As we enter into the New Year, it is so easy to get sucked into the “new year, new you” mentality - the goals, the aspirations, the improvements… However, I want to invite in a different idea:

Perhaps the return of the light isn’t asking for new and improved, but rather like its own return - it is asking us to return home to ourselves.

This mini practice is a special meditation designed to guide you to discover your own personal talisman, meant to hold you steady on your own unique path. What is it? Only you can know… Join me for today’s episode of #TheMindfulMinute and let’s discover it together.

This month’s meditation series has been a collection of archetypal tools that we can use to carry us through the winter months. We started this series with the knife {the ability to learn new ways}, then we found the candlestick {the tenacity to ride a rough road}, and now we add our final and most personal tool - the talisman.

Today’s practice is a practice known as Bhavana. It is a steeping of our souls just as we would steep a cup of tea. A tea bag full of herbs is placed in warm water and as it soaks, the water takes on the qualities of the herbs. In this same way, as we call in what is most needed for our future during meditation, our warm bodies take on these qualities.

Today’s practice is a practice known as Bhavana. It is a steeping of our souls just as we would steep a cup of tea. A tea bag full of herbs is placed in warm water and as it soaks, the water takes on the qualities of the herbs. In this same way, as we call in what is most needed for our future during meditation, our warm bodies take on these qualities.

Much like our ancestors in the season of the Winter Solstice, we too can find solace during times of transition with rituals and practices that warm our hearts, stoke the fires of hope and rekindle the flames of connection.

This meditation series began last week with the introduction of the first of three archetypal tools that will support our meditation practice and ourselves during the winter.

Today we add The Candlestick to our cave. We add the flame.

Today’s mini meditation is a practice that calls forth the first ancient tool needed to help us move through the transition of 2020 to 2021: The knife.

December is a month of transition, a month of closure and a month of expectation. Ancient lore tells us that within this month, there is a period of time when it appears that the sun has stopped moving across the sky. These days of little light, known now as the Winter Solstice, was originally a time of worry. What if the sun didn’t resume its journey across the sky? What if the light didn’t return?

Much like our ancestors, we too can find solace in rituals and practices that warm our hearts, stoke the fires of hope and rekindle the flames of connection. The first of these ancient tools that we need is The Knife.

Often when we meditate, a central image, feeling or idea will emerge during our practice. These images can be viewed through an archetypal lens to help us gain deeper insight into ourselves and our present moment.

Archetypal energy can be thought of as an initial and eternal energy that exists across continents, cultures and time itself. When we tap into this understanding our practice comes into sharper focus.

Join me for today’s mini meditation as we explore what energy is present for you today!