January tends to be a difficult month in the temperate zones of the Northern hemisphere. The décor for the end-of-year festivities is gone. The Earth has withdrawn into itself, preparing for the Spring. The days are getting longer but the Sky is still far away. We look around and it’s dark and cold and dismal. Bewildered, we begin stumbling back to the warm chambers of the heart. Hopefully, we can find the way in.

In the shrouding gloom of winter

the soul feels ardently impelled

to manifest its innate strength,

to guide itself to realms of darkness,

anticipating thus

the sense-world’s revelation through the warmth of the heart.

~ Verse 42 by Rudolf Steiner from The Calendar of the Soul
(trans. Ruth & Hans Pusch, with a slight revision by Marta Stemberger)

The negative effects of media, hectic lifestyle, spiritless use of materialistic technologies—including their use for communications and health care—are so devastating. And our Soul suffers. Remember the movie The Golden Compass? The message is very clear. The authority in the film is trying to perfect the incision process, by which the children’s “daemons” are cut off. Separated from the inner voice of caution and wisdom, these children would grow up into adults without a sense of tolerance and curiosity. Lacking the free will, they would become puppets in the hands of the power-thirsty Magisterium. The individual’s daemon in the parallel universe of the Philip Pullman’s Northern Lights (part of His Dark Materials trilogy), on which The Golden Compass is based, is equivalent to the Soul forces in our world. And the Magisterium could easily be interpreted as heartless establishments of all sorts.

“Darkness cannot drive out darkness;
only Light can do that.
Hate cannot drive out hate;
only Love can do that.”
~ Martin Luther King Jr.

Hate of any persuasion leaves us empty. We’ve seen this played out throughout histories again and again. Even the proponents of love are attacked and killed. Yet, the only solution for anything is Love. Compassion for the fellow human beings, regardless of what they do. It’s not easy to always see the other for who they are: another person with their own struggles, trying to navigate their unique path through life. Perhaps you don’t like what you see in others. Perhaps you are not happy with who you are.

In the gloom of Winter
the zeal of inner strength
emboldens me
to venture into shadows
and overcome the fears
with the warmth of my heart.

~ Soulful Spark 42 by Marta Stemberger

Breathe, relax, slow down. Connect with your Highest Self. Allow pure Light flow through your column of Light, purifying the shadows. Wake up. Step away from the screen of distorted information. Look at the world around you and at yourself in fresh Light. Allow your Soul to guide you. Its innate strength will lead you to practices that will nourish you on all levels. And don’t beat yourself up because you’ve strayed; hug yourself with compassion instead. Gently nurture the subtler senses: you’ll be surprised how quickly they begin to sparkle anew in the warmth of the heart.

Beware: the flickering glow of your inner hearth will draw in new and old shadows as well. The fears that you’ve pushed away, unresolved, will approach you again. Don’t fret; you’re ready. Put another log of Love on your fire within, gather the fears, and burn them. Treat them with respect though. Take a nice piece of stationary and jot down all that scares you. Recognize and appreciate the gift that each scary notion has given you, and be afraid no more. Let the flames turn fears into dust. Let new positive thoughts arise. Write them down. Fold the pretty paper with your encouraging words, and store them in a sacred place—a beautiful box, jar, vase, envelope—to remind you of your brighter and more Soul-embracing path. Treat this special container with tender care for it’s filled with a magic potion of Imagination, Inspiration, Intuition, with the healing vibrations of Light, Love, Life.

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Over to you, dear Soulful Reader:

WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE RITUAL FOR RELEASING FEARS AND EMBRACING LOVE?

I invite you to share your thoughts + impressions below.

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Treat yourself to insightful name analysis…

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