sky.
Celebrate, all! Let’s put Sol back into Solstice.
Light the fires, deck the halls, carry evergreens and mistletoe from the forests, fill our tables with fragrant feasts, let our music rise above the clouds. The blazing visible embodiment of God is returning. Only two more days!
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