image: Wikimedia Commons https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Surfing_lulu.JPG
We are rapidly approaching the point of Solstice in our Earth-Sun dance for June of 2023, which will occur at 1458 UTC on the 21st, or 1058 Eastern Standard Time, which is 7:57am Pacific time for those on the west coast of North America. It will already be early in the morning of the 22nd of June for Australia, where the time at point of Solstice will be 12:58 am, just over twelve hours from now.
As I have written many times before, the ancient world-wide system which can be shown to form the foundation for the sacred traditions of cultures on every inhabited continent and island of our globe uses the heavenly cycles -- and especially the annual cycle created by the tilt of our axis and the changing angle of our relationship to the Sun -- as a kind of celestial "code" through which the myths and stories dramatize truths about our internal landscape, and our relationship with Self and with the Invisible or Divine Realm.
It is through our authentic, deeper Self that we gain access to inspiration and the insight and power of that Invisible Realm, in ways inexplicable to materialist physics and the erroneous but dominant materialist paradigm that has been forced upon us in our traditional schooling, reinforced by most of the organs of mass media throughout our lives.
Solstice is a perfect time of year to pause and consider ways to reconnect with Self. That connection is so easily disrupted and "cluttered" by the interference (well-intentioned interference, in many cases) of the different voices in our internal landscape (critical voices, doubting voices, defensive voices, managerial voices), which according to IFS founder Dr. Richard Schwartz function as virtually independent personalities or "parts" within our "internal family."
Of course, we can and should take time each day to take stock of our internal landscape, and to pay attention to those parts or personalities, and see how they are doing and what their concerns and anxieties might be on any given day, and to allow them to relax in order to allow Self to emerge and take its rightful role in leading that internal team, but the great turning points of the year represented by the Solstice are particularly appropriate times in which to do so.
Ways to allow Self to emerge can include time in Nature, expression through Art and Music, or through ancient disciplines such as Yoga, Tai Chi or meditation, and even through many modern immersive activities such as skateboarding, surfing, dancing, or others that bring you joy and allow those protective parts to relax and take a break.
At this June Solstice of 2023, I send my best wishes for your own journey of reconnection with Self, and gratitude for your interest in and support of my work exploring the world's ancient myths, and their message for us today.