Bare trees reaching to the bright winter sky offered a powerful image for the workshop Claiming the Heart of Winter: Nurturing Our Regenerating Selves held on Saturday, January 28th 2012 at Bentley University. Organized by Sacred Threads, a women’s multi-faith spirituality group, and facilitated by Diane D’Souza, the half day retreat led twenty-five women to reflect on the experience of winter as a rich part of their own life journey. “Our lives spiral through abundant and fallow times,” D’Souza pointed out. “The seeds of our most vibrant, vital periods are protected and nurtured through winter’s frozen stillness.”
Part of what makes D’Souza’s workshops unique are her commitment to a holistic view of the self, drawing on body, mind, emotions and spirit; and her deep belief in the power and wisdom which emerges when people gather in a circle. Trained in Indian classical dance, D’Souza encourages participants to use their bodies to connect with their emotions and express their experiences. Laughter, the sharing of stories, and the space for intimate one-on-one connections were all elements which helped to make this retreat successful.
The “sharing circle” process surfaced a rich, collective wisdom about the trials and gifts of this fallow season. And the comfort of knowing that we are not alone as we journey through the heart of winter.
Winter… a time of
Stillness
Sleeping
Bare trees
Turning inwards
Dormancy
Hidden seeds
Letting go
Just being.
What we have learned about seasons of winter from our own lives:
These are hard places; times of darkness, grief and loss.
Sadness is a familiar presence.
We are sometimes disconnected from ourselves—particularly our emotions or needs.
The season has a cold and suffering face, as well as one of dormancy and hidden growth.
Our emotions often rise to the surface when we talk about these times.
Fallow, wintery periods are just part of the larger story of our life.
Our life’s journey cycles us through times of sadness and happiness.
Winter offers a time for self-tending.
It is a time of “secret”, invisible growth.
If you try to hurry through this season too quickly, you can emerge broken on the other side.
You can’t rush Spring.
Some of the things that sustain us through winter’s fallow times:
Preparing, eating, sharing food;
The pleasure of wine;
The warmth of friendship;
Using our body, exercising;
Being outdoors, in nature;
Curling up;
Writing, expressing ourselves;
Crying;
Celebrating;
Giving space to our creative selves (knitting!);
Napping, sleeping;
Resting;
Music;
Prayer;
Laughter;
Animals;
Children;
The presence of an accompanying, loving God;
Helping others;
Escaping to other worlds through reading (thus disengaging our actively analyzing mind);
Changing our environment, getting away;
Taking time to do things we’ve always wanted to;
Experiencing new pleasures;
Learning new things;
Seeking out Light;
Anticipating, dreaming of, and hoping for Spring.
