Embodying dreams & stepping into Solstice
My wishes for you as we put a bow on 2023 (thank goodness-- this year’s been a doozy!) plus a solstice ritual for the sharing.
Last night: port, pizza, and the first snow of the season. I think of snow as quiet, but branches were cracking and windows rattling as the wind cut through our cove (that’s Appalacian for a valley that’s closed on one end). It was, to my mind, the perfect backdrop for an evening so close to winter solstice.
My friend Holly was snugged in a chair by the fire telling me about the outrageous psychic reading she’d had for her birthday a few weeks past. It was one of those “all your dreams will come true!” kind of readings. She swirled her port round the glass, watching the wine spin.
“I want to believe it,” she told me. “Who wouldn’t want to believe it? But I’ve had readings with this guy before. Sometimes he’s eerily spot on. Other times it’s just rubbish.” She sipped her wine before continuing. “So I was thinking all this, telling myself not to get my hopes up, when it occurred to me: what if I acted like it was true? What if I moved through life like I had no worries because I knew everything was going to be wonderful in 2024?”
I was dumbstruck for a moment.
What if she did that? What if she embodied the dream whether it was true or not?
Who would we all be if we allowed the feeling of living our dreams to inhabit our bodies? What decisions would we make differently if we were already sure it would all be okay? And how would being this kind of fearless change the course of our lives?
Some of my friends do a word of the year. That’s never been my thing. But last year, on solstice morning, a stag came to drink at the pond by my house. For ten minutes the stag and I stood, just fifteen feet apart, gently watching each other. Later that evening, my writing group gathered and were sharing their words of the year. I came up blank. Carrie, with her usual wisdom offered, “I think the feeling of being in the presence of that stag is your word of the year.”
She has recalled that stag for me multiple times in the intervening months, pulling his image to the surface of my consciousness when I’ve needed a dose of majesty. Holding onto that feeling has gotten me through some of 2023’s rougher moments.
So I’m liking the idea of a feeling of the year. I’m thinking my feeling for 2024 will be the sense of surety and ease I would feel if I was one hundred percent certain that all my dreams were about to come true.
On a different note, huge thanks to all of you who participated in the survey! I’ve done surveys before and laughed at the uselessness of the results— oh look! Fifty percent of people want one thing and fifty percent want something opposite! That’s useful (not!).
This was decidedly not the case this time around. Julie and I (okay, Julie) had made some beautiful graphs of the results yesterday and then, in the last 24 hours, 19 more people took the survey! So I will share the results in the New Year and instead see if anyone else wants to join our reindeer games.
One interesting comment that came in that I can share now: I was hoping there would be more of a sense of community here, like in your other programs. All I can say to that is: me, too! I’m not sure why people aren’t interacting in the comments, all I can do is continue to put out the invitation and remind you that only paid subscribers can read comments on paid posts so we do have privacy.
Please hop in and take the survey if you haven’t— seeing your thoughts is so helpful. And if there’s anything else Unkempt you’d like me to know, hit reply and share your thoughts!
Meanwhile, those of you who are paid subscribers, read on for solstice thoughts and exercises.
For those of you who are occasional readers, thank you for following along and wishing you a joyous holiday season—
xx Maia
P.S. Upcoming Events
Come to Center Writing Retreat in Asheville, January 18-21. Hit reply for details!
In conversation (over brunch!) with celebrated author Dani Shapiro, in Asheville January 21. Hit reply for details.
Save the date: March 8-10, Reuniting With Your Intuition & Returning To Your Heart, a retreat at Mama Farm on Long Island, NY. Details after the holidays!
P.P.S. Don’t forget that books make the best gifts!
And now let’s step into Solstice…
When people do journey work, they travel down. This is difficult for those of us with a Judea-Christian background, who learned that hell is down, to wrap our brains around.
But in the imagery of the subconscious, and that of many of the old mythic systems, down is the direction you travel to gain knowledge. In the depths of Down is where we learn about ourselves.
Keep reading with a 7-day free trial
Subscribe to Tell Me Something True with Maia Toll to keep reading this post and get 7 days of free access to the full post archives.