You'll notice I write in the first paragraph about how anticipation can be part of living a higher conscious life. Its part of the childlike wonder that ensures a high frequency and excitement about being the Divine You. So I encourage you to try some of these activities, especially the last one of Making clay santons and check out my other articles in the series at http://ginadianneharding.com
Anticipation is one joyful aspect of Solstice Preparation. Now that is an interesting statement for me to make. It points the importance of experiencing life as a human while sustaining a higher conscious perspective. Usually I say focus on living in the moment, not the future. And you can remain in the flow of enjoying the excitement and childlike wonder of the present moment as you create things you will enjoy in the future. I guess its a demonstration of the principle that “What you create in each moment with feeling, is what you attract as your future experiences”
Today I invite you to peruse some possibilities for crafty activities. You can take care of you by increasing your frequency and getting into a flow state as you have fun and focus on creating Solstice decorations.
Many of the crafts involve connecting with nature by using natural objects. If you go into nature to collect items, select branches or fruit that have fallen. In order to make a Soul connection, thank the objects for their life, their beauty and their gift of their essence for your use. Remember you have a reciprocal relationship with sentient nature. You love it and it loves you. If you pick berries you may wish to ask them if they are willing to have you take them for decoration. Tune in and feel their response. I do this with stones and shells when I see one I wish to collect to use later as an offering and occasionally I get a no. I often get a sense of excitement that they are having an opportunity to “travel” to a new destination. If you do pick berries, holly or branches from a live tree consider leaving an offering of seeds in thanks.
You can do these crafts in silent contemplation, or you can reach out to others by inviting them to participate. You could volunteer to do this at a senior facility or give some mothers time in this busy holiday season by asking a friend to help and getting the neighbourhood children involved.
Winter Solstice ActivitiesI’ve included links for more detailed instructions or videos how to’s.
Winter Solstice Activity-How To Make a Peanut Butter Pine Cone Bird Feeder
Make a Snowflake Table Runner In addition to hanging the snowflakes in your windows or on your tree (as long as you have tiny lights that don’t emit a lot of heat), a unique idea for using the snowflakes is making a snowflake table runner.
Make a beautiful suncatcher for the outdoor tree
Make a Clay Santon.
You can take the old christmas tradition of making a crib or Nativity scene and make a more generic scene to welcome the newborn Sun with clay figures you make that represent the Sun, Mother Earth and Father Sky. You could use children’s modelling clay for this project. I think this is a touching idea by Cassandra Eason. Get into a high frequency of bliss, Breathe and Let the divine spark essence of the figure you are creating allow itself to reveal itself. It doesn’t have to be great sculpture, rough figures or symbols are just as meaningful. Include a figure of yourself and your family and pets in the scene.
“The crib was introduced by St Francis of Assisi in 1224 who was trying to remind people of the religious meaning of Christmas. He led the local people up the hills to a cave where he had created a scene complete with animals. In parts of France santons, clay figures, are made for the nativity scene that include models of local village characters and dignitaries.
Whether you are Christian, pagan or of a different or no religion, creating santons from clay to represent those you love encapsulates love in its widest and purest sense. As well as a Christ or Sun figure, a Holy Father and Mother or the Earth Mother and Sky Father, a crib or a cave from which the Unconquerable Sun was said by the Egyptians to be born each year at this time, animals and wise men and women, you can fashion rough images of all these you love, endowing each with wishes for a special secret Christmas gift that they most need, confidence, health, joy, a child.
As you work by candle or fire light enfold yourself in love or if you are lonely draw to you in the image of the unknown person or potential family figures you create out of clay to stand round the manger, your future source of strength and affection. The magic of love is most powerful of all at any season”. http://www.cassandraeason.com/wheel_of_the_year/
Image of Candle Wreath by Bart Everson Flickr creative commons