Psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud believed that behavior and personality is created from the constant and unique interaction of conflicting psychological forces that operate on different levels of awareness: the conscious and the unconscious. Psychoanalytic theory of the conscious and unconscious mind is often explained using an iceberg metaphor. Conscious awareness is the “tip of the iceberg” while, the unconscious is represented by the ice hidden below the surface of the water. Only a small percentage of the whole iceberg is visible above the surface. In this way, the iceberg is like the mind. The conscious mind is what we notice above the surface while the unconscious mind, the largest and most powerful part, remains hidden and unseen below the surface.

No one can dispute that we are, deep, in the midst of change on every level of our earthly understanding. Whether it reveals to you in your physical body, your emotions, mind or spirit we are all changing on a cellular level. We see it in our relationships, institutions, the climate, the planets, the children, the entire plant and animal kingdom, our health and the dis-eases we succumb to. Life is different today than it was yesterday. This is not new, however it does seem to be accelerating. Acceleration is change. When the velocity of an object changes it is said to be accelerating.

We are hearing a lot about change these days.  Change has always been the one constant. Charles Darwin said,  “It is not the strongest of the species that survives, or the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change”.  Whether you subscribe to Darwinian theory or not, it is difficult to disagree with his observation.

Can You Relate?

Call it soul searching, soul retrieval, the dark night of the soul or a mid-life crisis and you may hear harrowing tales of endings. Endings in relationships, established careers and ingrained structures that can rock the world of even the most stable individual.

While the yoga asanas (postures) are beneficial to the body in so many ways, the actual practice is a means of clearing the mind and cultivating freedom from the thousands of extraneous thoughts that cross the mind each day.

The psychic realm is not separate from this world we know. It is the same world, just in more detail. There are many things we don't notice. Our senses, our feelings, our thoughts have limitations and most of those limitations we have put there, ourselves. We see only so much from the psychic realms. Sometimes we don't notice the psychic realm, because we don't think about it or because we didn't have a conscious experience that would require us to pay more attention to it. Sometimes it is quite the opposite: we do have an experience but it scares us, so we just sweep it under the rug or lock it in the closet and throw away the key.

The word Solstice means “sun standing still” or “grian-stad” in Irish. It marks the suns furthest position from us during winter; hence it is the shortest day of the year. The Winter Solstice is significant in our lives because it represents a “rebirth and renewal” of energies both for us and for nature. It is a time when we can consciously give birth to our dreams and intentions for the year ahead.

Breathe in the sights and sensations of this sacred season of Light. Take a few moments to be still and listen to the wisdom of your heart.  Listen with your inner ears and feel your heart beat. Attune to its natural rhythm with your breath.