Namaste

Friends,

As we approach the end of 2023, this year seems shrouded in darkness. It could be a pathetic fallacy, as so many horrors plague the world around us. Lately, I've found myself sleeping in later and lingering in bed, lost in thought amidst the pre-dawn darkness.

Here in the Northeast, 4:30 pm sunsets make for long evenings and a readiness for bed by 7:30 pm!

I'm uncertain if I feel the same way every December, perhaps it's like labor where you don't quite recall what it's like until you're in it again. Alternatively, it could be that this year is affecting me on a deeper level.

Either way, I am embracing it.

Living in harmony with nature is the key to health and happiness.

We honor the circadian and seasonal rhythms by staying in bed a bit later. Although I might not tell my teenage kids this--can you imagine the conversation when mustering them for school? "Mom, you're not honoring my circadian rhythms!"

Kidding aside, this is the time of year when you can do that!

(For clarity, my "lingering in bed" is until 6:15am, and when living in harmony with nature, wake up should be before, or at latest, with the sunrise.)

During this time, it helps to light candles in the morning for meditation and to welcome the sunrise.

Lighting a menorah, putting lights on the Christmas tree, cast a warm glow on long winter nights. Using candles or lamps after sunset, instead of harsh overhead lights will keep the cozy feeling of winter and will help you sleep better at night.

Perhaps the reason behind all these traditions and holidays where we light an external light in the darkest time of the year is to encourage us to look within ourselves and find the light that shines within each of us.

The traditional yogic greeting, "Namaste," literally means "I bow to you," but is most often translated as "The divine light within me acknowledges the divine light within you."

In winter, nature turns inward. The dark winter's quiet stillness allows us to turn inward and explore deeply our hearts and minds. It is an opportunity to sit quietly, take stock of the gifts and lessons of 2023, and see what we may make space for as the light returns in the New Year.

Maybe we can all see that, at our deepest essence, we are all the same: divine and light.

Wishing you all a 2024 full of light, peace and joy.

Namaste,

Kari