December 21^st brings the winter solstice, the shortest day of the year, and also  a kind of fulcrum, called a point of highest culmination, on which an important, natural shift happens as we  head into longer days moving toward spring.

This idea of “point of highest culmination” can be described through the concept of yin and yang. In Chinese medicine, we see everything in life as a continuum of yin and yang – the light moving toward dark, and the dark toward light. It is a cycle, like everything in our world. This day is a pinnacle, the highest point of culmination, and a shift begins to happen as we move toward more light.

Think of a ball that is pushed up to the top of a mountain. When it gets to the top, momentum moves it down the other side of the hill. As the ball rolls down the mountainside, its momentum will move it partway up the next hill. This constant shifting – in this case between the momentum of the ball speeding down and its movement back up again –is like the shift from yin to yang, and yang to yin.

So what do we do with this type of “energy?” This is the perfect time to go into the “darkness” or seek your answers within. Darkness is not bad. It is simply dark. It is the opposite of light and part of the law of polarity — everything has an equal and exact opposite. The dark is the inward yin that balances the outward yang of light.

We go inside seeking our own true knowing – for we all carry that thread that connects us to each other, and to the divine.  If you are connected to the divine, then you have the wisdom you need inside of you. But, because we’ve been trained from birth to look outside of ourselves for information and learning (and of course, we do need that, too), we stop trusting our own knowing.

Here’s a great ritual to dive deeply into your own inner wisdom to set you up for the next phase of movement, forward into 2014. What’s cool about this is – you don’t need to make this into a performance piece, or worry if you’re doing it right. It’s just an exploration. Trust yourself. You’ll figure it out!

• Light a candle. Get quiet. Close your eyes.
• Take a few deep breaths in and out focusing only on your breath, until you feel your body begin to relax and unwind.
• Ask yourself the following question (it’s coming!) without needing to know the answer. That is the trick – just ask it, stay quiet and watch, like you’re waiting for a movie to start. Let the answers start to float forward. They might come in pictures, in words, in sensations, without words.
• This exploration within might take you a minute, or 15; it doesn’t matter. Just sit with it, and let the answers bubble to the surface, trusting you know what those are – or at least some of them.
• Here’s your question: What do I need to know right now?
• Just watch that question go deep into your place of knowing. (You don’t even need to know what that means, because it might be different for every one of us). Let it continue to develop. If strange concepts or words come up, just let them. You’re just observing, not engaged. Don’t try to figure it out…just be with it.
• When you feel you are complete (whatever that feels like to you, you’ll know) open your eyes.
• Walk over to your desk or writing table, and begin writing about what came up for you. Write until you feel as if you have an understanding or feel complete.
• If you’d like to take this further as you plan your 2014, continue, and answer the following:

• While we understand that all in the universe is designed for more life, no matter if it’s seemingly destructive (think compost): What in 2013 worked or do you see as good? Make a list.
• What in 2013 did not work out as you’d intended or wanted?
• What lessons did you learn?
• What, based on what you remember and “got” in your meditation, and what you learned in these questions, will be your main focus for 2014? It could be a phrase or a word. This is going to be my year of ________________.

When you do an exercise like this, it’s pretty fascinating what comes up. Then, when you have your word or phrase, you have something to apply to every decision you need to make in 2014. Will this bring me closer to my goal during this year of  __________ ? It should be a pretty clear yes or no answer most of the time!

Enjoy the process and share it with your friends and colleagues. They might be quite appreciative!

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