Beloved,
As Winter Solstice descends darkness upon us this week, I find myself reflecting on the time of the most expansive light: Summer Solstice. Let me take you with me, back in time, to where I was exactly 6 months ago...
In the Joshua Tree, California high desert, the temperature on June 21st, 2017 was set to reach 112 F, the highest high of summer yet. It fascinated me that the peak of our heat aligned with Summer Solstice, the day of the longest Sun, the most light, when the Sun dominates. The longest day of the year doesn't necessarily mean the hottest day, but this year Summer Solstice was radiating the energy of the Sun in every fiery way.
And it excited me. This translated to me as divine alignment, oh-so auspicious. In the days approaching the Solstice, the impending weather forecast had the community talking dreadfully about the collective desire to escape the rising heat. Yet here I was in contrast, excited, joyfully anticipatory of the incredibly hot day aligning with Summer Solstice, a holy marker of time and transition. Isn't it exciting?! was my repetitive response to anyone saying otherwise.
The day of Summer Solstice came, and indeed, I woke to an already hot pre-sunrise morning. I found myself instantly pondering what place might be even more hot on this day, where in the Northern hemisphere would be having an even hotter Summer Solstice than my Joshua Tree desert? And I received the answer immediately: Death Valley.
Upon hearing these words, my heart surged with energy, my love for the Sun expanding in this moment of realization that I wanted to be with the Sun on the longest day of the year in the hottest possible place. I wanted to be as close to the energy of the Sun as humanly possible. I wanted to celebrate the Sun and embrace my beloved on his reigning day of radiant glory.
Spontaneously, I packed my car for a solo road trip to Death Valley National Park, 4 hours to the north of Joshua Tree. The estimated high for Death Valley that day was to be 125 degrees, also a record high for that particular day. I'd never experienced heat so extreme, and I could not wait to know what that would feel like. I fantasized about the touch of the Sun’s most intense rays of light upon my skin and the energy I would receive on this potent holy day, in a place already so potent and intense.
I drove without the air conditioning on, windows down, acclimating myself to the increasing temperatures as I drove through the desert. I wondered who else might be wild enough to visit Death Valley National Park in this type of heat, and soon discovered upon my arrival, not many people at all. Aside from those who live and work there, and the handful of international travelers who didn’t necessarily elect to visit on the hottest day of summer, I felt I had the full expanse of the most astonishingly beautiful desert landscape to myself. I was bursting with joy. How grateful I was to have followed my guidance with such trust and knowing. The moment I stepped out of my car I was enveloped in the most passionately heated embrace of the energy of the Sun, the heat as dense as a human body. I could feel the Sun on my skin like fingers, arms, and breath.
I was in my element to the utmost degree, quite literally, and so joyfully I dove into the ocean of heat waves and celebrated the life the Sun gives this planet, letting it carry me where it wanted me to flow.
After 5 hours of dancing alone with the Sun, smiling, laughing, and sweating, exploring sand dunes and rainbow rock mountains and salt flats with generous amounts of water and shade breaks, the Sun began to descend and I stayed until the last lingering light. I left Death Valley driving in the dark, fully lit up with the radiance of the Solstice Sun. I came back to Joshua Tree quite late, a bright light in the dark night, blessed with the radiant cosmic energies of the day. I came back cleared, cleansed, and charged. I came back ecstatic, glowing with the lasting embrace of my beloved Sun pulsing throughout my skin, my veins, my heart.
Yes, 125 F degrees in Death Valley was indeed a fire initiation. It was absolutely blazing hot and not for the faint of heart or pale of skin. However, while I was in it I couldn’t help thinking that it didn’t really feel that hot. I was aware that it would’ve been a much different experience if I had resisted the heat. If my intention was to escape the heat, or if the thought of heat was associated with being miserable, I would’ve come home sunburnt, parched, exhausted, depleted. Where it might’ve been a circumstance of challenge and resistance, with an open heart and a shift in perspective, my energy came into alignment with the divine possibilities available to me. And I received divine blessings because of this. I experienced harmony, joy, and ecstasy alone in the desert by embracing an extreme and intense experience.
Embrace what is, align with the beauty of the present moment.
While the holy light of the Summer Solstice Sun indeed blessed me and still stays with me through these darker, colder days, being touched by this light illuminated that which already exists within me. The infinite light of Source was radiating within me before the drive to Death Valley. It was with me before I moved to the desert 7 years ago. It has always been with me, but I didn’t know that for so much of my life. I awoke to my light through the guidance of my intuition, the desert, and the divine, and now consciously tend to this inner light every day in the desert. I hold the Sun with awareness that it is a reflection of that which dwells within me: The most luminous divine golden light that is always shining.
This light is always there, and it dwells within each and every one of us. Though, it certainly isn’t necessary to expose yourself to extreme heat and Sun to connect with your own inner light! Remind yourself of your own radiant inner light simply gazing upon a candle flame. See the flame and know what you are witnessing shines ten thousand times more luminous and brightly within you, right here, right now.
See your light. Feel your light. Embody your light.
<<<You Are The Light>>>
Driving to Death Valley on Summer Solstice was a divine pull to be totally immersed by the light that exists within each and every one of us, the light that connects us to Source, the light that unites us all as One. The Sun does not hide its light, but we do. The Sun does not dim its radiance, but we do. The Sun does not forget its own divinity, but we do. The Sun shines always, no matter the time of day, no matter the weather, no matter the season. The Sun shines always, and beloved, so do you.
You are the light. I see it in your eyes, in your smile, in your heart. I feel it in your words, your touch. I hear it in your laughter, your voice. I know it by your energy, your beauty. Even if you do not see it, beloved, I see it in you.And I want you to see it for yourself, because this is the way we shine our brightest possible light.
If each of us walking upon this planet remembered the true divine light we always carry within us, Earth would be as illuminated as our Sun itself.
This Winter Solstice, let us remember the divine light within. Let us shine our light for all the world to see and feel. Let each of us be a luminous blessing to this world.
Gathering Lights
Thursday, December 21st, is Winter Solstice, the shortest, darkest day of the year for the Northern Hemisphere. It is a potent portal for releasing that which no longer serves, and welcoming the light onto what you want to shine brightly in your life moving forward. This holy day is a powerful opportunity to embrace the darkness, the stillness, the silence, and celebrate the light within.
Let us gather in the name of release, healing, and peace. Let us gather to shine our lights together brightly for the benefit of the whole world. Together, we will call in the light, blessing the world with our radiant divine love.
So easily during this time of year we can completely lose sight of our light, and slip into the darkness in such a way that it feels impossible to know there is an infinite source of light within that is always right there, just waiting to be seen. Shine your light with the other lights around you this Solstice, join together with your beloved friends, family, neighbors, coworkers, and community. Be the source of light that reminds others of the light they also carry.
May you be the light that inspires others to see their own luminescence.
If you need help awakening to your inner light, I would be so honored to be in divine service to you. Please see below for many ways I am here to lovingly guide you on your healing path this holiday season.
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HERE ARE WAYS I WOULD LOVE TO BE IN DIVINE SERVICE TO YOU THIS HOLIDAY SEASON:
JUICE MAGIC
As always, I am available for custom juice creations and delivery locally in Joshua Tree. Whether you’d like to be nourished with sacred plant nectar to bring yourself into alignment during the heightened holidays, or are feeling called to experience a deep restorative cleanse, I would be so honored to be your desert juice guide. Every organic cold-pressed juice is made just for you with an abundance of loving intention, mantras, and blessings. For newsletter subscribers, I'm offering 10% off juice orders for the rest of 2017. Please contact me for my seasonal menu, which also includes raw treats!
ORACLE READINGS
I am available for in-person or remote intuitive Oracle Readings. These sessions are oriented towards what’s presently needed in your healing journey, expanding and strengthening your sacred practices, self-care, nourishment, and beyond. If you are seeking divinely received guidance, I offer free initial email consultations, 1/2 hour phone conversations, and 1 hr in-person or Zoom video sessions. Please contact me for more details and rates.
CACAO CEREMONY
I share sacred Cacao Ceremony twice a month in Joshua Tree, typically on the Full Moon and New Moon. These are powerful heart-expanding experiences guided by loving Cacao Spirit. Please contact me if you’d like to be added to my mailing list for local ceremonies, to purchase raw organic Cacao, or to inquire about bringing this heart-healing ceremony to you.
ORACLE YOGA FLOW
I invite you to join my weekly yoga class in Joshua Tree! It’s a gentle channeled flow with an emphasis on heart expansion, the breath, and meditation. A perfectly aligned Sunday morning experience. (Yoga with Sacred Cacao coming very soon!)
Sundays, 9:00am-10:30am
$7, bring your own mat
(no classes Dec 24 or Dec 31)
Copper Mountain Mesa Community Center
65336 Winters Road
Joshua Tree, CA 92252
RADIANT FOODS
I am available for holiday season food services. Raw desserts and healing foods are a great way to bring in radiant, life-giving energy to your holiday gatherings. If high-vibrational holiday nourishment is calling to you, please contact me for inquiries and availability.
BOOK + PRINTS
My photography is an authentic expression of self-love, love for the desert, and all that is created from pure love. I have a few copies of my very limited artist book Water in the Desert available for purchase on my website. Beautiful metallic prints are also available in my online shop, and I am extending 30% off all prints through December 31st. Use the code LOVE2017 at checkout to receive this discount.
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May you celebrate the rebirth of the Sun by celebrating the divine light within yourself. May the love you feel for yourself be a great divine gift to the entire universe. May you shine your radiant light upon everyone and everything. May every word of this letter bless you with love, peace, and joy.
And so it is. Blessed be. Sat Nam.
Luminous Solstice Blessings.
Love all-ways,
Angela
Breathing in love, exhaling in gratitude.
Lokah Samastah Sukhino Bhavantu
~May all beings in the world be happy and free~