Winter Solstice - A Calling Back to the Light!

Winter Solstice - A Calling Back to the Light! View this email in your browser   Welcome!       The winter solstice is a time of deepening and calling back to the light. It is one of the most powerful turning points of the year when one of the Earth's poles has its maximum tilt away from the sun. It is an astronomical phenomenon marking the day with the  shortest period of daylight and the longest night of the year.      At this auspicious time of the year, we can attune to the energy of the earth that begins to pull inward. Nature contracts and pulls downward. As the seasons turn, we can find a quiet time to draw into our center, exploring our higher self, and connecting with our spirit. Just as the earth settles this time of year, we can let ourselves settle. We can mindfully turn within and welcome the peace it brings and the love that accompanies it.      Acknowledge the depth of this time in your life and the planet we live on. Use the power of the Divine Universe to give you courage for the next steps. Listen and hear guidance to accept everything just the way it is.   Elevate Your Consciousness! Mary Jane   Waking Well During the winter season we are surrounded by more darkness. Without the darkness there would be no light. Take this time to retreat inward and restore your energy. Here are a few simple ways to do that. 1. Wake early and reconnect with your bodily cycles (circadian rhythms).  You may find there's extra time before breakfast to do some worthwhile meditation. 2. Draw insights from dreams when you wake up while they are still fresh. Follow your intuition with the symbols that show up. Keep a diary to record your dreams so that you can review them later in the day or week. 3. Immediately upon waking, think about how you can bring joy to another person. Practice Metta or loving friendliness towards others. This is an extraordinary frequency to begin your day. 4. Engage all five senses as soon as you awaken. The sight of sunlight or darkness, the sound of birdsong, the feel of a towel, the taste of your breakfast, the wafting smell of coffee or tea brewing. 5. Say a morning prayer giving thanks for a new day, your family, friends, health and happiness.           Create a Power Grid of Crystals This is a wonderful way to lift the energy within your environment especially this time of the year when the energy moves inward and downward. You can create a simple offering tray of assorted crystals and keep it in the area where you meditate and pray, or you can place them around your home. Stones and crystals are energetically aligned to the southwest, northeast and center points. It's a great idea to bless and clear your stones prior to placing them in the home. You can do this by leaving them outdoors during a full moon, sunrise, or rain/snow event. Set prayerful intentions over the stones, and then place them on your tray offering, or in the aforementioned points of your environment.      Celebrating Light During the Winter Solstice: Throughout time people have celebrated the light of the sun. Special ceremonies to honor the time of the solstice and equinox mark not only the movement of the sun, but the inherent cycles within spiritual and physical life. The astronomical events of the Solstices corresponds to our own rhythms helping us to understand what to focus on in the ever-changing cycles of life. They are powerful points in time to celebrate the light and consciously expand. The changing seasons are associated with the key points within the human life cycle. The winter solstice has a direct correlation with seeking higher states of consciousness through meditation. Expanding your consciousness increases your vibration so healing at every level can take place.   Celebrating: Just as the seasons move through cycles, there are peaks and lows in the spiritual human journey. There are times to create, move forward and share, and there are times to rest, retreat and nurture self. This is the time to pull in, listen more than speak, be flexible and contemplate life just as it is now. This time of year is a natural way to reconnect with life's Divine plan and to feel a deep connection with self and others. Honor and celebrate your unique spiritual path while living as a human being. There are many ways you can celebrate the Solstice from gathering with friends and family, taking a spiritual retreat, attending a candlelight meditation ceremony, engaging with nature, sitting around a campfire, star gazing, spending time with elders and listening to the wisdom they have to share. This list can go on and on. The idea is to engage in an activity that resonates with you internally.   The Ebb and Flow of Your Yoga Practice: Beatles Ashram Rishikesh, India The length of the day, the span of the year, the duration of a life, the blossoming and decay of a flower; your yoga practice mirrors the rhythm of these cyclical changes. Every time you practice yoga your experience is different from every other time you have practiced. You have your favorite poses and sequences, but consider the fact that we grow and change as individuals every day and in every moment. This means that everything is new each time we do it, including our yoga practice. What we may have loved one day on our mat, we dislike the next day. You may be drawn to an intense yoga practice, and then your tastes may shift and you prefer a more yin practice. Like nature, and like you, your yoga practice can fluctuate and grow to surprise you over time. Like the peaceful warrior, when the work is done, we can rest and seek the journey within.  Shop the Feng Shui Store Copyright © 2018 Body Space Alignment, All rights reserved. You are receiving this email because you opted in to our newsletter at our website, or one of our live classes or seminars. Our mailing address is: Body Space Alignment 287 Daniele Dr. Ocean, NJ 07712 Add us to your address book Want to change how you receive these emails? You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list

Laughter

Having Fun Beatles Ashram Rishikesh, India

English Poet, Algernon Charles Swinburne in his poem "Laughter," compares the  most beautiful natural sounds of our world to the sound of a child's laughter, and concluded they may be half as sweet. 

This is actually a perfect time of the year to cultivate the habit of laughter.  Energetically, the element of water will peak on the winter solstice. This element is associated with the second chakra (Svadhistana), that corresponds with your inner child. You can naturally let yourself be a little crazy, it lightens up your life. And if people ask what you're on, tell them, "I'm on endorphins!"

The winter solstice celebrates the power of spirit, simple joys, faith, vision, and patience. As the earth pulls in, so too should you. Listen, laugh, play and rest. Spend time observing children interacting with one another. You'll notice how frequently they laugh as they play. You'll also notice they take  naps and rest so they can renew their energy. In contrast, adults tend to be serious, rush frantically around, stressing ourselves with activity when we really need to lighten up and get some rest.

This time of year try to make a conscious effort to invite as many fun things that will provoke laughter as you can into your life. Go to a concert, comedy club, or play some games. All these kinds of activities will help you rekindle the healing effect of laughter in your life. Take time to rest too. Nature teaches us that resting, drawing inward for a time, is present in all living things. Rest is necessary for growth to come later in the season.

Om!

Mary Jane - Feng Shui Yoga Girl - www.fengshuiyoganj.com

My MInd To Me a Kingdom Is

Rishikesh, India

My Mind To Me a Kingdom Is, was written by Sir Edward Dyer, a sixteenth-century poet. The poem is about the potency of the mind. The poet describes the comfort of detaching from everything, including your body , and being in the kingdom of a quiet mind. Think about it for a moment the power of your mind. You can't see it or touch it, yet it is always with you, guiding and directing everything about your life. This is your kingdom, and you can use in any situation. It is your corner of freedom, a place that only you has control over. This is the power and wonder of the invisible mind. 

In Sir Dyer's poem there is a passage that refers to craving; "Yet still my mind forbids to crave." You and only you possess the power of choice. There is nothing outside you to blame for your cravings. Go inside the invisible mind, this powerful kingdom within yourself and ask your mind to serve the highest good for all concerned.

The need to acquire more in life and seek the approval of others is not imposed on us but rather a choice we decide to make. The poet tells the reader there are many who have more than they need and yet crave more: "They are poor, though much they have, and I am rich with little store." He goes on to say how those who seek more, although they have plenty live in agony, never seeming to be satisfied; "They lack, I leave; they pine, I live."

Your mind is your kingdom willing to give you a lifetime of peace. You have the choice to change your mind and create a life giving rather than a life of lacking. We all have the freedom to choose peace. When fear creeps in, it is coming from the outside, not from the kingdom of your mind. It is how you choose to use the information in your mind that determines your life.

The poem tells you to stop placing so much emphasis on your desires, the endless game of measuring up to the outside worldly demands and to turn inward instead. Your mind controls all of your experiences in life, including your health. Change your thoughts and change your life.

Simple Practices:

You can practice mind control by choosing to change your thoughts. For example, if you find yourself reacting in a negative way, catch yourself and try a new way of thinking.

• Spend some time in daily meditation and experience the kingdom of your mind. Don't worry about thoughts floating in and out, the mind will do that. Just simply acknowledge it and move towards the rhythm of your breath.
• Remind yourself that nothing outside of you can disturb your peace. Only you have controlover your mind. Choose to use your mind as your kingdom.

• Keep this last passage of the poem in a place you can read it often: "Thus do I live; thus will I die: would all did so well as I."

You are the king of your inner domain!

Om,

Mary Jane - Feng Shui Yoga Girl - www.fengshuiyoganj.com

The Golden Key

Fatehpur Sikri, India

Your spirit is the Golden Key to everything. Never be swayed from your true spirituality. It is beautiful, blessed, loving, and filled with all goodness.

Carry this key with you wherever you go, press it into your chest, and feel the beauty of its essence. It is truth, love, God and all that exists. Carry this golden key of knowledge with you, knowing you can reach the heights of spirituality anytime you wish. There are no certain times of the day when you can tap into this awesome energy. God is available anytime you wish. He resides not only in you but outside you.

Fatehpur Sikri, is the palace and spiritual center built by Moghul Emperor Akbar. It represents his view of peace through unifying the religions of India. The twin villages of Fetehpur and Sikri were established as a tribute to the famous Sufi saint, Sheikh Salim Chrishti. The saint accurately predicted the birth of Emperor Abkar's much longed for son.

The palace complex combines Islamic, Hindu and Christian architecture, reflective of the religions of Abkar's three wives. Throughout Abkar's life he was exposed to texts on philosophy, history, religion and science. As a result, he instituted a highly efficient bureaucracy appointing military governors over the various religions. The result was a unification of the people of India in his empire that would survive until 1868.

Although Abkar's family was Sunni, two of his childhood tutors were Persian Shias. As an Emperor, Abkar made the Sufi concept of Sulh - e- Kuhl, or "peace to all," a founding principle of his law. This was the golden key to his success.

No matter what your belief system, hold firm to your spirituality. This is the key to lasting peace!

Om!
Mary Jane - Feng shui yoga girl: www.fengshuiyoganj.com