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[00:00:00] Kate: So as we close down this year, we invite you to share your rituals, share pictures if you are on social media so we can feel inspired and feel connected with.
How we all lean into our, our practices
and
[00:00:19] Jeanette: today, we'll, we'll share a little ritual together, beginning with the prayer, and then we'll move through each of us sharing a our favorite ways to honor the sacred and
access the power in this solstice to really hone in on what it is that we want to bring in to illuminate.
To create
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[00:01:32] Kate: So here we are winding down this transformational year, our first year of the Nourish Collective, mid-December. And gathering to the space to share some of our own winter solstice rituals, our practices and ways. Offer an acknowledgement of grace towards everything that came forward from this year.[00:02:00]
[00:02:00] Jeanette: The closing of the year and the winter cycle is such a beautiful time for reflection and turning inward, cultivating that deep integration of everything that's happened and the sacred pause that we can take before jumping into everything that is going to come to just honor that honor and practice awareness and deep self-compassion
[00:02:26] Kate: and honor is such a beautiful and powerful word.
When we apply it to seasonal living and cyclical living and the winter solstice is just that. It's honoring the time, the invitation for rest, for that pause before we return to the light and move towards spring, at least in the Northern Hemisphere. It's one of my favorite times of the year.
[00:02:52] Jeanette: It really is, and you see, if you attune yourself to nature, just what is happening.[00:03:00]
In the world's macrocosm of our own inner world and how the roots that are deep in the earth are just nourishing and nourishing so that when the time comes to bloom again, there's enough energy to do so and. . In the West we get really, really busy this time of year. With the holiday season, everything seems to speed up, but I think it's a beautiful invitation, especially on the solstice, to honor the pause, to take time, to slow down and to nourish the roots.
[00:03:37] Kate: It for many feels and sounds very counterintuitive to the hustle and bustle of the doing and the outward extension of energy with the holidays. But that's not what nature wants at this time, and she knows she's the wisest of all teachers and to come into practices, whether [00:04:00] it's waking up a bit earlier on the winter solstice or.
Lighting a candle and offering breaths of gratitude, lessons of blessings, journaling, spending time by a fireplace or gathering community. There's so many potent ways to take that pause and that presence that comes along with that.
[00:04:23] Jeanette: So today we thought it would be sweet to share some of this ritual and.
Offering with you,
[00:04:34] Kate: and we would love to hear from you what your practices are, your rituals, and that's something that we always like to invite in as a conversation rather than ours are really subjective from our own perspectives, but we learn so much at the different practices. , each individual carries.
[00:04:55] Jeanette: I was just sharing with Kate before we came on just how inspired I am [00:05:00] by you and by how you really create ceremony and make everything just a little more sacred or a lot more sacred by doing so. And if we. can each find our own path and way of doing that, it brings more joy to the journey.
[00:05:17] Kate: Mm-hmm. more joy and extracting beauty out of simple moments.
Yeah. Simple moments that might feel mundane because we are so busy and we're in our mind of that slowing down to appreciate. We were also talking about waking up and getting a few moments of direct. Early, early morning sunlight on our faces and how dynamic that is to really align our circadian rhythms, connect with our intuition, but to create this ignition of, of that heat, of that inner heat.
And that's a practice in [00:06:00] itself of, of simply gazing at the sun in the early morning, but how beautiful it is.
[00:06:06] Jeanette: Yeah. And powerful early morning and late day. And I could geek out on this that like we have the reticular activating system, which is. The way that our, our brain and our eyes interact, and there's this part of the brain and the suprachiasmatic nucleus that takes this morning sunlight and sets our whole endocrine system.
As a result, that sets our whole metabolism, our melatonin production makes us and helps us sleep better when we get the sunlight exposure. The data on this are Absolutely amazing and. , you know, we can share a link to some of the data, to some of the science if you're interested, but coming with an open heart into just receiving what nature wants to provide, she really is in the symbiotic relationship with us, where we are so supported and so [00:07:00] held and so offered all that we need to thrive if we just can tune in and follow our natural rhythms.
[00:07:10] Kate: Following our natural rhythms and noticing what's happening around us in our local environments too. How much she wants to remind us of healing of nourishment based on what we see growing and what we see in hibernation. And that in itself is a way to, to sync up and work synergistically.
So what are your favorite practices that you lean into with the winter solstice?
[00:07:40] Jeanette: I particularly love prayer. I really have, you know, whole childhood upbringing in. Catholic school, and church and things like this. And although I'm not influenced by religion anymore, I still hold onto that kind of offering of your heart to the divine and [00:08:00] that connection with spirit.
And so I think for me, most things begin with a prayer. Yeah,
[00:08:10] Kate: . I resonate with that very much with prayer.
Practice that I've had for years has been taking a walk at night in different parts of the country, where I've lived, where I've been at that time. I just love being outside. It could be later at night, solstice, evening, and especially in colder environments, really tuning into that quiet, that stillness that comes along with that, and I.
And praying. I'm offering gratitude. I'm reflecting as I'm on that walk of closing down so many seasons and taking that exhale to lean into winter and to give permission to that. That's also something that I intentionally do to honor. It's [00:09:00] not the same energy that comes along with the summer, but that bright external fire.
I love how the sun changes and those moments of, of offering gratitude.
[00:09:14] Jeanette: You know, we, we really, maybe anecdotally or, or maybe again from the science around it, we know gratitude is such another powerful practice and the simplicity of these things and the profundity of the effects they have on our psyche and our wellbeing is, is something we really embrace.
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[00:09:36] Kate: Mm-hmm. . I know we both work with many different aspects within our local communities and extended communities. And similar questions come about how to begin practices of rituals or how to start the journey. And I feel you just answered that, starting with gratitude. And from a [00:10:00] moment of gratitude a day can really grow and grow and expand out that there's this consciousness that gratitude can be part of everything.
It can be part of. If we have the opportunity to be outside in that early morning, light gratitude, when we're making our morning beverages, while we're preparing food, even if it's in a fast paced environment where we're on a time crunch and there's a schedule. I have been conscious to. Watch my gratitude as I'm stuck in traffic sometimes and trying to speed along as other travelers are going a bit slower.
But gratitude is part of everything. Gratitude is really the practice along the full spectrum of easeful moments, challenging moments, and everything in between.
[00:10:48] Jeanette: and it brings more joy to the special moments too. There's this act of savoring that enables us to create more richness with the things that are [00:11:00] incredibly beautiful and joyful in our lives, and savoring makes that experience last a bit longer and really embeds it in our memory so that we can come back to it again and again.
[00:11:10] Kate: That's just it. That's cellular memory. Yes. And then we crave it more.
[00:11:17] Jeanette: So we're recording this live and you may hear a dog barking
[00:11:22] Kate: and that's life, family of gratitude because he's aware and alert of protecting us from male people and delivery personnel and all the things. And you know, as we say, that makes my friend would always use the expression, Wabi-sabi of the imperfections of life.
That as much as we try to control and want things to be perfect and sound, Proof with technology in all the different ways that nothing is perfect. And we live the wabisabi way. We live with distractions. We live with interruptions and. I can be grateful for it.
[00:11:59] Jeanette: Yeah, for [00:12:00] sure. It's so beautiful and I'm so grateful to be here with you today.
For you, if you're listening later, and for you Kate, for this journey that we've taken together to co-create this community and podcast and as we close out the year, just feeling all the beauty so far that's been coming through.
[00:12:19] Kate: Likewise towards you. This has been. An art of learning and really leaning into what we love to do to connect with others.
And thank you for everyone who has tuned in this year and has been part of this journey. We're really excited. We have many big visions, new threads, small projects, big projects for the new year, for 2023, so thank you for being part of it. This inaugural year.
[00:12:50] Jeanette: Very much Bighearted gratitude.
[00:12:54] Kate: So as we close down this year, we invite you to share [00:13:00] your rituals, share pictures if you are on social media so we can feel inspired and feel connected with.
How we all lean into our, our practices
and
[00:13:14] Jeanette: today, we'll, we'll share a little ritual together, beginning with the prayer, and then we'll move through each of us sharing a our favorite ways to honor the sacred and
access the power in this solstice to really hone in on what it is that we want to bring in to illuminate.
To create
[00:13:41] Kate: Solstice is bringing light back in, and with light we can access, clarity and lean into it.
[00:13:51] Jeanette: So the invitation is, to be with us [00:14:00] for the next little while in sacred ceremony. Taking time to set up wherever you are in a way that you're comfortable. Your body is at ease, your spine is long, and your breath can travel freely
in and out of your lungs. And from this place of deep steadiness in the body, the mind can come to rest
and invite an awareness of your heart, of your deep heart desire, the fullness of life, and this. Overflowing, boundless place of compassion.
Dear Great [00:15:00] spirit, thank you for this day for the warmth of the sun,
the gift of friendship, the nourishment of tea.
This body, our feathered friends, and our furry friends, , who give us so much love.
[00:15:29] Kate: Taking a moment softly inviting the presence down into the heart center, anhata the heart that receives,
connects.
Emanates love in word and outward from all the beings and [00:16:00] shares the light
and from the heart. It's the place that neutralizes the heaviness that ignites forgiveness and healing and expansive waves. Of unconditional love and within this sacred portal,
inching closer towards winter, inviting the heart center to be held, held with this reverence, with this grace
for all that has come before. All the easeful, blissful moments,
all the moments that have asked us to[00:17:00]
ride the waves of shakiness and grief,
and in this moment to let it all be here.
To acknowledge it all
and to stay boundless.
Expansion of trust. Trust moving forward into a new season, towards a new year.
[00:17:44] Jeanette: [00:18:00] There's pine cones
[00:18:20] Kate: and juniper, some eucalyptus. Some spruce.
[00:18:26] Jeanette: It was so lovely. And then we have the fire represented in the flame, and it's really nice to incorporate the five elements into your ritual in some way.
You can have some water in a beautiful bowl or in a cup, and you can imbue the water with your intentions. You can use incense. For air, for your breath, and you can use a bell or a bowl or chanting in your voice to [00:19:00] honor the element of ether, which holds sound frequency of everything. Yes, fires, transformation, and earth is the stability and the support.
Water is life and nourishment,
flow and fluidity, riding, all the tides and the waves of life.
so many ways to, to bring in the elements into your work. You can call in the four directions. You can honor each element according to the tradition and culture that you belong to. You can do it as I just spoke of in the Ayurvedic way.
, but just creating ritual from a place of earth honoring is another beautiful aspect that we like to weave.
[00:19:53] Kate: If you have the opportunity to be outside, to walk in nature, whether that's by water [00:20:00] in a forest, but to do it without music, without blocking the sound of nature through earbuds or talking on a phone, but to listen to the bird song, listen to how the wind blows. Noticing your feet connecting onto the Earth, and if you happen to be in a warmer climate, and if not letting your feet get cold just for a few moments.
Walking and grounding such a sacred way of really connecting with Mother Earth and also giving your nervous system a chance to titrate to, to the present moment the season. Being with all of it, all the sensory experiences and all the elements around. And then from that place, when you move back into your next environment, [00:21:00] whether that's a car or inside a home, noticing how you feel.
And that is a moment of ritual. It's all a moment of ritual, but to honor the opening and the closing. Thank you. Thank you for taking that time for yourself, thanking nature as you walk within her and around her and on her. That really threads us back to, to prayer and to gratitude, and if that is not fully available to you, if you have the opportunity of holding a leaf, a stick, an herb.
Anything from nature around you and, and offering a breath of acknowledgement to that beautiful object,
[00:21:58] Jeanette: beauty, it [00:22:00] does bring us home to our eternal nature, to our connection with what is sacred. And sometimes there are, if you're open to listening, many times there are messages that come from spirit through our natural world. So honoring that time for yourself so that you can really deeply listen.
[00:22:34] Kate: Mm, listening. The invitation for winter. Listening. Mm-hmm. . Yeah.
[00:22:41] Jeanette: So we have these beautiful medicine cards here. This is the moon deck.
[00:22:46] Kate: I love these cards.
[00:22:47] Jeanette: Yeah. Figured we would pull one today. Maybe we'll pull two. One for. Closing one year. One for opening a year. Yes.[00:23:00]
So if you have any kind of deck that you work with, whether it be tarot or Oracle cards, this can be another beautiful way to. Weave in listening to spirit and tear ritual. Mm-hmm.
cards can be used on a daily basis asking for message for the day, a focus of the day, a moon cycle, a new moon, full moon, seasonal transition, turning of the wheel.
And when you pick a card, you can do it however it feels most aligned, most attuned to you asking for guidance. Your left hand is your [00:24:00] intuitive hand, and the way I personally like to practice, I ask to be guided to the card that I'm really aligned with. Extracting a message and letting my eyes close and just letting my hand glaze over.
[00:24:22] Kate: Getting a sense of maybe where there's more heat, and then not using the thinking mind, but the guided hand to draw a card. Yeah. I love that the receiving on the left side as the way to interact with them. Yeah. Do you like to pick 2022 or 2023?
[00:24:51] Jeanette: Maybe. We'll just each pick one and read it and let the listener decide what it applies to. Beautiful. Okay.[00:25:00]
I am of the earth and in harmony with nature.
[00:25:30] Kate: We are forces of nature and carry the fertile, creative, elemental beauty of the earth within us. We were born from it and are an embodiment of her harmonious cycles. Earth. My body water, my blood, air, my breath and fire. My spirit is a chant that we can all celebrate together, like the earth and all of her wild elements.
You pulse through and permeate all that you touch. You contract and expand. Gather and release, rise and fall. When [00:26:00] you're in harmony with nature, you can allow the stance to lead you with less force and more flow. Communicate with the elements and pay attention to the softest whisper. Ground yourself in the soil and unleash your creative life force.
Our beloved Mother Earth generously provides for us and is our sacred home in respecting her lush bounty. With gratitude and love, we reflect self-respect and healing for all. Together we are connected to our wise rhythms. Beautiful. Very much aligned with everything that we were just, just sharing
.
And the second card is, there's medicine in my shadow.
[00:26:40] Jeanette: Very powerful light and shadow, each play of vital role in our growth, the dark and deep, it says valuable as the light and easy. When we accept that they coexist, we can embrace our shadow without letting it define. As Messengers of the [00:27:00] Night, owls navigate darkness with clear vision and instinctual wisdom.
Owl is here to support your inner journey and awaken your ability to sense in the dark some of the greatest artists. Healers and teachers discover their most profound gifts in this realm. The medicine of your shadow taps you deep into your intuition, develops empathy and is an opportunity to turn weakness into strength.
Know that this deeper feeling awareness will ignite an unwavering and powerful core fire within you. As you share your light, do not shun your shadows. Cultivate compassion for every shade of your being.
Too powerful.
[00:27:53] Kate: I love both of them in in so many ways, and we hope that. You take a little [00:28:00] time hearing those messages and maybe some reflection moments, how they resonate with you, acknowledging your own journeys. Thank you so much for being here with us as we take this journey together. Again, inviting community connection and conversation and.
Life being with all of it. Yes. Being with all of it. The dark and the light. Embracing whatever comes and allowing it to serve the highest as good of all. That's so it is.
Thank you very much. Thank you everyone.
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