20/12/2021
Wishing everyone a Blessed Winter Solstice with this post:
Happy Winter Solstice 冬至 (Dongzhi)
In the northern hemisphere, December 21st is the shortest day and the longest night of the year. In Taoist theory, it is the fullest expression of yin and the tipping point that slowly and gradually begins the increase of a new yang cycle. If you are going to do a practice specifically for the winter solstice, try to begin after nightfall when the darkness is at its strongest. There will be an energy that will spike sometime during the night that can take you into the deepest yin spaces inside of you.
If you know Taoist meditation, go inside yourself and begin to dissolve. When you move into the yin space as far as you can go, you should be prepared for the fact that some people may get frightened because it will be as though there's nothing there. It might seem almost like the experience of an infinite sensory deprivation tank where you can't see anything in any direction and you feel like you're in suspension. But if you go to the bottom of that, or as far as you can, once you think you've arrived there, try to sit there for at least 15 or 20 minutes. And then begin to consider what sort of a seed you want to plant inside yourself that will come out and manifest during the coming year.
So within the darkness, within the depths of yin, at the very end of the end, there's a beginning. And even though the winter will be a time when you're going to need to rest and store up, the seed for the coming year can still be planted at the solstice. As you sit there and let your mind go as quiet as it can, try to decide what this seed is without any talking in your head, without saying any words, but just having the intent of what you want to have happen. You don't need to make it anything too specific because this is going to set off a wave that is just going to continue for the whole year long.
In each of the other seasons, there are other things you can focus on. But this is the one thing that would be most useful at the time of the winter solstice. Do your best to be aware of and appreciate this reminder of the ongoing change of the seasons.
Happy practicing!