Reckoning with the Essence

It always happens this time of year; a slowing down, a reluctance to go out, a desire to drink endless cups of ginger tea and a compulsion to lie down whenever possible.  This is both a time of great inspiration and great stillness in me.  Contemplating what the previous year has wrought and what the coming year might hold leads me to a process I call “reckoning with the essence.”  The essence, the unique code that lies at the core of our being is not usually readily available.  With good cause, this deepest aspect of our being is well protected, held deep within our bodies, coming loose only with some strong intention or a sudden jolt.  The energy at this time of year, however, around the Winter solstice, supports the kind of stillness that allows for deep reflection and contemplation, a stillness that may bring forth the voice of this essence.

The voice of the essence is not a voice like the one that comes from our throats.  The voice of the essence comes from somewhere deep in the hips and pelvis.   Without words, it can move us to great knowing and great change.  How does the essence speak without words?  This is the mystery.  Normally, in our daily life, in our everyday world, we honor only those things we can name, those things we can see or hear or smell.  But we have so much more inside us.  We have gut sensation, intuition and the vibrations of our very bones.  What if we could hear the things that come from within that cannot express themselves in language, those things that come through intuition or sensation, things that yield a knowing that cannot belong to anyone but us?  This is the invitation of this stillness, this quiet, dark time.

Everywhere around me, the world itself is stripped bare.  Bare branches and dried grass, the bones of a field.  Walking through the woods is like walking through a skeleton.  I love seeing the bones of the forest.  Maybe I like it even better than the forest with leaves.  I feel honored, special, walking through these bones.  I feel at home.  Stripped down.  All frivolity aside, what is it that really matters to your deepest essence?  This is the question I contemplate.  What matters most? Every year for at least a day, but most often for more like a week, I focus on this contemplation.  I hold the question like a stone in my gut, letting myself feel the nature of the question and the nature of my essence as it wraps the question deep inside me.

I take long walks with my camera, savoring the sad and lonely air.  I hold my cups of tea with a reverence that I rarely feel any other time of year.  It is a treasure, a gift, this special light, this slow time.  The wan yellow light speaks of a kind of spiritual longing, a kinship with this world that can only be known through some unspeakable wonder.  In my work with others, I gravitate toward connection in this deep essence place.  Creating the space for essence to speak ushers in our most holy, most precious presence.  This essence in each of us has never been tarnished by anything we have ever done or by anything that may have been done to us.  Pure and simple, it is who we are without expectation, without conditions.  When we can recover, reclaim this essence connection, we fortify ourselves beyond food, water, air.  We fortify the light of the universe as it resides in each of us, a spark of love that transcends conditions, love that is without boundary or separation, a love that can sustain life through all the revolutions of our evolution.

We are each of us always evolving.  Sometimes we evolve like the wind, abrupt, rapid and without hesitation.  Sometimes we evolve slowly like the mountains, imperceptible, sure and steady.  And sometimes like a river, thick with context, texture and movement, full with scenery and excitement as we ride.  This upcoming year, 2017, it is my commitment to support the evolution of essence in all that I do, in myself and all those with whom I work.  This commitment has risen up from my depths as I walked in the woods, and without question has taken over my thoughts this week.  I am excited to give it articulation, room to expand and express itself.  If you, too, are excited by the thought of working with the essence, please be in touch, so we can talk about how to create the conditions for your essence to speak to you.

And meanwhile, nourish your essence with seeds, deep water fish, shellfish and scads of fat!  Fat will secure your essence, keep the juicy bits close and warm.  Seafood and deep water fish will keep you diving to your depths with adequate protein to sustain long underwater dives.  Seeds will give you ideas, nourish your secret wishes.  The best way to get seeds to nourish you fully is to soak them in salt water for 8-24 hours.  Add 2 Tablespoons of salt to warm water, stir.  Add the seeds, then add enough water to cover them if there isn’t already.  Let them soak, then drain them and dry in a low temperature oven (150-170 degrees) for 12-24 hours until there isn’t any moisture left.  Eat and enjoy or roast, toast, season to your heart’s delight.