Soaking in Stillness
and seeding darkness days
Later this week I will be doing something that in ancient times was called incubation*. I will be spending 3 days with no phone, no internet, no electric lights. I will spend the better portion of the daylight hours lying on the living room rug, soaking in stillness. It is, perhaps, one of my very favorite things to do. I love letting the whole measuring time thing go, not worrying about what I do when, basically doing nothing or everything depending on your perspective. These three days lead up to the Solstice, the beginning of the light growing again here in the Northern hemisphere.
This practice, this doing nothing without any agenda or timeline, is deceptively difficult. Instead of the usual markers for the day, I leave the clock covered, the blinds open and the lights off, receiving whatever light is offered on these darkest of days in the Northern hemisphere.** I am letting my own darkness meet the darkness, planting the seed of my attention deep in my own being, resting down into the wordless ocean of awareness that lies in each of us.
I don’t read. I don’t talk. I don’t walk. I don’t do yoga. Really. I do nothing. I don’t cook. I don’t sing and dance. I listen. I rest. I open my eyes. I close my eyes. Otherwise, I do nothing. I sip water, broth, tea. Mostly I don’t eat but for one meal a day that has been prepared ahead of time. I lay inside mostly. I lay outside weather permitting. I gaze at the trees. I fall into the sky. I rest into the earth.
Strangely, maybe even marvelously, I find the darkness itself is luminous. Not in a sunshiney way, but in a quiet and humble way, the darkness embraces me, holds me, reassures me. It is almost as if I can feel the animal soul in myself relax deeply as I lay there. Not much is needed really for this practice except the willingness to lie still and receive both the light and the dark, letting the elements themselves teach me.
I, like so many in our world, often seek articulation, discrimination and in so doing, I can sometimes miss the message of the soft and tender light. The light at this time of year here is so delicate and so vibrant with a speechless knowing that I can be almost paralyzed on the floor by its brilliance. I lie there in awe of how doing nothing yields everything, worlds born, worlds ended without a word.
To celebrate the end of my sojourn on the floor, I will be celebrating the day of the Solstice itself with a day of meditation and conversation that I would love to share with you. Find out more and sign up to join me!
* Peter Kingsley offered this term as part of the Western spiritual tradition. Find out more by reading In the Dark Places of Wisdom.
** You can do the same in the Southern hemisphere for the advent of Summer because the Sun itself is taking a pause on Solstice regardless of whether you reside in the Northern hemisphere or the Southern, though in the Southern hemisphere the days will be long and light and will begin to grow shorter after the Solstice rather than longer as they will in the North.
*** If by chance you might want to try the doing nothing also, please don’t hesitate to be in touch directly for any more support you might need to try it. I know it’s weird to say its fun but well, it is fun…