Energy Renewing Itself
Sky Mandala: Blue Rose Cross © 2022 Rami Schandall. Available for sale printed on silk, at Sky Mandala Silks.
Happy New Year!
I have been taking time since Solstice and in these infant days of 2023 to reflect upon the year just past. At first I could hardly find the thread through a period so changeable and challenging. I pause and remember, not just to glean a harvest from what has passed, but to process, cook, digest. Onward from here, toward visioning, expansion, joy —
Today I woke both slow and restless, one more heavy grey morning.
I want the heaviness of winter darkness, and I am at odds with it. Resistant to both rest and to the tasks at hand, I asked the I-Ching for guidance. What is the appropriate amount of energy to expend? What is right effort here?
The answer was perfect: an image of Winter Solstice, when —
the life energy … is still underground. Movement is just at its beginning; therefore it must be strengthened by rest…This principle of allowing energy that is renewing itself to be reinforced by rest applies to similar situations. The return of health after illness, the return of understanding after an estrangement: everything must be treated tenderly and with care at the beginning, so that the return may lead to flowering.
Hexagram 24. Fu / Return (The Turning Point) **
This week as I return to teaching, I will carry this sensibility into practice, particularly apt for Friday evening’s restorative session — and on Sunday, a taste of restorative, FREE, at the new studio:
the principle of allowing energy that is renewing itself,
to be reinforced by rest…
the necessity of tenderness
harvest seeds, future blooms
I am on Mosaic’s regular schedule at 225 Sterling Road with 3 classes per week — please preregister as class sizes are limited.
Thursdays 12–1:15 pm — Gentle Rope Wall
Fridays 6:45–7:45 pm — Inspired Reset / Restorative: NEW & Candlelit
Sundays 12–1 pm — Rope Wall
Join me at Mosaic’s New Studio Launch!
Sunday, January 8, 5-5:30pm — Restorative
I’ll be leading the last FREE class of the day at Mosaic’s new studio launch in the Annex, 440 Bloor Street West (upstairs from Victory). Great classes and fun fun fun on offer all day long. Have a look! (And sign up!)
See you soon!
— Rami
** The I Ching, or Book of Changes, the Richard Wilhelm Translation rendered into English by Cary F. Baynes. 1950, Bollingen Series XIX, Princeton University Press.
