If you take a looksy over to the left side of this page you'll see that I have a link to the website for Oriah Mountain Dreamer. I absolutely adore her work and have read and re-read her books many many times. Right now I'm reading (again) The Invitation.
I remember the first time I read the book, reading a passage about solitude and it made me feel sad that I had no experience ever truly being alone with myself. Over the years I have gotten better at appreciating true solitude. The kind of solitude that leaves you sitting alone, in silence, lost in the sounds of your own thoughts.
This is the passage that I read last night and as I read it this time, I was filled with happiness knowing that I can absolutely find peace with my own company:
"When I ask if you can be alone with yourself, I am not asking if the idea of being alone appeals to you but if you can actually be present, with yourself, for longer than a couple of hours, without flipping on the TV or the radio or picking up the telephone or a magazine, if you can truly find and be at peace with your own company."
Many of my readers know that I officially call myself A Believer but that my spiritual beliefs touch on many many traditional religions including Paganism and Wicca. I am often asked what rituals I perform regularly and the only one I perform every single month is the ritual of solitude. Sitting in silence, sometimes with candles flickering and lights dimmed but always finding a quiet resting state where I can let all of my thoughts fade away and concentrate on nothing at all.
I don't have a formal process for this ritual but what I have below captures the essence of my quiet ritual:
Shut off the phone.
Lose the remote.
Unplug the stereo speakers.
Close the lid on the laptop.
Tuck away the journals, books and magazines.
Put the pets outside.
Grab a pillow for my head.
Lay flat on my floor in front of my fireplace.
Focus on feeling my breath.
Feel every inhale and exhale.
Start at the head and feel every muscle loosen up.
Stop at the toes.
Repeat as necessary.
Start at the head and feel my features.
Feel my eyelids, closed softly.
Feel the air of my breath through my nose.
Feel the skin on my cheeks.
Feel everything, all the way down to my toes.
Feel it with my MIND. Not my fingers.
Repeat as necessary.
If distracted with thoughts sit up and write those distracting thoughts down on a piece of paper.
Silently promise to tend to them later.
Lay back down.
Relax.
Lose all thoughts.
Feel the blood running through my veins.
Feel the tingle of my skin.
Hear the natural sounds that surround me.
The furnace kicking in.
The breeze through the trees.
The dogs collar in the background.
Hear the world I live in.
It's a good world.
See the darkness of the inside of my eyelids.
See how when I focus on them they start to sparkle.
See the faces of people that empower me.
See people I love.
See things that I find beautiful.
See myself - smiling, happy, glowing, bright.
See everything good that I have today.
Visualize everything good that I want coming to me.
Relax.
Feel.
Hear.
See.
Repeat.
Return to my life.
I remember the first time I read the book, reading a passage about solitude and it made me feel sad that I had no experience ever truly being alone with myself. Over the years I have gotten better at appreciating true solitude. The kind of solitude that leaves you sitting alone, in silence, lost in the sounds of your own thoughts.
This is the passage that I read last night and as I read it this time, I was filled with happiness knowing that I can absolutely find peace with my own company:
"When I ask if you can be alone with yourself, I am not asking if the idea of being alone appeals to you but if you can actually be present, with yourself, for longer than a couple of hours, without flipping on the TV or the radio or picking up the telephone or a magazine, if you can truly find and be at peace with your own company."
Many of my readers know that I officially call myself A Believer but that my spiritual beliefs touch on many many traditional religions including Paganism and Wicca. I am often asked what rituals I perform regularly and the only one I perform every single month is the ritual of solitude. Sitting in silence, sometimes with candles flickering and lights dimmed but always finding a quiet resting state where I can let all of my thoughts fade away and concentrate on nothing at all.
I don't have a formal process for this ritual but what I have below captures the essence of my quiet ritual:
Shut off the phone.
Lose the remote.
Unplug the stereo speakers.
Close the lid on the laptop.
Tuck away the journals, books and magazines.
Put the pets outside.
Grab a pillow for my head.
Lay flat on my floor in front of my fireplace.
Focus on feeling my breath.
Feel every inhale and exhale.
Start at the head and feel every muscle loosen up.
Stop at the toes.
Repeat as necessary.
Start at the head and feel my features.
Feel my eyelids, closed softly.
Feel the air of my breath through my nose.
Feel the skin on my cheeks.
Feel everything, all the way down to my toes.
Feel it with my MIND. Not my fingers.
Repeat as necessary.
If distracted with thoughts sit up and write those distracting thoughts down on a piece of paper.
Silently promise to tend to them later.
Lay back down.
Relax.
Lose all thoughts.
Feel the blood running through my veins.
Feel the tingle of my skin.
Hear the natural sounds that surround me.
The furnace kicking in.
The breeze through the trees.
The dogs collar in the background.
Hear the world I live in.
It's a good world.
See the darkness of the inside of my eyelids.
See how when I focus on them they start to sparkle.
See the faces of people that empower me.
See people I love.
See things that I find beautiful.
See myself - smiling, happy, glowing, bright.
See everything good that I have today.
Visualize everything good that I want coming to me.
Relax.
Feel.
Hear.
See.
Repeat.
Return to my life.
Comments