Ghia – Winter is a time for self-nourishment and rest. But how do we do that in our fast-paced world? By learning how to Pause!

Maia Toll https://www.maiatoll.com/

April McMurtry https://themoonismycalendar.com/bio-home-page?srsltid=AfmBOorhR1qVf86MGl_nhcmiY_2hJA_-wzkgGZIT4BTaLU2mj47V2hge

Founder of Days for Girls Celeste Mergens https://celestemergens.com/

Brooke McAlary https://www.amazon.com/Destination-Simple-Everyday-Rituals-Slower/dp/1786694417

Hurray Ghia here.

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I'm this week's host of the

creative spiritual journey podcast.

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Where Judy and I talk about

those things that bring us joy.

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For me.

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I find joy by connecting with nature.

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Connecting with Jesus Christ

and our heavenly parents.

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Seasonal living.

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And all the bits of magic and wonder

I come across while navigating this

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remarkable journey we call life.

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I talked about the moon a

lot in the last two podcasts.

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And I want to step away from that.

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But I need to mention the moon for

just a moment while I'm setting

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the stage for today's topic.

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You will recall.

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I talked about the relationship

of the cycles of the moon to

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the cycles of the seasons.

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And I said the new moon

is winter at 12 o'clock.

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The waxing half-moon is spring at three.

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The full moon is summer at six.

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The waning half-moon is fall at nine.

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And then we go back to the winter and

the new moon at the top of the clock.

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Okay.

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So hold those thoughts.

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And let me read you a scripture

from doctrine and covenants.

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This is section 88.

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Verse 42 through 45.

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And again, Verily I say unto you.

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He has given a law unto all

things by which they move in

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their times and their seasons.

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And their courses are fixed.

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Even the courses of the heavens

and the earth, which comprehend

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the earth and all the planets.

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And they give light in their

times and in their seasons.

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In their minutes in their hours,

in their days, in their weeks,

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in their months, in their years.

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And all these are one year

with God, but not with man.

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The earth rolls upon her wings and

the sun given his light by day and

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the moon given her light by night.

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And the stars also give their light

and they roll upon their wings in their

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glory, in the midst of the power of God.

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Isn't that beautiful.

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I love it.

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Now.

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I know it doesn't directly support

anything I've been talking about.

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I'm not trying to make that claim.

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But the words they give light to each

other in their times and in their

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seasons, in their minutes, in their

hours, in their months, in their years.

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Doesn't that sound just a little,

like what I've been talking about.

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Take it for what you will.

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I just find it fun.

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So here we are in December.

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And what I want to talk about today is

turning this whole idea around and taking

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what we've learned about the moon and

applying it to the seasons of the year.

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If we were looking at an analog clock.

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Then right now in December, we are

about 11 o'clock heading towards the

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new moon and the winter solstice,

which takes place on December 21st.

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Now, what is the new moon a time for?

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That introspection all the

rewords a time to slow down.

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And that is exactly what we want

to do in the winter as well.

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Now, just a quick note.

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Because duty is in South Africa.

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We have a bunch of listeners

in the Southern hemisphere.

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And I just want to say, I love you.

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And I hope you're having a

wonderful season of light.

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And that you recognize Jesus Christ

as that light, you are experiencing.

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I also hope you can transcribe

all my seasonal stuff.

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Meaning.

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I hope you can remember and save

these thoughts until next July.

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Okay.

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But because of all my friends in the

Southern half of the world, I have begun

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thinking about the earth differently.

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My tendency is to talk

about me and what I know.

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So naturally I would say December

is a time when the earth rests.

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But the reality is only

half the earth is resting.

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And while of course I have

known this since grade school.

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It wasn't until this podcast that

I spent time thinking about it.

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And what it did was caused me

to recall something similar

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that I recently learned about.

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It was something I learned from

the book, why we sleep by Dr.

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Matthew Walker.

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He explained that when we are in

deep REM sleep, We are basically

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paralyzed, meaning we don't move.

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Which works for humans.

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But because of this discovery, scientists

began asking how different animals such

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as dolphins get the sleep they need.

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They can't become paralyzed

while swimming in the ocean.

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They have to continually

surface to breathe.

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So do you know what it turns out?

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They do.

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They sleep with half

their brain at a time.

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I know it sounds weird and I

don't have any idea how it works.

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I just know that somehow it does work.

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So here is where my

brain makes a giant leap.

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If dolphins sleep with

only half their brains.

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And actually other animals

such as birds do this as well.

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Is it a coincidence that the

earth would rest with only one

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of its hemispheres at a time.

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I don't think so.

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The natural world seems to have

set a precedent for this idea.

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I know I'm taking things out of

context and stretching the point.

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But I thought it was a fun idea.

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So I decided to share it.

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Okay.

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Back to the point of this podcast.

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Where I am here in the United States, we

are heading into winter a time of rest.

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And I want to talk about why resting

during the winter is important.

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And some of the ways we can

apply and practice this idea.

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Let me start by sharing with

you a quote from Maria Toll's

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book, wild wisdom, companion.

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See the show notes for her website.

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The book says, quote.

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It's time says, then reaching

down to kiss Earth's brow.

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Yes size earth.

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We have spend through a full cycle.

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Haven't we.

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I'm ready for a moment of quiet.

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Earth smiles.

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Dipping a toe into the

slipstream of memory.

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I love our work growth

and change and bounty.

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The stars are singing.

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Shall we not have another

spin Earth asks slyly.

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Sun offers this temptation every

year, bouncing a bit excited for the

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infinite possibilities of their dance.

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Earth's heart lifts at sun's

never ending exuberance.

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The fiery joy that has Boyd

them through the seasons.

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Let me catch my breath or

says a mere moment of respite.

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Earth size and settles.

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Letting go of the

striving of seasons past.

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Sun smiles.

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It's the same answer every year.

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So sun leans in and whispers the words.

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Sweet dreams.

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Rest.

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Well, And quote.

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The sun makes me think of a toddler.

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We know as adults when toddlers

are tired and need arrest.

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They get grumpy and irritable.

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But they don't want to miss anything.

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I don't know about you, but

I do exactly the same thing.

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Especially about the idea of

resting during the winter.

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There isn't time to rest.

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At least not in our society.

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We have all these

time-saving contraptions.

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washing machines, dishwashers

cars that dry fast.

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But do we have any more time?

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No, we don't.

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And besides all this, I

am a high energy person.

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I find joy in being productive.

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But aren't you catching my drift.

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I'm calling all of us who don't want to

rest during the winter babies, we are

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acting like babies, like little children.

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We are part of this earth and I believe we

are best served when we follow its cycles.

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Here is a similar idea.

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I recently heard an interview on the

magnified podcast with Celeste merkins,

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who was the founder of days for girls.

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Let me paraphrase what she said.

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As women, we are often so busy and

pulled in so many different directions.

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That when Christ says, come follow me,

we hear the comm part, but we missed the

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part that says, so I may give you rest.

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Oh, that is so true.

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But understand.

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I'm not saying we have

to sleep all winter.

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Of course, it would be awesome if

we could sync with the sun, if we

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could get out of bed when the sun

rises and wind down at sunset.

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If we could light our houses in

the evening with soft yellow flame,

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instead of bright led lights.

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All that would be great.

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But like you, I am perfectly aware.

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We live in a world that believes in

going full steam ahead at all times.

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And in all seasons.

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A world that believes we should

always be in a state of full bloom.

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It simply isn't realistic in

our current lives to come to a

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complete stop during the winter.

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Even if we would like to.

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So my goal is simply to slow down

enough to do the work of nourishing my

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soul, both spiritually and physically.

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Let me talk about how this looks.

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There was a woman.

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I will call a moon cycle

specialist named April McMurdy.

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I will also include her

website in the show notes.

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I was listening to her, talk on a podcast

and want to share her thoughts with you.

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I note, she is talking about the new

moon here, and I am talking about winter.

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But as I discussed, it is a similar idea.

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Here are her paraphrased words.

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The new moon helps us get our needs met.

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It provides nourishment and safety.

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What feels nourishing to you?

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She asks and then she answers.

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Sometimes for me, it's research.

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I had to laugh when I heard that research

doesn't sound very restful to me.

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At least I never thought of it that way.

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But can research be nourishing?

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I don't know.

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I bet my mom would say that it is.

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At 91, she loves nothing more than

a good afternoon of Google research.

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So that's the idea embrace this

time of rest as self nourishment,

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whatever it looks like for you.

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I truly believe in the power

and the importance of rest.

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I love that there are several

instances in the Bible when we

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see Jesus take the time to rest.

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to pause and even to sleep.

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Let me share a few that stand out to

me because of their unique messages.

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I especially love these examples

because they involve women.

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All of Christ's interaction

with women are precious.

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But these stand out because of the pause.

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After a long journey when

Jesus gets to Jacob's.

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Well, the scripture specifically

say he sits down to rest.

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This is where he meets the Samaritan

woman, the first person to whom he

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reveals himself openly as the Messiah

This story stands out to me because

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there is a fear that if we stop

to rest, we will be wasting time.

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But did you notice that this

rest was particularly productive?

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Jesus was resting while

officially starting his ministry.

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My question is, can I

apply this to my life?

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Can I let go of the idea that I must

be doing something to make progress.

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This story helps me believe I can.

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Another example is the story of

the woman with the issue of blood.

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Jesus was in a crowd of people.

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He had somewhere to go,

people waiting for him.

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And what did he do?

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He paused to find the

woman who had touched him.

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There was urgency and

chaos surrounding him.

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Yeti paused.

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Can I pause in my crazy urgent world,

set it all aside assured that what

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I needed to get done will still be

waiting for me when I get there.

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Or that if it isn't.

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It wasn't truly important.

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I believe that is what I can

learn from practicing with

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this concept of seasonal rest.

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The more I practice, the more

I will be able to implement

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the pause when it's needed.

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Let me share one more example.

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This is the story of the

woman taken in adultery.

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Imagine that moment when the men

have drugged the woman to Jesus and

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asked what was to be done with her.

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He didn't answer her immediately.

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Do you recall what he does?

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He takes a moment to draw in the dirt.

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I don't know if this pause was a

moment for Christ to gather his

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thoughts and decide what to say.

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Did he need such a thing?

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Or did he take the moment to let

the other people in the room settle?

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Either way.

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I believe this pause was intentional.

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Powerful and significant.

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It makes me think about the

importance of stopping to think

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about my words before I speak them.

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This would be important in any instance,

but especially during a time of conflict.

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It's my belief that learning to pause.

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Practicing the pause.

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Is something winter is here to teach us.

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Now I know none of these examples

about Christ have anything to do

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with taking a seasonal pause, either

with the moon or in the winter.

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I'm totally stretching the point here.

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But I do believe this earth was

designed by Jesus Christ with

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our best intentions in mind.

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And to me, that includes the seasons.

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So I asked myself, what are they for?

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What do they do?

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What can I learn from them?

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You need to make your own decisions.

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But what I get from winter

is the invitation to pause.

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So I want to share with

you two simple ways.

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I plan to slow down and practice

embracing the pause this winter.

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I recently read the

book, destination simple.

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Every day ritual for a slower

life by Brooke McClary.

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See the show notes for more about her.

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One thing she suggests is single tasking.

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The that just set off alarm bells for you.

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It did for me when I read

it, I love to multitask.

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And the thought of single

tasking makes me dig in my heels.

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I didn't want anything to do with it,

but as I read her chapter on single

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tasking, I began to understand her point.

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Single tasking is not about doing less.

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It's about immersing yourself, wholly

and completely in one task at a time.

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This is what she says.

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Quote.

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It might not be possible to single task

your whole life or even a whole day.

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But once a day is entirely achievable.

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And it adds no time as you can

practice single tasking while

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completing something you already do.

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Then she adds this part that I love quote.

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The single task serves an extra purpose.

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It's a chance to clear the mental

clutter, even for a moment and quote.

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Did you hear that?

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While single tasking, you actually

get to multitask Because single

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tasking helps to clear mental clutter.

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HAZOP I love that.

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So that's one simple way to

play with slowing down during

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this dark time of winter.

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To single task.

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Here is another simple place to

practice adding the pause this season.

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I love to apply the pause to prayer.

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Sometimes I get nervous praying in public.

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And I simply say the next

road thing that comes to mind

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because I'm afraid of a pause.

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Here's the truth.

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No one cares.

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If I pause to gather my thoughts

during a prayer and they don't care

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if I speak slowly and thoughtfully.

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If I am hungry and I need to get

the prayer done, I simply need to

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make my prayer shorter, not faster.

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Not less thoughtful.

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So that's a second idea for

slowing down this winter.

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I'm sure you can come up

with more of your own.

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But I hope these examples show

you just how simple and easy

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finding a deliberate pause can be.

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You can go deeper.

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That would be great.

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Just don't feel like your

life is too busy to slow down.

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The pause is doable.

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When we lean into it, when we practice

it deliberately, we will get better.

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Especially with the energetic help

provided by this dark time of the year.

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And it's my belief that learning

to utilize this rest, this pause.

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We'll service through all aspects

and an all seasons of our lives.

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I believe it's one of

winter's unique gifts.

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And one of the lessons, it

is here to help us learn.

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My plan is to work with these two

ideas, to practice them, to journal

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about them and to notice if they change

anything in my life, even my newly.

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If I am going to care for myself,

both mentally and physically,

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if I desire to become more like

my Lord and savior Jesus Christ.

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Then I want to lean into his creations.

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It's my goal to embrace the winter season.

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To live by its example and to

learn what it has to teach me.

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I want to practice slowing down.

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To embrace it and maybe even to enjoy it.

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Now as part of this winter

pause, Judy and I are going to

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take a pause from podcasting.

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Duty is going to post

an episode next week.

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And then I have two bonus episodes

that I have already recorded.

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So they'll be easy to put up.

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And then we are going to

take a long winter nap.

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This extended winter pause will provide us

time for personal nourishment and it will

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also help us gather thoughts and come up

with more content for the second season of

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the creative, spiritual journey podcast.

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Can you believe it Duty and I have

completed our first season of podcasting.

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It's so exciting.

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So with that.

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You'll hear from us again

sometime next January.

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Duty, and I know your time is precious

and that you have many choices.

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We love that you have chosen to

walk with us for a few minutes.

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As we talk about the joy, we have

found along this journey of life.

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If you like this podcast.

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Thank you.

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Thank you for sharing it with a friend.

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And let me end with this last thought.

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This was from an Instagram

post titled say no to urgency

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culture from mind, body green.

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It said.

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Spend an extra moment in the sun.

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And joy, a leisurely meal with friends.

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Put your phone away before bed.

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Respond when you are ready.

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Take the longer walk.

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Hm.

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Those sound like great

winter pauses to me.

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Nama stay.