Greeting dear Friends and Family,
Happy New Year to you! Wishing you all a very happy and healthy 2022.
It is so good to be on this winter seasonal journey with you as we relax, refresh and renew ourselves, ready to live fully into our dreams for this new year.
Over the last few weeks, we have been on a powerful Winter Dreaming journey together. We began this adventure with an overarching question to guide this time. Looking back over the year, we reminded ourselves of what happened month by month, and we identified the highlights and lowlights of the year. We then decided what we wanted to 'let go of' and what we wanted to 'take forward' into 2022. Finally, entering our inner cave of stillness, silence, and spaciousness, we revealed the dreams stirring within us.
It feels timely just to pause, take a breath and let this time of dreaming settle within us. In January, we open the curtains of our lives after the 'holidays' and often quickly return to our everyday lives. However, we can 'drop the connection' with our dreams if we move too speedily back into action.
Therefore this week, I invite you to take time each day to revisit the stillness, the silence, the spaciousness and the stirring you experienced in the inner dreaming cave. It is a lovely practice to let this be present state help you transition into your new year.
Over the next week, I suggest that you go out for a walk each day and touch back into your dreaming space. Let the insights and understandings you gained walk with you each time. The wisdom of the Earth is all around you. So take your time, look up, look down, stop every so often and expand your awareness to perceive more of what is around you. As you do this, new aspects may well be revealed to you as you listen into the space of possibility for your life.
As you walk, be open to items of nature that call your attention. It could be a seed, a leaf, a stone, an acorn, a twig, a berry. Do not rush or feel any have to in doing this. Just be open to this possibility. As you come across an item, take a moment to connect with it and see if any messages come to you from that connection.
It is good to take a container for your items and a notebook and pen to remember what came to you on your walks.
Enjoy!
Next week we will craft our dreaming bundles and begin to vision out ahead.
As always, dear Sunny Optimists I would love to hear about your Winter Dreaming time.
Ann
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There’s something about a new year I think that always brings me a feeling of serenity. Even though I am a year older and the clouds may seem more grey than they used to I recognise that although the doors of middle age have swung open for me they do not lead to a path of lonely and desolate resignation. Though the doors seem to be monumental in dimensions you know Ann I feel that as they close gently behind nature is still there like it was in youth. The birds sing the same songs. One might hear them differently. What is amazing for me is that as I walk along the winter path towards the even more imposing doors that open up to the Forest of older age is that accepting this journey brings me increasing joy. I now feel much to my surprise that I love Winter. I like growing older. And though I don’t have many dark hairs now I see such an incredible vision in the winter months. Yes the birds sing the same songs. The forest is full of bright new and wonderful surprises in its greenness and I’m always inspired most especially with every step along the way by interesting things to read. And these most certainly include your priceless meditations on winter. Once again I am happy and inspired.
A very happy new year to you Ann. You have brought joy yet again.
Dear Ann: how wise and beautiful to encourage us to remain in touch and strengthen our dreaming hearts, by taking lovely walks to open and deeply connect. Sending love and gratitude to you for the gift of the adventure you’re offering us. xxo Dirje