Years ago I found myself in the mountains of Vermont, walking mostly naked through the forest under a dark moon. I was on my way to a ceremony, with a wild and wise group of women. This was the only way in, through the dark. We were instructed to go barefoot and blind into the woods, to find our way. No shoes, no lights. And we did.
I remember my bare feet grew eyes that night. I could feel each square of earth before my foot laid down. Without even glancing down, I could sense which needle would prick me where, which leaf would curl on top of me. I could feel where the root of each tree would press even before it did. It was as if the imprint of my foot on the earth would rise up to meet each step. I could not take a wrong step.
My subtle senses grew 100 fold that night. I felt my hairs could see through the strata of our atmosphere. I could feel my pores open to take in the atmosphere. I became huge. I could feel the leaves of trees 50 feet tall tickling my sides. I felt my energy like another skin, expanding beyond to feel my way through the woods, knowing each tree many steps ahead.
I remembered how to see in the dark that night. I learned how to go without sight.
When we go out into the darkness, and we go without light, we CAN see. I’m not talking about using the red light on your headlamp, night-vision, or any other crazy technology. I’m talking about something far better.
Our normal sight, the one we use day to day, is easily manipulated. Smoke and mirrors. Nothing seems to be as it seems to be. It’s often untrustworthy and misleading. It skims the surface and doesn’t usually tell the truth of what’s truly bubbling under the surface. It doesn’t speak to the wild, intricate, mysterious world we swim through.
I find this other sight to be much more comforting and real. There is a groundedness to it. The meat and marrow of our lives is in the mystery. It’s in the dark. Our daylight lives are the light projected onto a movie screen. It’s not really there. It’s an image, a representation, an interesting escape.
If we are at all interested in feeling what is true, what is real, we have to learn to see in the dark.
Lucky for us, December 21st is the longest night of the year (in the northern hemisphere). What a beautiful opportunity to gain sight!
The day of solstice is a day to welcome back the light. The days will slowly begin to lengthen, nights begin to shorten. However, I am always struck by the days leading up to solstice. It’s a time to savor the dark, to revel in it’s silky magic. We’re moving right into the heart of things, right into the center. It feels like walking in to that ceremony, to me. The way to a sacred shift, an awakening, a truth telling, is always through the dark. We have to gain wisdom.
Night is a good, good teacher. She teaches us to trust our instincts and call back to what’s pulling us forward. Magic happens in the dark. Bewilderment is healing. And remember, what we see with our eyes is rarely representative of what’s swimming under the surface. The dark is a place to be new, to create something out of nothing.
Who will you be when the sun comes up tomorrow? What will you bring with you into the light?
Join me in welcoming back the sun this Sunday, Dec 21st for a special solstice class at Girasole Yoga!
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