Blessing the Dusk
A transition in daylight and nighttimes arrives. Find magic in the dusk
Hello Friend,
First: if you are feeling the overwhelming amount of uncertainty that’s buzzing around us right now in your heart, body, spirit–you are not alone.
I am right here with you.
The last few weeks of this election have stirred up so many feelings.
Earlier this week, I read Jay Michaelson’s How to Survive the Next Week ; it’s full of very helpful, down-to-earth mindfulness tools. Today (11/3), Janet Connor, a great spiritual teacher I’ve studied with, joins six women mystics for a prayer event focused on raising consciousness.
I’m grateful for these resources–and also anticipate that the next few days will feel turbulent. How could they not?
When I’m feeling especially uncertain and struggling with the human world, I turn to the natural world and to my imagination for grounding and to release my feelings.
November’s vibrant beauty is here. Every day when I walk, I see leaves that are dead and falling and some are vibrant yellow, bursting with life before they drop.
Nighttime arrives earlier this week. Fewer hours of sunlight can rock us into exhaustion, despair or just feeling blah.
This week, my intention is to get outside during the hour of dusk: that darker part of twilight that contain all kinds of colors, sounds, life. The last bit of light before the darkness arrives.
Dusk makes a timely theme for our November writing; dusk is a metaphor about transition, about the in between places and what we can discover when we’re there.
We might be feeling dusky for…some time?
Let’s welcome November, with all that we’re feeling now and are seeking in the month ahead.
PS: Click the arrow above & I’ll read you the opening message & prompt.
Writing a blessing for November
If you have a friend who might like to explore this dusky month with us, invite them to join us!
Writing Practice: Set aside 5-7 minutes for this practice. Write in a journal or open a ‘Journey with The Season’ document where you can return each Sunday.
Prompt: For your blessing/intention/prayer for the month of November, begin writing out your gratitude…get specific and spill out about all of the beauty, blessings, joy, relationships that are feeding your soul during this transitional time.
Then write about your hopes and desires for the month ahead. Go big!
Write about how your energy feels as the nights begin to get darker and ways you hope to be nourished or about what you might like to explore during the darker nights.
Some phrases to get you started writing:
As the month begins, I’m grateful for…
As the nights get darker, I can…
I plan to nourish myself by…
My wishes for the world are…
May this month bring…
Place your November desires/intentions somewhere that you’ll see it as you start your day–and where you can visit them during the dusky hour, too.
I’d love to read your expressions!
Deepening Practice: If you typed your monthly intentions, write them out again by hand. Take markers, pens, watercolors or pastels and add some color to them. You may want to take a photo of dusk time and add it to your blessing. Add to your blessing with hopes and desires through the month!
May your creative sparks give you strength in the days and week ahead! With love, Gabrielle Ariella
PHILLY-AREA FRIENDS!
Seeking community & inspiration? Join our Inner Wisdom Moon Circles in November Come play! On Sunday, 11/10, we’ll explore the month of gratitude by offering thanks to our ancestors.