The Stillness Within (Part 1)

Did you ever watch the sun go down? This fiery red-orange orb glows larger and larger, slowly descending toward the horizon. Its color spreads throughout the sky reflecting on all it touches: clouds, trees, and buildings alike, until the world itself takes on that flaming hue.

The sun hangs for an unspeakable moment—a moment when the whole world holds its breath. At this moment each being present knows that it is at the center of the universe beholding a sacred rite of passage.

To attend to this moment allows that you are Now Here. The expansion has slowed and has come to a standstill. The contraction has not yet begun. You wait with bated breath, open to the miracle of transition amid abundance. (For why would one want to change unless they were safe and secure in their affluence?)

And in their being supported. For although this sacred moment is an individual act of reverence, one stands in the midst of a world of worshipers, paying homage to the sun god who has been honored since that first rising and setting once upon a time ago.

And with the release of your breath, the orb begins to move again, slowly sinking beneath the surface of reality, offering promise of another day to come.

However, don’t miss the inviolability of this moment. This is the chance given you by the universe for self-care. This moment of stillness is the occasion when you know where you are, and you know who you are in relation to all others.

This is the moment of strength and support. You have spent the long day in preparation. You have witnessed the moment of expansion. And with this one last long breath in, you have come into the awareness of communion with the world, as well as with your uniqueness. Your soul’s purpose is laid bare at that instance of rest, in preparation to be changed and rearranged during the long dark night of the soul.

This is the time to set your intention before you sleep (perchance to dream). Before the long expelling of used up air and opportunities, the serenity of this separation allows for new visions to emerge. What plan do you have to be guided into the future? What has inspired you that can germinate into an idea of innovation and evolution?

How you will be directed by your dreams and revelations is decided in this moment of stillness before the world contracts, the sun goes down, and you are forced beneath the surface like Persephone in the underworld. Will you use this time in frantic searching like her mother, Demeter, or will you, like Hades, only see what you have at the moment and forsake any preparation or training before the approaching dawn?

Or will you, like Persephone, find the deeper meaning of your life because you allowed the stillness to pervade your being, opening up a deep hollow for the truth of your dreams to reverberate within you? And in the contraction, use the narrowing and expunging to focus your power and fine-tune your discernment so that you are ready for the exhilaration of your blooming at dawn.

These thoughts and feelings stream through me as I reflect on my own life and the dream I had last night. My front yard, in fact the whole neighborhood was being excavated, rearranged and landscaped. My friend (my self) was inside fasting and vomiting and washing, while I was successfully discovering the secret of how to ride in the elevator. I use the elevator to get to school and find my friend, concerned with her lack of self-care.

It is obvious to most that our world and our selves are in need of healing. James Hollis writes that, “We cannot heal ourselves by act of will, intellect or right conduct, but we can experience healing when we are in harmony with some great rhythm. Then we are living the symbolic life and find consonance with the universe, rather than a void.”

My dream portends a great upheaval, one that is already underway. Inside, in stillness, I am preparing myself in order to uncover the offering in my life. What are the gifts I have to offer, ones that are needed at this time in history, that serve to make the world whole?