Return of the Sun
Winter Solstice is the darkest night of the year. It also offers an opportunity to let go of what no longer serves us to open the space for the expression of radiance, the return of the light.
Human beings have been telling stories long before we understood that the gravity of the Sun kept the earth in its orbit. An elder once described humans as being set apart from animals by their ability to tell stories and make fire.
We tell stories to entertain, provide inspiration, and reassurance, and make sense of the darkness. The stories our ancestors told were most often by the fireside. We sought to make sense of the cosmos and the cycles inherent in the seasons.
In the Northern hemisphere, Winter Solstice is the darkest night of the year. The day when the sun stands still is celebrated with candles, lights, and fires to light up the night and call the sun back. In the Southern hemisphere, the Summer Solstice counters the time of darkness with the pinnacle of light. The Solstices are unique because they house the pregnant pause, a still point, and within their template—the earth, Her Cosmos, and their movement—the darkest night embodies a birthing of the light in the Sun’s return. The pregnant pause avails itself to the inward dive of surrender. The surrender offers a kind of rebirth or remembering—to let go of what no longer serves while turning toward an inner sun, and in turn, favoring its luminous light.
The Sun makes a pilgrimage across the sky each year between these shores—of light and dark, symmetry and asymmetry— and the pause allows us to listen and feel the experience of awe and beauty in the Flow. This still point is evocative of interconnection and Oneness and the way they weave to tell the story of release and renewal; a continuous ebb and flow of reciprocity and possibility. The alchemy amidst opposing polarities offers up hidden gold.
We can harmonize our relationship with Nature and each other when we open up to the stream of light within. The illumining nature of the Sun’s life force infuses the earth and all of Her inhabitants with prana. This light is needed to turn the carbon cycle’s wheel of creation—generating energy at its center—converting hydrogen into helium. The light within is awareness itself tapping the source at its center. This ever-present light of consciousness is available as a guiding force most elegantly unfolded through the teachings of meditation and the companion of practice.
The Return of the Sun following Winter Solstice’s long night’s dream also connects to the teaching of Maitri, the friend in the sun, the inner sun of consciousness.
For our ancestors, it was not just the light of the fire that kept them warm, as they told stories of sun gods and torch bearers, it was also the light in the eyes that evoked a feeling of joy and inspiration. You know that feeling—looking into a friend's eyes—light-hearted playfulness, a pure celebration of the moment, felt in shared laughter and contentment—this too must have warmed their spirits to endure the nights.
Recently, I had the great joy and pleasure of being in the company of a dear friend. We spent many years hiking, swimming in lakes, and meditating in our shared solar tradition. Early on I took a few classes with her and appreciated how she illuminated many sacred teachings as a teacher. The teachings of compassion, Karunya, blossomed through a presence, in a way of being, that was not conveyed by traditional kind of teaching but rather naturally and spontaneously in life. I would come to learn that the way she freely and joyfully shared knowledge with me in our conversations and through our friendship is the way of the friend in the sun, the way of Maitri. While some teachings point to the Maitri as kindness or friendliness, my experience with a deeper seeding of this light came to life through the Maitri she had set free inside of herself. Maitri is connected to many divine qualities that weave true nature into compassion. These qualities are shared and felt in the unbound flow of one’s true nature—the Sun Self. The one who stands in the light of their true Self, of Maitri, offers a listening ear attuned by intuition. There is something contagious in this light that shines like gold, especially in the darkest of times.
The Winter Solstice theme of divine birth can also be felt in the radiance of the creativity that often births itself through the portal of meditation. We can call it a guide, grace, God/Goddess and it can be experienced as Maitri, the light of true nature which becomes dim in the shadows cast by emotions, ego positions, or patterns.
Skilled meditation practice allows for an effortless discovery of the light that rises through consciousness. We don’t have to reach outside of ourselves to connect to the light of the universe because we are not separate from it. The light has always been inside us. But for it to shine to its full potential we need the means to culture the light.
One of my favorite poems depicts the awe and magnificence of the Sun’s radiance, the sacred partnership of interdependence, and the ever-generous nature of the light of Maitri; the friend in the sun.
“Even After All this time The Sun never says to the Earth, "You owe me." Look What happens With a love like that, It lights the whole sky.” ― Hafiz
The Silence in meditation allows for an unconditional opening to — the touch of the sun — this flow of essence, the power of awareness itself, is the wellspring of a limitless flow of healing. When we surrender all of our resistance—and we let go—we open the door into Now. The teachings of meditation and the development of effective practice are contingent on addressing the sentinels that block and uphold the patterns and tendencies that prevent us from being here now.
The pitfalls we face in practice are often similar to the ones we face in life. These sentinels are the challenges we learn to attend to along the way. When we no longer fight with fear and have the bravery to acknowledge and feel it, for what it truly is, it will no longer imprison us. Emotions are conditional, based on what we want or don’t want, while contentment rests in the acknowledgment of things, as they are, which is a clear path to peace, a now presence unfolded in meditation. The teachings passed down in the spirit of Maitri allow for a relationship of connection between teacher and student, based on the friend in the sun, where teaching and practice are unrestrained by dogma.
Meditation is the most powerful way to rest in the light of the Sun Self because it allows us to connect to the spiritual heart.
This spiritual heart nurtures the means to be present to the limitless potential of true nature. During meditation practice, a grace or bliss can emerge that cultures the heart. The luminous residue spills over and begins to infuse life.
Learn more about the foundational teachings within the pillars of meditation and the art of compassion which comprise meditation and further illuminate Maitri.
Upcoming 6-week Beginner meditation courses in January:
Art of Compassion in Meditation
If you are established in meditation and are longing to remove the next veil, the