Reduction
This is the word of the day
like making a sauce
but also: letting go of what is no longer yes.
Light
Today is solstice, and solstice is my time for questions,
turning inward
reflecting my own light
and asking.
Eliminated meets illuminated
I drop questions and watch-listen as they
skip across the waters of my consciousness like stones,
on solstice I always ask the same question,
part-ritual, part-incantation:
What needs to be Eliminated and what needs to be Illuminated?
Clarity
Elimination can be such a beautiful letting-go,
striking and radiant in its clarity and decisiveness,
I never realized this until
the word itself was illuminated through this question,
asked with love.
Reduction
Elimination asks us to see
the power of subtraction
solving through releasing-removing-erasing-undoing
celebrating negative space
appreciating contrast
receiving through letting go
making space
and clearing the path to clear the path…
What needs to be illuminated?
Patterns and process
space and spaciousness
openings and apertures
contrast and shadow.
Calling in the light,
calling in lightness,
calling in perspective,
calling in clarity,
and — always always always — calling in boundaries made of light,
my boundaries are light and laser beams.
What needs to be eliminated?
Everything that does not resonate and reverberate a yes for me,
everything that is disharmonious, incongruent, unsupportive,
everything that keeps me from myself.
Into the light / add more light
Calling in light,
echoing and reverberating light.
Wishes for the new year and the passage through
I move with intention and fearless panther grace,
clear and unapologetic, in my power and prowess.
I learn to praise myself
with great love and great joy,
so much so that I never perceive a lack
of appreciation.
I reduce input.
I know what I have,
and I know what I have to do.
Calling in Courage for a year of fighting the good fight,
asking for Clarity, Fierce Determination and Focus, Sanctuary and Freedom,
whatever will help me glow powerfully,
using light to illuminate,
using light to reflect and refract,
using the light to disappear when needed in order to fill up on my light again.
I invoke darkness too
I invoke darkness too in the forms of
Shelter, Mystery, Quiet, Protection, Rest, Contrast
under the stars
immersing in water
not afraid of the void,
the void is where the stars are born
and where the stars are named.
Where do I want to be next solstice?
This is a stone I am borrowing from a wise friend,
I know she did not mean the question literally
but my answer came in the form of a vision:
under the stars
in the water
in Idaho or Astoria or
some mysterious wonderful place
I have not discovered yetfully a star
fully a panther
full-glow
fully at ease with Ease
and beyond
Real talk
These are such hard questions in these tough and terrifying times,
painful and scary to even approach introspection
or the wishing of wishes
I mean, hell, at this point my main hope for next solstice
is that we aren’t all in labor camps or worse,
but I am focusing my wishes on qualities of spirit
which are mine anyway,
mine to invoke, reconnect with, remember, feel my way into,
regardless of external factors.
When I do this, I see how I have
picked up on external bleakness,
and forgotten to glow steady in my own light.
And so I am wishing for this return to steady clarity,
and for doors,
surprise miracle doors.
Doors
Last year at this time the arborist said,
let time do the talking, we do the listening.
Last year the arborist said
may another way come to you as rain in its season;
where no door seems right may a hidden sliding door between them appear.
And now the arborist has disappeared
but that does not invalidate the wish-magic.
Glow through the opening
This year is going to require some hidden sliding doors,
some options that we cannot see yet,
new paths around and through,
as we commit to resistance,
underground and above-ground,
powerfully glowing our light,
making shelter when shelter is needed,
and showing up with our fiercely channeled intensity
to do what needs to be done.
Anything else about this?
A prayer that doesn’t have words,
something about stones of light,
glowing seeds,
a map of stars,
new perspective,
remembering to breathe,
unanticipated solutions,
trust and love,
courage courage courage,
breath breath breath,
change your place change your luck,
this moment is new
I am here
presence
grace
hope
Invitation
This space is for gathering — you are welcome to join me in this ritual, to skip stones or wish wishes, to share as much or as little as you wish, to leave pebbles and stones or take breaths, to share this time of passage through.
And another invitation…
New in the gift shop:
we have just put some lovely things up for sale
in case you would like more magic and self-fluency in your life! <3
Follow
I’m glad you’re here. I’ve been having a day that is both challenging and beautiful. Finding this post today has been a comfort. Thank you.
Tomorrow — unless something unexpected happens, and goodness knows unexpected things have been happening — my family and I will begin a cross-country journey that will end with us living on the other side of the continent. For all sorts of reasons, I am feeling more than a little lost right now.
What needs to be eliminated? In the last month, I have been releasing things that I would not have chosen to release if circumstances had been different. Right now I’m wanting to know what I can *hold on* to in a time to change. So, I’ll be thinking about that.
Maybe what needs to be eliminated is this fear and sadness. Soon, I hope.
What needs to be illuminated? Ah, *ping*, there’s the answer, it just dropped into my head: *connection*. I want to believe that I can still be loved by the people I love, and that I can keep loving them and being close to them, wherever I am, wherever I live.
Well, there you go. That feels like a pretty important wish to me.
Oh, and here’s *ping* number two, the other side of the coin, suddenly very clear:
What needs to be illuminated? My essence. The essence of me.
I need to believe that wherever I go, I can still be the me I want to be.
And being here is part of that. Thanks again. <3
<3 may it be so!! What wonderful pings and wishes!
I love this! Essence of Me…
Safe journey, dear Kathleen! May music be with you all the way!
<3 <3 <3
Connection and Internal Maps to you, dear Kathleen. May you Fare Well in this epic journey.
<3 <3 <3
Hope you had a great journey!
Thinking of the elimination race in track cycling: it is fast and really fun and confusing to watch. At the end of every other lap, the last rider over the line is eliminated. A light flashes on their handlebars and they know it’s time to go. There’s always a scramble over that last half-lap, with all the riders trying to overtake each other and not be last. Of course, the further the race goes, the easier it becomes to see what’s going on. It’s much easier to see who’s the last out of seven than it is to see who’s the last out of twenty.
When there are only two riders left, it slows right down. Each of the last two knows that they only have to worry about the other one, and so they watch and they watch and they watch, and finally one of them goes and the other’s after them, and then it’s a proper sprint for the line.
Laura Trott is the best at this: you always think she’s going to get caught out, but she never is; you think she’s boxed in, but she finds a way through; you think she’s in the wrong place, but actually she’s in the right place.
So what needs to be eliminated? Everything that isn’t the winner. What do I mean by winner in this context? Everything that’s not important. Like the sauce: everything that isn’t part of the finished product. The scaffolding. Things that are no longer relevant falling away. What got you here won’t get you there. Ah. The Guilt, the Rules, the Shoulds, the Oughts.
What needs to be illuminated? I’m not sure, yet. I can’t see it. What is there that’s currently in darkness, that needs to come into the light? Or what do I need to shine a light upon? The new way. I need to see where I’m going and I can’t at the moment.
Lead, kindly light. Leading lights. A light isn’t necessarily there to illuminate. The light in a lighthouse, for example, isn’t trying to light up the land or the sea, it’s simply a marker. It tells you where the rocks are, but it doesn’t show you the rocks. Where am I going with this? The light is a sign, with a meaning that’s dependent on context (it can mean ‘danger, stay away’, or ‘I am here, and not in any other place’, or ‘this is the boundary between danger and safety’, or ‘look this way’). It illuminates itself, if anything; and it can tell you about the thing that it needs to tell you about without showing you the thing. So long as you trust it.
Clues:
– ‘safe skies my darling nephews’
– shells again: one in a picture in an email from Emma, for whom the solstice means the most light, not the most darkness; one huge picture full of them when I logged into Twitter.
Pebbles and Heart Magic, and Glowing Wordless Appreciation for all that you put out there in this Crazy world; may it be returned to you tenfold, Havi.
To be Illuminated:
~ How to live/die/survive/thrive this lifetime
~ How to regain my Elfin Witch Sovereignty, regardless of the above outcome
~ Pathways of Hope
To be Eliminated:
~ Connections that whilst nurture my soul in some ways, hurt it badly in others
~ The Blueprint of Unwantability–or perhaps not eliminated per se, as that seems to perpetuate unwantableness; perhaps to Want the Unwantability, the Unwantable–to draw it closer to me with Love and Tenderness, to let it morph however it will through Acceptance and Wantedness
~ Fear–or fear of Fear; again, how can I embrace that which I fear, love and pull closer to me the elements within that I fear most?
~ Ambivalence–this is a killer of relationships both with mine Elf and with Others
On a lighter note, I literally burnt my bra today! Confession: I needed my favourite bra for this particular outfit and it wasn’t quite dry, so I cleverly popped it in the oven (what could Possibly Go Wrong?!) for ten minutes–and voila, feminist act in the making! Le sigh (*but secretly giggling at her Elf for her crazy stupidity!*)
*giggling with you* (whilst commiserating on losing your fave)
*grins* I haven’t lost it; it’s just crispy in some parts!! (And I must remember not to wear it before a potentially amorous event, as that will Just. Be. Weird. for the other person *falls off chair laughing*
But yes, now I need to Shop for a New Bra, ugh.
Hahaha oh, this bra episode is funny, and I’m sorry your bra is no longer suitable for amorous activities. I’m making a note that drying clothes in the oven = no no. (I have successfully used a blow dryer though, so maybe try that next time?)
May the new year bring you eliminations and illuminations in the most comfortable way possible.
*grins* I can’t believe that a) I did this, and b) I put it out there so publicly!
Wishing you lots of Just Rightness for the new year, Nela x
I always enjoy this Solstice practice.
Once my performances were done, I was finally able to surrender into hibernating, which has been marvelous, i’m about to go to sleep and i love it so much. I have eliminated a lot of motion, a lot of running arounf and wasting resources. I over-extended myself in some ways this year, so contracting back is its own form of eliminating, as retreat into frugality, staying at home, not making promises or setting things up for later, i need to retreat and go to ground.
Illuminated–time, my focus, the clues for 2017
– Pretend it’s easy
– If you cant be brave, be kind
– Whose thoughts are these? Who am I being when i do/say this?
-theme–Studio? still thinking
-skill building, making stuff, creativity
-what am i teaching? what am i building?
Right now, i am open to next steps landing
Thankyou for writing this – “Whose thoughts are these? Who am I being when I do/say this?” Useful intel indeed…
I seem to have made it a practice to write a letter to my future-self to be delivered on the next solstice. I had forgotten this and so was surprised by a letter from Past Me that arrived on 12/22. Today I sent one to July 22 written directly from my small scared hopeful place. I hope Future Me will be in a place to receive it and glow love and comfort back through time to me here now.
I feel so lost right now I don’t know what’s a Yes. So what needs to be illuminated? My own heart, my own True Clear Yes.
What needs to be eliminated? Everything that is obscuring me from me and self from self.
May I be whole again, this year and all the years to come.
To Wholeness, Clarity, and Finding Oneself!
May we recover from a hard year.
And I love your practice of sending a letter to your Future Self! I’ve done it a couple of times in reflective groups, but making it a Practice is a beautiful gift and one upon which I shalt ponder… thankyou *smiles*
Hello. New to this playground…and honestly, to online playgrounds in general. I work in the digital world, so often, after a day at the computer, I long to be out in the physical world. Yet I’ve read a few of your wishings and deeply appreciate what you share, Havi. Thank you for being and sharing the light.
This passage spoke to me:
Glow through the opening
This year is going to require some hidden sliding doors,
some options that we cannot see yet,
new paths around and through,
as we commit to resistance,
underground and above-ground,
powerfully glowing our light,
making shelter when shelter is needed,
and showing up with our fiercely channeled intensity
to do what needs to be done.
May the hidden sliding doors revel and open themselves for all who are seeking them offering a new path through the brambles and berries both as we continue to open to self as self and self as other.
MAY IT BE SO! <3
Hello. New to this playground…and honestly, to online playgrounds in general. I work in the digital world, so often, after a day at the computer, I long to be out in the physical world. Yet I’ve read a few of your wishings and deeply appreciate what you share, Havi. Thank you for being and sharing the light.
The passage about hidden sliding doors spoke to me…yet it seems I cannot quote it here…
May the hidden sliding doors revel and open themselves for all who are seeking them offering a new path through the brambles and berries both as we continue to open to self as self and self as other.
i’m holding a tiny new year’s rally tomorrow, so tonight is rally eve.
my compass for entering the new year:
clarity
calm warmth
fragrance tenderness
expansion touch
magic
i really seem to know what i need right now!! may i find abundant clues how to allure these qualities or (re-)discover them where they have already been hiding in my everyday life.
in terms of interior design: i want to remake my home: a slight, but powerful shift towards warmer colors, spaciousness, an invitation to lay down, coziness, the smell of flowers and fresh mint tea.
Have a great New Year’s Rally!
Thats sounds like a wonderful way to enter the year.
Oh how lovely! A tiny new year’s rally AND knowing what you need right now!
I hope it flowed beautifully with oodles of clues…
Taking a moment, here on the first day of 2017, to send loving and sparkling wishes to everyone who reads these words. I’m glad I’m here. I’m glad you’re here, too.
!! <3 <3 <3
Emerging from all the holiday stuff. . .well, OK, I am actually still in it, but I don’t feel like I’m drowning in it anymore. I tried to create a compass for the year because that worked so beautifully last year, but guess what? It’s not last year, and this year the magic number seems to be 5. So I have created a pentacle for the year, which probably means something Really Significant, but I am OK with not quite understanding that right now. Meanwhile, I have five qualities/actions to bless the year: grounding, connection, sensuality, peace-making/healing, and releasing. Sparkly new year blessing showers on everyone!