Why I celebrate the summer Solstice
Why do I bother to celebrate the summer solstice?
Well, first, it’s a really big deal cosmologically… High Summer, as the Celt’s called it.
Our sun makes life possible, grows our food, lightens our mood,
and as Mary Oliver reminds us, keeps us from ever-darkness.
This is the sun’s heyday.
Every ancient culture, the wide world round, celebrated this event.
Undeniably, that experience is embedding in our collective unconscious.
Whether we acknowledge it or not, each of us is profoundly affected by daily, monthly and seasonal cycles, connecting us to the world and cosmos around us.
That’s why I create experiences for people to more fully connect with themselves and Nature
in celebration of these few remarkable days
… and why you might want to, too.
Why not design your own summer solstice celebration if you’re not able to get yourself to mine
— though there is still one empty bunk waiting for you (at the time of this writing, at least).
To find out how I’m celebrating summer solstice here in the Berkshires with women friends from around the country, click here.
Since sol-stice means sun-stop, consider stopping during the days surrounding the solstice, next Sunday June 21st. Stop even for a few moments throughout this liminal time to connect with the life that’s everywhere
– to take in beauty and the gifts your senses bring to you.
They connect you to what’s real, right now.
Let yourself be touched by the fullness of this sun-soaked season.
Choose to go slowly for a few days.
Find some wild, natural water to dip you feet into… or your whole self.
Allow spaciousness between activities.
Watch how these intentional shifts change you and everyone around you.
Or try this if you really want more intimacy with life!
Every day give yourself a quiet time of sitting in the same spot in nature,
just noticing whatever happens there.
When you sit for several consecutive days,
you’ll be amazed at how things have grown and changed from one day to the next.
Engage all of your senses…
— flags of the earth’s cycles –
has become an essential part of my life.
We are all embedded in this matrix of life whether we pay any attention to it or not.
But it’s in noticing and really feeling our connections to the wider, wilder world
that we become fully human
and not just minds, lost in space.
It's how we deepen our capacity to feel, to take in delight, to be fully ourselves
— and in that fullness, to be authentically intimate with others.
That’s why I’m celebrating the summer solstice next weekend, and why I hope you will, too.
Well, first, it’s a really big deal cosmologically… High Summer, as the Celt’s called it.
Our sun makes life possible, grows our food, lightens our mood,
and as Mary Oliver reminds us, keeps us from ever-darkness.
This is the sun’s heyday.
Every ancient culture, the wide world round, celebrated this event.
Undeniably, that experience is embedding in our collective unconscious.
Whether we acknowledge it or not, each of us is profoundly affected by daily, monthly and seasonal cycles, connecting us to the world and cosmos around us.
That’s why I create experiences for people to more fully connect with themselves and Nature
in celebration of these few remarkable days
… and why you might want to, too.
Why not design your own summer solstice celebration if you’re not able to get yourself to mine
— though there is still one empty bunk waiting for you (at the time of this writing, at least).
To find out how I’m celebrating summer solstice here in the Berkshires with women friends from around the country, click here.
Since sol-stice means sun-stop, consider stopping during the days surrounding the solstice, next Sunday June 21st. Stop even for a few moments throughout this liminal time to connect with the life that’s everywhere
– to take in beauty and the gifts your senses bring to you.
They connect you to what’s real, right now.
Let yourself be touched by the fullness of this sun-soaked season.
Choose to go slowly for a few days.
Find some wild, natural water to dip you feet into… or your whole self.
Allow spaciousness between activities.
Watch how these intentional shifts change you and everyone around you.
Or try this if you really want more intimacy with life!
Every day give yourself a quiet time of sitting in the same spot in nature,
just noticing whatever happens there.
When you sit for several consecutive days,
you’ll be amazed at how things have grown and changed from one day to the next.
Engage all of your senses…
- Watch the birds in flight; listen to their conversations.
- Listen for the loudest sounds and the quietest ones in all directions around you.
- Notice what moves, what’s still, what the sky and the clouds are up to.
- Feel your skin being touched by the breeze or humidity, the wood stair you’re sitting on.
- Be awake to scent. What spring over-the-top-ness is wafting on the air?
- What colors demand your attention and appreciation?
— flags of the earth’s cycles –
has become an essential part of my life.
We are all embedded in this matrix of life whether we pay any attention to it or not.
But it’s in noticing and really feeling our connections to the wider, wilder world
that we become fully human
and not just minds, lost in space.
It's how we deepen our capacity to feel, to take in delight, to be fully ourselves
— and in that fullness, to be authentically intimate with others.
That’s why I’m celebrating the summer solstice next weekend, and why I hope you will, too.
