In the summer, when the sun is high, it is a good idea to keep one half eye on the shadows. They are deep. And darker things move in them this time of year.

I am in love with summer. Days are long and hot and bright and full. Sun drunk and up to my ears in lake water. The moon singing forth charmed winds on cooling skin. It’s glorious. And dangerous. In all the best ways.

There is a lot of talk around the Summer Solstice of the longest day of the year, the full light that is here. Do we talk about the rising darkness of this day? The first day where we begin to give way to shadow?

The sun sets. We blink. And it rises again. The nights are not long enough to do the dreaming we need, the cleansing we need. The dreaming digests the light of our days. It makes room for more light. Makes it into food, wisdom, nourishment, knowing, power. The nights aren’t always long enough this time of year for the kind of metabolizing we need. And so shadows are free to run around unnoticed, untold, growing strength in hiding. They get to spin their webs in the corners where no one goes because there’s just not enough time in the night to sweep right now. I am wary of too much light. I prefer to keep one half eye on my shadow, so it doesn’t get away with too much. Long summer days make this difficult, but certainly not impossible. There are ways to be sure we are tending the shadow as we rise into light.

I don’t know everything. And I’d warn against listening to anyone who thinks they do. But I do know, from personal experience, that the brighter the light, the darker the shadow. When you make a conscious choice to choose the radiance of the soul, tests will always come. It’s how we grow our muscles to sustain the brightness over time. Whenever I have taken a step out into my brilliance, into radiance, into a fuller version of me, I have been met with someone, something, some situation that threatens to silence me, belittle me, make me ashamed of this life that moves through me. It’s predictable as sunrise.

Light is threatening to those who hold secrets, those who lie to themselves, those who have disconnected from life, from beauty, from the sacred. Light gives rise to fear in those whose power is conditional – granted only from oppression of others. From manipulation. Light chases out the ghosts that hide in the deep corners, sooner or later. When the shadow sees light coming, it gets scared. Very, very scared. The shadow knows that it has no defenses. There is nowhere to hide from light.

Light spreads. And if we are brave, and held, and patient (and we are), the shadow will surface. And be integrated. The truth rises, sure as the moon. Who we came here to be cannot be silenced forever. There is a life moving through that must be lived. We are human and sacred at once.

Trolls will growl. Shadows will stalk us. And if we are constant and consistent with our commitment to wholeness, balance comes, protection is ours, truth rises by our hands, and soul radiance begins to stream from our pores. One half eye on the shadow, especially in the brightest days, the days where we feel like we could be swallowed by the goodness of the sun…One half eye on the shadow is all we need to melt what slinks in the dark to dawn.

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Treasures of Light: A One Day Summer Solstice Retreat is aimed at cultivating these precious gifts of the longest day of the year. The days leading up to the Summer Solstice are full of blessings that can align us with our wholeness. Shadows illuminated, ancient dreams stored in our bellies from winter can breathe again, the prayers we have kept hidden now crave the light. It is an exquisite time to give in to light, to let it swallow us, shadows and all. To be who we came here to be.

This retreat is full of space holding and experiences to tap you into the treasures of light this time of year holds for YOU. What prayers are you holding up to the light? What freedoms do you want to claim? What do you want illuminated? What dreams are ready to come out into the light? What are you grateful for? What do you want to celebrate?!

I hope you’ll join me for this POWERFUL immersive experience, guided by Spirit, all outdoors, combination of Kundalini Yoga + Meditation and earth-based ceremony.

The Summer Solstice is a powerful doorway. Walk through it well, and set your course for the rest of your life.