Winter Release

Ahhh winter. Tis the season of death and decay.
Not what you were expecting? Hear us out. 

Winter is the time of releasing life, allowing trees to go dormant, preparing for new life. This is a time that the forest honors where it came from, the life it has lived, and the prospect of a new life to come. We don’t think about it, but that is what human beings do as well. For some, this comes in the form of a resolution: “This year, I will _______” usually translates to this year, I intend to shed this old habit. While we do not condone forcing yourself to change and set inextricably high goals that will fall by the wayside come March, we do invite you to go inward and see what you’d like to shed. What aspects of your life need to die off in order for you to prepare for this new year? For your new life?

We had the opportunity this week to lead a workshop on release, in which participants formed flower mandalas, practiced restorative yoga, drank tea, and contemplated the year. For those who were unable to join us, we would like to share some of the themes of this workshop and present you with a ritual that you can perform at home to release this year. 

Flowers release their petals when they are dying, shedding their old selves before they go to seed and set the groundwork for next spring. Not only is this process completed to close out one life in exchange for another, but those petals also help provide the soil with nutrients for those brand new seeds. The flowers decompose, re-enter the earth, and provide sustenance for their successors. Their energy is transmuted, just as our emotional and spiritual energy can be. 

Ritual for death and rebirth this winter

What you’ll need:

-Petals from a dying flower (please don’t remove them from a healthy fresh flower. Wait until your bouquet releases these petals on their own or visit a florist for some recycled petals that have already been used in an arrangement and are destined for the trash)
-Bowl of water
-Paper
-Writing utensil 

1. Place the petals and bowl of water in front of you. Visualize these petals falling from their flower, ready to be released. They weren’t forced out, they knew it was time to go. Imagine yourself as a flower. What petals are ready to be released? What has lived its life and purpose within you but no longer serves you?
2. Write down what doesn't serve you on a piece of paper. This can be as long or as short as you’d like. Take your time here. If you feel that you have completed this step, take a minute or two in silence to see if anything else comes up. Try to be specific.  
3. Take your paper and place it in the bowl. Watch as the ink slowly fades and blurs. 
4. Feel free to place the petals in the bowl over the paper, or take each petal one by one, honoring and thanking each item that you are releasing before dropping that petal in the bowl with your note. 
5. Sit in silence for a bit, either closing your eyes or gazing gently at the bowl with your fading note and petals. Thank these moments for having a place in your life and serving a purpose, and gently remind them that they no longer belong to you. They have to die and be released in order for new seeds to germinate. In order for a new season to begin.  
6. When you are finished, feel free to release the water and petals back to the earth, allowing this energy to be transmuted by the earth’s energy. Dispose of the paper. 

Whatever we seek to achieve or embody this coming year requires that we make space for it. This ritual, and many like it, will help us to create that space within ourselves. The new year is an easy time to perform these rituals as change is all around, but ties can be cut and healing can occur any time.