Solstice

This time of year always feels pregnant with possibilities. Something about the dark, quiet, inward looking state of the natural world at this time of year, puts me in something of a liminal mental space.

A liminal space is a place that exists somewhat out of the realm of time and space, a sort of transcendent no-man's-land where we experience the oneness of ourselves in relation to the infinite universe. I don't know if the pagans marked Solstice for this reason, but for me, this is what is at the heart of this season of the year.

It is a time to reflect, to ruminate and to celebrate with others the mystery of being alive and the blessing of being together. I know the latter is fraught with complications, but in essence I believe this time of year exists as an opportunity to re-connect in a heart felt way, both with ourselves and others.

One of the things I thought I'd do this year, is honour the season, in this particular sense, by re-establishing the habit of journaling. I also thought it would be a good anti-dote to the commercialism of the season, to think of a place to volunteer my time.

The whole focus on gifts seems to blind us to the fact that there are more pressing and important ways that we can give something back to our families and communities. Animal shelters, soup kitchens and other similar organizations can always use extra volunteers, and this won't cost us any money. It will, however, open our hearts and connect us in an important way to others around us--again, something that seems resonant with the soul of the season.

Solstice marks the longest night of the year. In this womb-like space, let's take our blinders off and gaze upwards at the stars together. Let's celebrate with heart and soul the core importance, the best, of what it means to be human and to be here together.

"In seed time learn, in harvest teach, in winter enjoy."

--William Blake

Life, Soul and Social Architecture

I have been reading a bit of James Hillman's work and thought I'd share this timely thought of his with you regarding the problems with psychotherapy:

"It makes every problem a subjective, inner problem. And that's not where the problems come from. They come from the environment, the cities, the economy, the racism. They come from architecture, school systems, capitalism, exploitation. They come from many places that psychotherapy does not address. Psychotherapy theory turns it all on you: you are the one who is wrong. What I'm trying to say is that, if a kid is having trouble or is discouraged, the problem is not just inside the kid; its also in the system, the society."

This strikes me as an important and timely observation for the fact that in all the years psychotherapy has been around, people everywhere seem to be having more trouble with mental disorder, not less. The prevalence of depression is but one such example of this. So, James Hillman's criticism seems apt and fair to me.

Think of the importance of architecture, how particular spaces make us feel that either lends itself to a greater sense of vitality or less. This is important, not just a luxury, but a necessity as well. What would the world look like and feel like to us if greater attention was paid to the building of private homes and public structures? 

My favourite architect, Christopher Alexander, has done much to address the significance of this issue, with some very innovative and inspiring results.

Placing the burden of health and well-being entirely on the shoulders of an individual seems opportunistic and cruel, when all these other factors are at work influencing and shaping the condition of the psyche as well. At the same time, however, the one thing we have some measure of control over is ourselves and how we decide to respond to this inequity.

This is why taking a close look at the way we live our lives is important. The choices we make regarding the most mundane aspects of our life are especially so because investing a little more soul here is so achievable--like paying careful attention to the colours that we surround ourselves with, or the feel of the blanket on our bed, the heft of the knife in our hand. All of this counts. 

We sense with our whole body the things in our environment, the sounds, smells, texture of things, so why wouldn't we pay attention to this and make an effort to more carefully orchestrate things so that they resonate with the deepest recesses of our being?

Living life from a more soulful place is one way we can help to influence and shape the world (relieving the suffering and anxiety that are so currently prevalent) around us by the intuitive re-shaping of the material environment that surrounds us. 

The things that are all about us, that we expose ourselves to routinely, have an enormous impact on our psyches (souls), so it is not only sensible, but intelligent as well, to aid in the creation of a world that reflects this truth.