Winter Solstice Post

I am a deep student of the Medicine Wheel of life, and Winter Solstice falls in the North of this powerful mandala.  This direction speaks of the deep stillness of earth, and a vast night sky that seems to make an endless night. The winter night sky is so present in the deciduous forests now, where the summer before the cathedral canopy of leaves gave us only peaks of sky in the breeze..   Now the branches of the bare trees seem to etch into the winter night lifting our gaze into the dark immensity.  The stars grow brighter, more present.

Each direction of the Medicine Wheel has a perspective or way of seeing.  The North is the Power of Presence to - but dis-identification with - the material world inlcuding all our roles and activities.  It is a time of deep Being accentuated by the 3 days of stasis around Solstice where even the movement of the Sun stops.  Out of this deep stillness, doing once again arises. Arising out of being, it is reconnected with source once more.  This is the Nature of Creativity, cyclical endings and new beginnings with Presence holding and molding it all. 

Solstice is the true solar New Year of our hemisphere as understood through the Medicine Wheel.  It is the moment of death, dissolution, releasing, letting go of the attachment and activity of the past cycle and subsiding into the stillness... The arising of a new impulse from this ground of being, into form, follows in its natural timing.  Below is a hymn I received that expresses this archetype of  rest and renewal.  Can I post music here?  I will try to post it and provide a link within a few days.  Words are below. 

Deep in Winter's Silent Night
The Light of the New Year is Born
And all of the Stars Shine with all of their might
To Remind us of our Home.

With Sillouetted Branches raised
Into the Vast Night Sky
Firm Trees with arms held up in Praise,
In Reverence Abide

Throughout Winter's Long Dark Night
Life is held deep in the Ground
To Center, Restore, and Renew
So New Growth be Heaven Bound

So into the Winter lets all go
With Faith and Hope and Love
To receive the Wisdom of the Night
And the Promise of the Sun

Participating in the Celebration of the Cosmos!

"The human venture depends absolutely on this quality of awe and reverence and joy in the Earth and all that lives and grows upon the Earth...In the end the universe can only be explained in terms of celebration.  It is all an exuberant expression of existence itself...We must feel that we are supported by that same power that brought the Earth into being, that power that spun the galaxies into space, that tilt the sun and brought the moon into its orbit." Thomas Barry

The deepest desire of the human I believe, is to open to the wonder of creation as fully and as continuously as possible. It is only through this direct experience, this sensory presence to the natural realm, that we can know and "feel supported by that same power that brought the Earth into being."  A simple practice of being present to nature, is a deep fulfillment.

Yet I notice how difficult staying connected to sensory experience is, so many distracting thoughts seem to lure attention away from reality and full participation in the cosmic celebration.  This celebration is apparent to the eyes of my understanding, and yet the eyes of my senses are not fully capable of be-holding the direct experience of life. So in the midst of all this radiance and allurement, as if the light is too much to take, we escape into distraction and pressure and doing.  It takes attention and intention to stop and smell the roses. The realm of self-activity has a gravity and universe bending force of its own.  It is difficult to stop....and just be for very long.

Science has shown that our bodies respond to our imaginations as completely as they respond to "real" experience.  We are in a constantly activated adrenalized state that is neither natural or healthy.  Our thoughts are constantly constructing stories of threat to who we think we are.  The old 60's saying "up tight" resonates here.  We are a hung up, wound up, and uptight more than we realize.   If we relax it is with the help of alcohol, food, sex or other forms of self-medication. We are seeking inner peace and deep fulfillment, which \cannot be found in the realm of the mind or its projections but which is revealed in nature and the ground of stillness out if which it all arises.  Nature is sensory and brings us back to our senses.

"Lose your mind and come to your senses." or more accurately  "come to your senses and lose your mind" is the invitation.    Having ADD, this was the only form of "stilling the mind" that ever worked for me.  The minute we bring awareness into the sensory realm we are not thinking.  Thoughts may arise again, but they will be more connected to presence and the moment for a moment. Try to remember to come back to your senses when ever you can.

Each time as Eckhart Tolle reminds us, we are putting a precious gap in the mind stream, and actually  inhabiting reality, self and  world. This inner stillness begins to lengthen from nano seconds to seconds then minutes.  Eventually it can become the continuous silent presence to what ever is arising, grounding us in the larger ground of being.

When we become sensory, we also become aware of our inner energy states and sensations that come from our feelings and physical body.  The resistance to "being", is largely resistance to feeling what is inside of us including physical discomfort or emotional pain.  We mostly run from the self-judgements contained in our negative interpretations of our experience.  This pain recycles itself  because it must be felt, but not through the lens of any story.  The story is not ever true and it is what causes the unbearable state of suffering for the psyche. 

The actual sensations of the emotions can be felt directly and without story.  Getting present to ourselves means facing and feeling what we find within us moment to moment.  It is just part of the internal weather pattern arising now, a tension here, butterflies there, a pressure at the throat where tears are choked back. Practice being with the inner sensations without interpretation, following them as you would follow a meandering stream, letting it take you naturally to the source of its flow; or following its release into the ocean of its destiny

 On one level that is all it takes and thankfully so...., because as simple as it is, it is not easy.  The full force of conditioning and habit, and the difficulties in life that are created from our disconnection with source, keep us frantically in the loop.  I notice that even when I recognize I am entranced, I cannot always pull myself back into reality.  The power of presence cannot penetrate the compelling momentum yet.  Practice is what it takes. Forgiveness and awareness.  Don't get discouraged.

The longing for a peace that stills the constant activation of the body by the mind is awakening in us all, we just haven't quite recognized it's source yet.  We are weary of stress but accept it as part of the cost of living.  Sooner or later it will serve by causing us to search for something more, a larger consciousness from which to experience life. While we have so much more than we ever have materially, we are more unhappy.  Life becomes a grind rather than an ecstatic creative experience and sadly we are destroying the very source of that deep ecstatic participation, looking for the next "fix."  Nature is the best "fix" I know especially if we can consume her with our senses, drink in her thirst quenching beauty and study the nature of her ways. 

The Invitation
Mother Nature is overflowing with light, love and life.  She is a loving sea of vibrant energy that envelops and interpenetrates us.  She is a supreme radiance of light and beauty.  We are a supreme sensitivity.  Can you feel her call?  Along with all the Angels, every rock and tree, every field and stream, every sunrise and star is shining with all its being; shining to attract our attention, to enlighten our hearts, to mirror our own radiance, to take us out of self-absorbed separation.

Come partake of sun and moon and stars, forest field and river.  Come learn to "eat" beauty as an act of communion; to receive Mother Nature as sacrament.  When we partake of her divinity our hearts open and we naturally align with that same radiance in us.  Our Higher-Self responds to and  is awakened by the beauty of creation.

As human beings we are mediums, deep resonance chambers for the powers of the cosmos.  Our ecstasy comes from being filled with these energies.  Once we transform the numbness, terror, guilt and grief that creates our sense of separation, we awaken to discover who and where we really are. 

 Try this practice for awhile.  Use a timer or chime to remind you to come into presence through out the day.  When you hear it,  let yourself stop in the middle of what ever you are doing.  If possible go outside and take the time to get really present. Take a few minutes, because your body will be tense and contracted; in doing mode. See if you can consciously connect to your body tension, notice your emotional state as well.  Consciously invite your body to relax inside and become aware of the breath of life breathing you, aware of the nature in that, sensation of the air flowing into your lungs, the movement of the body, the sounds of the breath.  Become aware of  your inner sensations while at the same time being aware of your outer environment. Breath in the awareness of both.  Sense the deep dimension of stillness that everything arises out of.


The mystics speak of the Glory of God.  For me that glory is palpable in the radiance all around me; in the shine of sun and moon and stars,  as well as the deep power and peace that dwells here, that we can know when we can shift into presence.  From there celebration and joy becomes the spontaneous natural expression of life itself.

Thanksgiving Hymn

The Sun is ever pouring over all.
The Moon guides our way
All receive these blessings
In fullness all respond
With praises blessing back
With praises blessing back


Full of this immense totality
Feast of Sun and Moon and Stars
Emptiness  receiving.
Gratitude, the heart of all.
With praises blessing back
With praises blessing back

Vitamin N: Mother Nature's Elixir for Body, Mind and Spirit!

Vitamin N: Mother Nature’s Elixir for Body, Mind and Spirit!

Science is just beginning to research the effects of a growing “Nature Deficit”, or insufficient time ‘being in’ the natural as opposed to man-made world.  While we eagerly embrace organic natural foods and products, we have not embraced nature experiences per se, except as a backdrop to other activities and we usually prefer to be indoors where we feel safe and comfortable.  This is increasing as our electronic inter-connectivity keeps us busy relating through our communication devices.   We are no longer intimately and sensually connected to the more than human world of nature.  

Recent neuroscience has shown this technological evolution is affecting the wiring of our brains, decreasing our attention span and affecting our decision making abilities and stress loads among other things.  A group of scientist who were studying this decided to go on a fast from their global interconnectivity by taking a 7 day float down a remote stretch of the Green River in the heart of Utah.  They reported a significant shift in their state of consciousness, experience of well-being and documented changes in brain functioning over time.  Based on this finding, they recommend a balance of activities, finding ways to include nature in our everyday life. To include a periodic fast from our machines and daily responsibilities periodically to experience the 3 day effect in nature.  Below are some interesting books on the healthy effects of nature for all levels of our being.  Google The 3 Day Effect. 

 List of Readings:    Ekhart Tolle, Stillness Speaks
                                 Nicholas Carr,  The Shallows: What the internet is doing to our brains.
                                 Richard Louv  Last Child in the Woods
                                 Richard Louv  The Nature Principle
                                 Bill Plotkin  Nature and the Human Soul
                                 Bill Plotkin:  Soulcraft: Crossing into the Mysteries of Nature &  Psyche
                                 Brian Swimme:  The Universe is a Green Dragon                            

 I have been prescribing nature for health and well being for 25 years.  I offer a fabulous one of a kind nature get-away The Earthwalk Retreat, near Fredericksburg, VA, for your annual or bi-annual personal retreat. Discover the soul of nature and the nature of the soul.   I also lead nature expeditions in Utah.  In either venue, I will teach you a new connection to Nature and a new capability to absorb Vitamin N where ever you are.  This will inspire you to naturally bring more nature time into your life and health regimen.  Programs for individuals and small groups.

This article was written by Darlene Rollins, retreat director and owner of The Earthwalk Retreat.
For more information on her programs & faery-land retreat, please contact her at 540-752-5540
email heaven@earthwalkways.com or go to her websites  http://earthwalkways.com   http://facebook.com/earthwalk.ways  http://meetup.com/The-Art-of-Soul-Whispering

Meditation by the Fire

Meditation by the Fire


Tonight is another beautiful full moon night by the fire, and again I sit alone.  It feels as if I am the grief of the forest all around me, waiting for the people to return.  Where are the people, I hear a cry inside!  Alone I sing to the fire, the moon and the night.  It seems I feel what the forest feels. Why not?  If I am part of this earth, then my longing is an expression of the forest's longing. 

In my being I carry an ancient memory of others-being-together, sharing the stories, sharing the fire, sharing the other-worldly light of the full moon on the forest floor, crisscrossed with the shadows of the trees.  Tonight it is just me under the moon by the fire.  Together nature and I celebrate each other.  We also miss you.

This is a paradox to me. The fire still crackles merrily and the deep peace of the forest abides all around.   I see how life continues to hum, to buzz, to radiate, to crackle, to gurgle and to roar, in the midst of its sacrifice, and the continued loss of human wonder.  The forest, never losing connection with the ground of being, remains filled with possibility, with new surprises and always celebrates this moment now.  But the forest also remembers the pleasures of our ancient communion.

The truth is that few people remember that sacred life is more than human and that nature is more  than commodity, and fewer still have time for sitting by a fire. Most of us would be too embarrassed to allow ourselves to be taken over by Yansa, the spirit of the wind, as she blows through the treetops.  There are only a few who remember the years long past when we came together by the fire, and communed with nature and each other. 

Remember how it was, grounded deep in presence, listening within, listening to each other, held by the whole, speaking our truths from these depths, with great resonance and intimacy.  It was In this way we came to know our own souls and each other, and to know our oneness with the soul of nature. 

Deep inside we all long to return to an ecstatic participation and a simple connection.  Coming together around a fire under the full moon is a simple spell for synergy and magic.  I await your return to the forest.  I invite you to come and remember.  I abide here with the forest.  I affirm the emptiness of the Winter. 

The Yoga of Feelings!

     The great benefits of Yoga and meditation are being embraced in our culture now. As we adopt and create technologies and spiritual disciplines to achieve mind/body/spirit integration, I want to suggest an approach I call the Yoga of feelings.” 

       Yoga is a spirituality of uniting, as in yoking, and healing as in making whole.  The Yoga of feelings is is a sacred alchemy for working w ith the split energies that comprise our life force.   We have many splits within us, largely created by our attempts to run or fight with our feelings and emotional states.  Even those who have had the direct mystical experience of oneness with all life, can still find areas within that are split, trapped in duality and not awake.  Bringing this new consciousness into our daily life, is known to take 3-15 years. We do not awaken overnight and most of us could benefit from a  practice that works with our feelings and emotions.  It was my own need for this that led me to develop this approach based on contemporary and ancient spiritual understanding of this realm of our humanness.  

       First I want to distinguish between  emotions and feelings.  Feelings are pretty basic and natural to us as biological creatures.  They are our spontaneous flow, the internal weather of our energetic system, always changing, in open awareness of the moment, arising out of contact with it.  They are usually feelings of life and joy, sadness and grief, fear or aggression. 

      On the other hand our emotions are feeling states that are aroused in us in reaction to our thoughts and our interpretation of events and experience, which is largely determined by our programing and history.  There are patterned dynamics connected with past  trauma.  Emotions have a past or future hook and morph into greed, distrust, control, judgements, impatience, blame, hopelessness, depression, ridgidity, contempt.  These emotions create a lot of pain in our feeling body, but the pain is not real, it comes from our particular interpretation or “spin” we give to events.  We make a story out of our experience.  Here we are again, back in this all too familiar place blaming someone else, ourselves, god or the devil.  It is the all too familiar drama that seems to permeate a certain aspect of our existence.  The spin we give is usually the ego angling for specialness in some way. Even if it is to be special in misery. 

       In the Yoga of feelings, even this is met in awareness, held in compassion, and the real need illuminated and provided.  The distortion, confusion and pain, forgiven in the light of clarity.  A new fresh moment is born free of the past.  

      So as you can see here, the heart of the Yoga of feelings is compassionate presence that can “be with” the pain.  You will experience for yourself that this can set you free.  I have developed a variable but basic 4 part system to help us dis-identify with our drama and pain-bodies, so we can shift identity to our compassionate presence to be present to these all dis-harmonious feelings and negative emotional states. Not only does this release the pain, through this we free our feelings of joy, gratitude and oneness.  

       This approach is what I am calling the “Yoga of Feelings”.  It works with the “bodies” including physical releasing, and emotional expression, but begins with a  pain state, which we hold in awareness and focus on the inner sensory experience of this distress.  When we are present, without the interpretations of the mind, or the mind trying to figure out what is wrong, these very energies we are attending to in consciousness,  inform us and provide the awareness that we are seeking. 

       Our deepening presence and attention to energetic disturbances creates a healing container into which we consciously call the light, the life force, the higher wisdom we are seeking as we hold the troubling pattern.  This is when it gets really interesting.  Staying present within the sensory reality of our inner experience, we will actually receive in various ways a true illumination of the pain.  We  make the connections with the past, and with our own self-judgement.  We receive the blessing of another presence with us in presence that holds us as we hold ourselves.  We ground ourselves into the Divine Presence through presencing ourselves and all our feelings.  

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The Voice of Mother Nature at the Earthwalk Retreat

       I am the inn keeper, who has a blessing for each one who wanders down this road, for those who would linger long enough to walk down to the stream side, strewn with ancient bedrock boulders and sit in the hammock above the lagoon, where beach leaves, overhanging pools, shimmer with dappled light.

       I am the inn keeper who offers a homey space, a cedar log tree house built amid the branches of the forest.  Green leaves on waving lattice branches create a fractal art that soothes the heart and pleases the eye, and with each deep breath is sucked inside to craving recesses. Receive the nourishment.  Savor and expand with this pure force of life in radiant green.

      I am the inn keeper who would pour you a glass of wine and listen to your story and bear witness to your courage, for truly you have come a long way, and I will touch your scar, and let my heart break for your sorrows and rejoice for your imperfect success, for I can see how it has taught you perfectly, how to follow your own truth.

      I am the inn keeper who would offer you a soft bed of compassion and a night of deep rest following a soothing bath to release all your strain.  Let yourself down into the warm waters, feel your naked body tremble to let go. Feel the water hold you as a mother holds her child, soothing the fears, telling your inner vigilance, it is ok to relax now.   Love is coming from the stars and the Sun and leaves of the trees.

      I am the inn keeper who has a blessing for each one who wanders down this path.  For if you linger in my garden you too will learn the songs, the art of deep listening, soul whispering and natural communion. You too will show others the way to the light & the peace of the forest, with joy and gratitude for the grace that brought you here; for all that you encountered on your way.