Seasonal Reflections: A Blessed Imbolc

Early next month sees Imbolc, the fire festival which, although still deep in Winter, brings with it hope of the brighter seasons to come.

Here in Monchique, we haven’t seen snow or freezing temperatures (although there’s been quite a lot of fog). The Winter has been lush, green, damp and fruitful. But still, we’ve been through a seasonal waning of the year, as well as some dark days personally, and I’ll be pleased to celebrate the coming Spring.

This is the time when we clean out the cobwebs (time for a spring cleaning), and also the time when we nourish and pay attention to those seeds which have been buried all Winter and which may be ready to start sprouting soon. For me this is a time to pay attention not only to Nature but to the younger members of the family, making sure that they have the right conditions to grow. It’s also a time to discover or rediscover creative projects and see what they might grow into this coming year.

In this spirit, I am pleased to share with you a guided meditation which I became inspired to create this week, and which I hope inspires you with your own creativity: The Seed.

I’d also like to share a suggestion to aid in connection with your kids – a kind of active visualisation, if you like, for parents of young kids, to do whenever you’re having a quiet time together, maybe at bedtime or in front of the TV: umbilical breathing.

Umbilical breathing comes in two parts. First, you tune into your little one’s breathing. Notice when they inhale and exhale, and gradually allow your breathing to match theirs. Let this occur over several rounds of breath, so as not to be forcing your own breathing too much.

As you continue to breath in tandem with your child, imagine that there is an umbilical cord linking your bellybutton with theirs. We focus on the bellybutton because this is the area of an important energy centre, the Tan Den. Now, as you breathe in, imagine that they are sending some of the joy, wonder and ease which young children naturally feel to you. Picture or feel it dissipating throughout your body. And as you breathe out, imagine that you are reflecting that back to them, along with the love, nurture and care which you naturally feel for your little one. Continue this for as long as you like.

I hope you have enjoyed these two techniques, and if you would like to know more about me and what I do, please visit the Vibrant Self Healing website.

Finding the Purpose

As an avid consumer of fantasy, I am currently reading Lloyd Alexander’s classic series, The Chronicles of Prydain. In the fourth book, Taran Wanderer, our hero, a young man searching for his way in life, meets a character by the name of Llonio, “the luckiest man in the world”. Llonio is not rich, but resourceful. He lives in a house by the river with his family, and they have strung a netted weir across the river, to catch anything which might come floating downstream. On one day they catch an old bit of broken bridle, which Llonio upcycles to belts for his small children, and on another day a sack of grain comes floating down the river. Each and every find brings glee to Llonio, even when Taran cannot see the use of the item, and Llonio matches his finds to his needs. He is a happy man.

When Taran comes to take his leave of Llonio, he asks him to divulge the secret of his luck. ‘”Secret?” replied Llonio… “You need only sharpen your eyes to see your luck when it comes, and sharpen your wits to use what falls into your hands…..But don’t forget to put out your nets!”’

Lucky old Llonio’s philosophy is a sound one, and not only when it comes to repurposing objects, although conscious recycling is a practice which could happily be adopted by us all. But to be really lucky, we must learn to find the purpose in everything that comes floating down the river towards us – be it an event, a thought, an emotion, or any other happening.

The process for linking life’s purpose to life’s reality is threefold. Firstly, we must know what our needs and wants are. Do our children need belts? Are there bellies to feed? When looking at our own needs, it can be useful to look at them in a framework. Try asking the following questions for each of these realms: the physical, the spiritual, the mental, the emotional, the energetic. Remember, this is about you, so try to focus on internal rather than external processes. What is the landscape like at the moment? Is it missing anything? If it was perfect, what would it look like?

Spend a little time imagining how things would be if you had everything you needed and wanted in the physical, spiritual, mental, emotional and energetic realms. Imagining what you want vividly sends a message to your brain that this is a possibility for you. If you hadn’t really taken time to think about what you need and want before, this is a great opportunity to reflect, and take stock. What is your purpose?

Once we know what our needs and wants are, we need to take a look at what’s caught in our nets. It might be immediately apparent what its purpose is for us, or it might not. But even the most trying experiences have a purpose. If it’s a struggle of a day, then at the end of it, if nothing else, you have the knowledge that you can survive such days. Sometimes difficult times bring with them lessons – patience, humility, strength, a moment of clarity or of honesty with yourself, even the impetus to begin making positive change. Accept what the river brings you with all your heart, be grateful, and let it serve its purpose.

Once we have accepted the gifts which the current has sent our way, we can start to think about shaping them into something new. Here is where we can start to compare it with the needs and wants that we identified earlier. Is there something in today’s experience which fits, just slightly, with what you need? What could you do to harness that usefulness? On the other hand, if it doesn’t suit your purpose at all, what would you need to do to make it do so? What changes could you make to shape the resources available to you to achieving your purpose? You might surprise yourself if you sit down and use your consciousness to think about it.

And so I invite you, friend, to cast open your nets across the river of life, to embrace what it brings, and to use it to live on purpose.

Keziah Gibbons is an integrated coach, working with the mind, the energy systems, and the body, to support healing and personal development. To book a private session, contact her here.

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