At the end of this week in the northern hemisphere, we once again get to experience the Winter Solstice where endings and beginnings come together to create a new vortex of energy that speaks to the wonder of all paired opposites. Carl Jung (1875-1961), the founder of analytical psychology taught that wholeness is about bringing together what has been separated. This understanding recognizes the splits in our thinking that treat apparent opposites as separate rather than as united. This awakening ultimately sees the unity in diversity, the wholeness in the parts, the interconnectivity of two as One.

The nativity story that continues to be told at this time of year is about the marriage of opposites and the capacity we all have to choose Oneness rather than division, unity instead of separation and communion beyond fragmentation.  It’s an eternal story that invites us into the depths of all opposites to discover the hidden attraction and non dual potential occurring in and reconciling all things. True union does not smother differences, it celebrates and delights in gifts differing. The call of Winter Solstice  challenges our binary mindsets and fires the depths of our passion for Oneness. 

In terms of our spiritual life, we are led into this Oneness by listening to our dreams of the night, our intuitions, our inner promptings and our attention to Natures gifts of earth, air, fire and water touching every aspect of our lives. When we dive deeply into the flowing depths of our souls, we can experience what has been called the ‘symphony of all things.’ Ponder the many so called opposites; night and day, head and heart, life and death, spirit and matter, feminine and masculine, up and down, wealth and poverty, united and separate. Recognize that everything is paired, conjoined, a sacred unity.

As we grow, we forget the undifferentiated oneness we had at birth where All is One. We naturally engage in the necessary ego development allowing us to differentiate ourselves from our environment. The next stage of development directs us toward the ‘differentiated oneness’ that brings us back into the garden. It’s rarely reached however because of our binary, either/or conditioning. Without a process of awakening from this ‘sleep’, the wholeness of our oneness is not remembered and honored. With this awakening, we grow into wholeness while also maintaining our  unique persona. 

Awakening to the both/and of darkness and light, feminine and masculine and all other non dual energies flowing in, around and through us and the whole of creation allow us to emerge from the unawakened depths within us. This is where the unconscious becomes conscious, the blind see and the deaf hear.  This is the perennial philosophy, the pearl of great price, the place called home deep inside ourselves, the philosophers stone, the buried treasure. It’s where swords are turned into plow shares and lions lay with lambs. It’s the reconciliation of all so called opposites. It’s the inner space from which we can make a fresh start. It’s Wholeness. . . .

• As you reflect on the longest night and the shortest day this week, sit with how they are a oneness, a sacred unity and how they live in you and you in them. . . .
• Notice, in this season of soul, how you separate things into right/wrong, good/ bad, love and fear, acceptable and unacceptable, either/or………then allow yourself to arrive at the possibility of both/and. Work to reconcile these apparent opposites with wonderment and a smiling heart. Awaken to your pride, prejudice and process. . . .
• As you walk through the above exercises, give thanks for the possibilities and potentialities waiting for you as you take these steps toward a non-dual perspective and differentiated oneness. Give thanks and smile at the wonder of this journey into the Wholeness of Life, into the Who that’s Truly You, in Remembering to Remember!