Winter Season
Winter is my favorite season. Most people are surprised by that. For me, an introvert, the gray days with the chill in the air give me time to regroup after the busy-ness of the rest of the year. I can walk my dogs around the park and encounter very few people. The gray clouds swaddle me from head to toe in soft material like a cocooned newborn. When I lived in California, I longed for the gray days, winter clothing and trees of the east.
While everyone else is consumed by daily and even instant news addiction, the reality series that no one wants to admit is simply a reality show, I’m transitioning into “the quiet.” Living at the level of purposeful confusion, misinformation, and shock at what people we used to admire have done, is disrupting our kind loving hearts and then our body expresses this upset in some way that is not going to be good for us. The body is telling us what needs attention, if we would just tune in. So how do we tune in?
What I call being in The Silence is also referred to as “Noble Silence” in Zen and Vipassana circles. It is practiced to calm the mind and reduce the "outflow" of energy caused by continuous overstimulation. It’s an important piece of my personal practice and I would recommend it to anyone that asks. Winter is a great time to introduce this practice.
There are also Buddhist teachings that do not embrace the silence such as Nichiren and Pure Land Buddhism. Tibetan Buddhism uses visualizations, prostrations and reciting mantras along with or in absence of silent meditation.
Can we be with our thoughts for a bit? Are we able to be without our thoughts for a bit? Are we at ease in The Silence when some of our disturbing thoughts come up?
The earth offers us seasons for a reason. If we can tune into the messages the earth is sending us, we can live in alignment with things seen and unseen. For the next couple of months, we are paying close attention to going within. Fear not, the silence is our support.
Affirmation: "I embrace this season of stillness and allow myself to rest and recharge, trusting that my quiet growth is preparing me for spring renewal".
Rev John Karn, DD