Using Winter To Deepen Practices and Ground in Consciousness
Since early on I felt that winter is a great time to go deeper with practices, and to apply more efforts into making them work. Traditionally in civilization, winter time was used to rest and to prepare for the new season. This was especially so in agriculture line of work, but also in other areas that people worked in. People were preparing for winter during autumn, and then during winter they did very little work and spent most of their time resting. Everything slowed down in winter – people, animals, and nature itself. In such way, nature shows us that, as winter is a time when everything stays still and is at the point of ‘death’, that we too should slow down.
Many are afraid of doing that, particularly those whose line of work is seasonal. People today are afraid to spend time with themselves and with their thoughts. Many are afraid of winter.
But from the gnostic point of view, winter is a great time for reflection, grounding oneself in consciousness, going deeper with esoteric exercises, and strengthening connection with the Being.
I think there is something very special in winter and that using it to develop spiritually as much as we can, would be of great use.
During clear and crispy winter nights, when we look at the night sky, we can sometimes sense some things intuitively. Looking up towards the sky, we notice that the Universe is bright and full of life, yet down where we are all is still, cold, asleep; awaiting the new dawn to emerge so that life on earth could resurrect again. And it is in this stillness of life that we can gain a lot of new insights into our human nature, and experience profound things. Not to say, however, that such spiritual boost cannot happen at other times of the year. Indeed it can, but winter has its own special quality that can enable a sincere student to reach a higher octave in their inner work.
Nevertheless, often time for an aspirant of self-realization, winter time tends to also reveal their egos; their inner defects. As during time of external darkness, the inner darkness can be brought forward and revealed, and if we are in the state of vigilance and grounded in consciousness, we can spot it and learn a lot from it.
And as we learn like this, during winter time, more profoundly about ourselves and our inner darkness, our inner light will emerge from the depths of that darkness. It will emerge and it will inspire us to keep fighting for it, no matter what life brings us. Still, courage is needed to face the winter in such a reflective way and pushing more inwards for more and more knowledge, more and more light of our Being.
If we approach the winter in such a way, our Being may reward us with amazing experiences. Our own personal divine mother, and also her aspect as Mother Nature, may reward us with perceptions to see more fully into nature, into winter. And besides being aware of the dark aspects of winter, she will also show us its light, and how we can use it to strengthen ourselves in our inner work, and how to bring our esoteric practices to a new level.
HDP, January 2020.
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