Juleigh Howard-Hobson
Lethargy of spirit. It happens to all of us, from time to time, because the nature of existence is cyclic. Egg – worm -butterfly. Fall winter spring summer. Maiden mother crone. This doesn’t mean, though, that the lethargy we feel weighing upon us is any less painful to deal with just because we can acknowledge it to be part of a bigger metaphysical picture. It is, quite bluntly, a drag to feel spiritually drained, uninspired and out of sync with the Higher World. The longer we continue to feel displaced soulfully, the harder it is to remember that light at the end of the cyclic tunnel and the further we dip into even more dispiritedness.
There isn’t much to do when the winter of the soul creeps its icy numbing fingers into you, except wait for it to recede. As it always does. Spring always follows winter, dawn always comes after night, eggs hatch, souls get reborn… round and round it goes.
But, while you wait for the tide to turn, spiritually speaking, you can make a difference to the duration and depth of your lassitude. Here are five simple exercises that can warm the mystic ice and get you from disconnected to the transcendent once again.
- Go outside and watch the sun set. Even if you can’t see the sun for whatever reason (clouds, buildings…) point your face toward the west and watch how the sky changes as your world settles into night. Think about how this sunset is a dawn in another part of the world.
- Take the time to appreciate an evening that is followed by a day off. Don’t reach for the bed time sedatives, (whatever they might be for you). Stay up as late as you like, knowing you can sleep in as late as you want to. Understand and really experience the gift of having no pressure to have to be asleep by a certain time. Even after you get into bed, let your mind go as it will until you just drop off.
- Honestly and wholeheartedly. Entertain thoughts that have no beginning or ending, no rhyme or reason. When was the last time you just sat and stared and let your thoughts wander without feeling the need to control them? Let your mind off the serious hook and allow it to roam however it wants. This is something you can do just about anywhere, too.
- If you can, take a bus or a train instead of driving. This puts you out of the mundane worldly driver’s seat and lets your mind rest while someone else takes the responsibility and stress of dealing with traffic. This exercise works well with daydreaming.
- Explore a divination system you don’t know much about. Don’t worry if it’s a system you think you’ll never use. Appreciation of the somewhat unfamiliar is the goal, not expertise. Relax and enjoy being a beginner at something magical again. It doesn’t mean you will go on to practice the system, but new illumination has a profound effect on the recharging of old vital forces.
January tends to be the time when we in the Northern Hemisphere feel the dimming of our inner light the most, it’s already been cold and dark for a long time and spring is not ready to be sprung quite yet. This is the best time to just take five. The above five, in particular, are a good starting point.
May you shine ever stronger.
