Welcome the Light!

"Life is a celebration of awakenings, of new beginnings, and wonderful surprises that enlighten the soul."
Author unknown

Today (Saturday) we celebrate the Winter Solstice. Although Mother Earth is still sleeping under a soft blanket of winter snow, we now welcome the lengthening days and increasing light in our lives.

So, how did I celebrate?

I was honored to join friends old and new and participate in a sweat lodge. The lodge is an insulated dome within a tipi where a dozen of us sat shoulder to shoulder in a circle as the fire keeper delivered hot rocks into the shallow pit in the center of the lodge. After delivering the rocks, she closed the entrance, leaving us in complete darkness except for the glow of the red-hot rocks which had spent the last couple of hours heating up in the sacred fire. Dry sage was sprinkled onto the hot rocks, followed by ladle after ladle of water. The resulting steamy heat is aromatic, and intense!

A sweat lodge is physically and mentally challenging, and deeply spiritually purifying. In the lodge -- the womb of the Mother -- we offer prayers to honor our Mother, Spirit and each other. As we sweat we shed that which no longer serves, awaken our inherent beauty and perfection, and allow our inner light to shine more brilliantly than ever before. Emerging from the lodge represents a new beginning in our lives. For me, among other things, I embrace this as an opportunity to become ever more committed to serving you as a healer, writer and speaker.

And whether you celebrated the solstice or not, pause to consider how today might be a new beginning for you, too...