Happy Halloween, my friends. Where I live in the Northeastern United States, this holiday marks the beginning of the darker half of the year. The ancient Celts thought that at this time of year the veil between the worlds was thinner. As I sit look out ant the golden light of a late autumn afternoon, I find this easy to believe. In ancient Scotland, it is said, people patrolled village borders. Spirits of ancestors were recognized and invited home while harmful spirits were warded off. Young men put on fearsome costumes and masks, seeking to frighten away what they feared. I know the feeling!
Most of us assume various defensive postures and patterns to protect ourselves against the ghosts and demons that come wafting up. But meditation invites us to offer kind acceptance to all this—the ghosts, the defenses, our endless attempts to solve it all. We are invited to go on sitting in the dark, leaving the known for the unknown, until we glimpse the light that is born in the heart of it.
Here is a comforting thought: This light—this loving awareness—is something we share. A beautiful rite of Samhain in ancient Scotland was the dowsing of household fires, and the lighting them from a common bonfire. Imagine that warm blaze and a whole community of people dipping torches in to carry a shared light back to their dark homes. When we meditate together we are like those long-ago people, reconnecting with our source—our deepest awareness, our warmth and compassion, our capacity to belong to this world, to love and be loved. Let’s sit down together and bring a light to dark places.
Leave a Reply