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From Light to Darkness: Embracing the Longer Shadows and the Thinning Veils of Autumn

As October fades into November, there is a noticeable shift in the world around us. The days shorten and the nights stretch longer, casting a twilight hue over our daily routines. Shadows lengthen, and the sun’s journey across the sky seems fleeting. For many, this seasonal change is more than just a visual phenomenon—it is a time of transition that carries with it layers of symbolism, mystery, and a touch of the mystical.

The Long Shadows of Autumn

October is a month of vibrant colors and golden light, but it is also the beginning of a journey toward darkness. As the Earth tilts, the sun’s path across the sky lowers, casting longer shadows and giving everything a softer, almost ethereal glow. It is a time to slow down and take notice of the details that might go unseen in the full glare of summer sunlight.

There is a certain magic in those long shadows. They have a way of stretching out the day, as if trying to hold on to the light just a little bit longer. Inevitably, we edge closer to the darker, colder months, and this transition feels like the world is preparing to rest, to conserve its energy and hibernate.

The Thinning of the Veils

This moment between October and November has long been associated with the “thinning of the veils”—a poetic way of describing the idea that the boundary between the physical world and the spiritual realm becomes less distinct. Cultures around the world have their own ways of acknowledging this thinning. From Halloween and Samhain to Día de los Muertos, there is a shared sense that this is a time when the unseen lures closer, and the world is a little more open to mystery.

It is no coincidence that these traditions focus on honoring the dead and self-reflection on the past. As the natural world prepares for dormancy, we are also prompted to look inward. The longer nights encourage us to slow down, to be still, and to listen to things that might otherwise go unnoticed. It is a time to reconnect—with ourselves, with others, and perhaps with something greater than what we can see and touch.

Light Into Darkness: Embracing the Transition

The transition from October into November is a passage from light into darkness. While this might sound ominous, there’s beauty in it. Darkness has its own kind of clarity; it helps us focus, be more mindful, and appreciate the warmth and light when it does appear. This shift is a gentle reminder to conserve energy and reduce undue labor, not just for nature but for us, too.

Practical Tips for Embracing the Thinning of the Veils

  1. Create a reflection Ritual: Take some time each evening to reflect on the day. Light a candle, write in a journal, or simply sit quietly and observe the shift from light to darkness.
  2. Connect with the Natural World: Go for a walk during sunset and notice the changing light, the lengthening shadows, and the chill in the air. Allow yourself to feel a part of this larger transition.
  3. Celebrate the Darkness: Embrace the longer nights by creating cozy, warm spaces. Light a fire, wrap up in a blanket, and enjoy a hot drink. This is a time to rest and restore.
  4. Honor Your Ancestors: Consider adopting a small ritual to remember those who have passed. It could be as simple as lighting a candle in their memory or sharing stories about them with loved ones.

For Your Consideration:

The period from October into November is not only about losing light; it is about finding beauty in the dark. The thinning veils remind us that there is more to life than what is visible, and the lengthening shadows teach us to appreciate the subtle, silent moments. So, as we move deeper into autumn, let us allow ourselves to slow down, to see what the shadows reveal, and to find comfort in this gentle, quiet space between the worlds.

Okay, your turn:

What does this time as October slides into November mean to you? Do you observe any particular traditions? If so, which ones?

I invite you to share your observations, feelings, and experiences by leaving a Reply in the Comments section, below. Soul-to-soul!

© 2024 Lori A. Noonan. All Rights Reserved..

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A bonfire blazes

Amidst this sultry realm, with nature at its prime

A bonfire blazes tall, a beacon in the night

Its crackling flames like whispers

with wisdom to uncoil

Inviting us to gather ’round and to let our spirits sail

The bonfire’s glow, a mesmerizing sight to behold

It paints the evening sky with dancing hints of rubies and of gold

Drawn in like moths, we form a circle tight

Sharing laughter and our stories

igniting pure delight.

As the embers crackle and leap

the warmth from them felt upon our skin

We find solace in their flickers, a respite from the din.

For in this fiery haven, worries gently fade away

Replaced by joy and camaraderie, where memories form and play

With friends and loved ones by our side

we find a sense of bliss,

A soft breeze with hints of revealing secrets

with every nuzzle and quiet kiss

We bask in summer’s glory, as the stars adorn the sky

And in this shared existence, our souls are lifted high.

As the night seeks out its slumber, and embers fade to gray

We take comfort in the new memories, caught within the bright display.

For in our hearts, a spark will forever reside

Always ready to inspire

A reminder of that summer’s eve

when life met all of our desires

Okay, your turn:

Whether it be memories of summer camp, or summer school, or staying up late…what does the heat of the summer time invoke in you?

I invite you to share your observations, feelings, and experiences by leaving a Reply in the Comments section, below. Soul-to-soul!

© 2023 Lori A. Noonan. All Rights Reserved.

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Time change awaits

Time change

 

Time marches on

 

And waits

for no one

 

Or, does it?

 

Daylight Saving Time

 

Are we saving daylight

or saving time

 

Both

Neither

 

What difference does it make

if at all

 

Who does the changing

 

We change our time pieces

 

Do we change ourselves

or our environment

 

Or simply do we “wind” ahead

or “back” an hour

depending on our geographic location

 

and the prescribed moment twice a year

on a Sunday

at 2 am

 

Has anyone told our bodies about this?

 

Why do the dog and the cat and the hamster and the guinea pig and the goldfish

not seem to notice?

 

Is it because they don’t wear watches

or look at the clock

 Ever?

 

For your consideration:

What if the entire world took a collective, heartfelt, time out during these time changes? For one hour, twice a year?  Let’s take time changes into our own control, and allow ourselves 6o minutes to hear the messages of our soul.  I mean this as a deliberate practice, and not as an esoteric concept.

For me, the past several years, it’s been a reset so to speak for my nervous system – my physical body system, and my inner knowing – my spiritual body.

Back before my more recent devotional and deep dives into the spiritual realm, I hosted in my home “clock parties,” where a large group of my friends and I would toast to the time change, eat clock-shaped frosted sugar cookies, and dance the night away the Saturday before the time change. So, there’s that option, too.  Pick your poison, erm, tradition.

Okay, your turn:

Making the switch to and from Daylight Saving Time (by the way, it’s Saving, without an “s” at the end, in case you’re wondering…as was I…the things I ponder!) – Does making the switch by one hour twice a year impact you?  If so, in what ways do you notice it?  Sleeping patterns disrupted?  Stomach growling at seemingly weird hours?  Are you happy about it?  Frustrated?  Maybe for you it’s not a big deal either way?

I invite you to share your thoughts, feelings, and experiences by leaving a Reply in the Comments section, below. Soul-to-soul!

© 2021 Lori A. Noonan. All Rights Reserved.

 

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Thankful for the bounty

Thankful for the bounty and all the riches

Stemming from the Latin bonitas, meaning “good,” bounty refers to all the goodness that one harvests. This week is an ideal time to consider the bountiful riches in our lives.  Take a moment to reflect on the abundance all around. There’s richness in all the planet provides, naturally.  There’s richness in personal connections, and love. There’s richness in faith, spirit, and confidence in the greater good, and in everlasting beauty. Even in those moments when we may feel less than bountiful, consider the pearl that emerges honed, smooth, and polished by enduring the repeated friction against it.

Let us give thanks for all that mother gaia provides us, and all that sustains us.  Let us give thanks for our daily practices AND our daily bread. Let us give thanks for each other, and our resolve to see the light shine against every darkness.

And, let us trust that more is yet to come. That’s faith: Faith in the unseen. Faith in the seeds planted below ground that they will reach the surface. Faith in the sun and the moon rising and setting and rising again. Faith in yourself rising, experiencing setbacks, and rising again.

For your consideration:

In what ways have you incorporated thankfulness in your life?

I still send in the mail handwritten Thank You cards, in business and personally. I suppose they stand out even more in this digital age. I hope so. I like envisioning that, even if but for a brief moment, the recipient stops to read the handwritten message and knows that I send along kindness and my gratefulness to them.

So whether it’s this Thursday, or at some other time during the next few weeks, I invite you to:

Say grace

Offer grace

Receive grace

Be grace.

Be heartfelt

Be genuine

Be sincere

Be thankful

Be true.

Count your blessings.

Make them count.

 

Okay, your turn:

What traditions, if any, resonate most with you during this time of year?  Is giving thanks a regular part of your daily life, or do you tend to focus on it only on certain occasions?

I invite you to share your thoughts, feelings, and experiences by leaving a Reply in the Comments section, below. Soul-to-soul!

© 2019 Lori A. Noonan. All Rights Reserved.
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The wisdom of the sages

There’s sage and then there’s sage !

Sage, as we know, is a type of herb. The sage plant has been used by a number of cultures for thousands of years.  It has been used in Chinese medicine.  It has been used by Native Americans in various ceremonies and for medicinal purposes. Some have even suggested that it leads to immortality!

In China, sage tea has been called the “thinker’s tea.” Along with its anti-inflammatory properties, it has been known to help improve memory and overall brain function.  Perhaps that is why the word “sage” also is used to describe a person who is wise.  It can also be used as an adjective (as in “sage advice”).

The title of this article is a deliberate play on words.  Sages and ages. They both connote a harkening back to ancient times as well as serve as a current example of ancient traditions put to good use in the so-called modern age.  Has there been a resurgence, or have these practices been put to good use all along?  Are we perhaps simply more aware of them now, due to the internet, globalization, and social media?

Sage has even become a somewhat trendy baby name, at least in the United States.  I wonder if it’s part of the ‘Apple’ craze?  (Referring to the celebrity’s baby’s name, not the computer company.)

We all remember being asked the question when we were young: What do you want to be when you grow up?  Me:  a philosopher.  I didn’t hear anyone around me saying that they wanted to be that.  It wasn’t exactly listed anywhere as a possible career track.  That didn’t matter to me.  If it was needed, and served a purpose, why couldn’t it be an occupation?

I wasn’t even exactly sure what all a job as a philosopher would entail. I knew in my heart, though, that it was a role that would be important and one that would be of service to others.  In my imagination, philosophers were the wisest people in their communities.  And, as such, they had a responsibility to answer seekers’ questions and provide helpful suggestions, recommendations, and solutions.

Sometimes we picture “wise ones” sitting on a mountain top, or living in caves in the Himalayas.  In my mind’s eye, I pictured them more along the lines of a wise man or wise woman in Ancient Greece sitting quietly in a town square, as the local villagers would stop by whenever they were seeking an answer to an inquiry or when wrestling with a concern that was weighing heavily on their soul, or when struggling with a conflict they couldn’t quite resolve.

I pictured philosophers dispensing wisdom not unlike a modern day pharmacist dispensing medicine.  And, I did truly envision “philosopher” as an actual vocation, and a paid position, for sure.  I even had a specific annual salary in mind.  I thought that a philosopher should make $300,000 a year.  Here was my reasoning:  At the time, the President of the United States’ annual salary was set at $200,000. Knowing that, accordingly, I figured that philosophers should be paid at least 50% more than the President, as they would be at least that much more wise and valuable to the country and citizenry!  Apparently, I really had put a lot of thought into this (grin).

While Philosopher or Sage may not be a job title, certainly there are modern day professions where others seek their guidance and advice.   Lawyers fall into that category (hence, the term “counselor at law”).  As with some other professions, within law, there are rules of professional responsibility.  It is part of the licensing process, and continuing legal education requirements as well.  And, as covered in this week’s Six-Minute Saturdays episode, many lawyers including myself were drawn to the law as a career because of a deep desire to be of service.

Admittedly, not all legal advice is the sagest or the wisest. I would suggest, though, that the profession is at least designed to serve that purpose, and with that intention.  And, ultimately, the client retains control over whether to heed that advice, ignore it, or even to seek additional opinions.

For your consideration:

So, with that in mind then, allow me to pose this question: Upon whom, ultimately, do we need to rely, for the sagest advice of all?

Are we not, each of us, deep down, our own best philosopher?  We simply need to access that inner wise sage.  That’s why meditation is important.  That’s why getting quiet and still is wise. By listening to our own inner guidance and messages, we each hold the power and divinity to reach the most appropriate conclusions and answers for ourselves.  And, that is valuable beyond compare.

Okay, your turn:

What’s been the sagest advice that you’ve ever received?  What’s the sagest advice that you’ve ever given? What’s the best advice that your inner-sage has revealed to you?  What made it so?  Did you act on it?

I invite you to SHARE your thoughts, feelings, and experiences by leaving a Reply in the Comments section, below. Soul-to-soul!

© 2018 Lori A. Noonan. All Rights Reserved.
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Embracing Excellence

Close on the heels of the Olympic Games, I recently found myself contemplating excellence and what that means in today’s world. I discovered, as it turns out, that along with respect and friendship, excellence is one of the Olympics’ three core values, as set forth by the International Olympic Committee. Excellence is an important element of what many consider to be inherent in the athletes who perform “at that level.”

In this edition of Soul Notes, let’s hold in our hearts this notion of excellence.  What, if any, purpose does it serve?  Is it a worthy goal, an end state?  Or, is it rather a state of being?  Is it something to be embodied, rather than pursued?  Does it matter?  Does embracing excellence (or, its opposite – not embracing it) come with a price?   What does it cost, in terms of our serenity, health, or overall well being?  What impacts result?

FOR THOSE ON A SPIRITUAL PATH

So often we hear the phrase “in the pursuit of excellence.”  Is it, however, all about the pursuit?  I’d like to challenge each of us to replace that with:  embracing excellence.  Unlike the pursuit of something, embracing it sounds and is more encompassing, more in the moment, more present, more “now.”  Pursuing sounds as if it’s a constant state of grasping for something that’s still out in front of you, almost as if it is something that remains ever oh so slightly beyond your reach.  It seems unattainable.

For those on a spiritual path, I would venture to say that it is the embracing of, rather than the pursuing of excellence, that rings true.  It’s a setting of an intention that each of us will embody a way of life, of living, that emerges from our highest state of being.  It is soul centered, soul activated, soul sustaining.  Accordingly, it’s something that, once accessed, can and may be cultivated and developed.

During this season of Northern hemisphere harvesting, it’s a good time to reflect on what each of us has already cultivated with regard to excellence in our lives.  Take a few moments to inventory your relationships, work endeavors, wealth signs, health indicators, and the like.  Remember, as an excellence “embracer,” you’re simply staying on the path of excellence, nurturing and cultivating it throughout your journey.  Survey your life’s stock.  Appreciate and celebrate all the fruits of your excellence to date!  For those areas that are still germinating and not quite yet ‘in full bloom’ for you, continue to foster their continued growth, regeneration, and renewal.

EXCELLENCE IS A QUALITY

Excellence is not an innate gene or trait.  Not unlike integrity, or loyalty, excellence is a quality.  It’s a commitment.  Embracing it is a choice each of us can make — today, and every day.

Why does embracing excellence matter?  I’d say it matters for many of the same reasons we enjoy watching the Olympics!  It brings out the best in ourselves, and in others.  It motivates. It inspires.  It raises us, and others, up.

“Excellence encourages one about life generally; it shows the spiritual wealth of the world.” –George Eliot

Yes, in the Olympics there are medal counts and world records, and pride amongst nations.  What we experience when witnessing the various Olympic events, however, runs deeper than that. 

A few brief weeks or even days after the Olympics have ended, many of us do not even remember who placed in what order, and in which particular event.  Sure, there are those few standouts, who become household names, who garner multimillion endorsement deals, and who receive the ongoing, related spotlight and ‘stardom’.   Or, perhaps a few of the athletes are our personal favorites.  We will remember those names.

What we tend to remember most, however, are the MOMENTS.  The moments of excellence personified.  Individual moments.  Team moments.  Moments frozen in time. We remember the stories of triumphs, and personal “overcomings.” These are what are emblazened on, and held snugly, in our hearts.

For what end?

Some say excellence means something along the lines of “putting out a high quality product.”  This begs the question, of course, of where to draw the line.  It discards and leaves behind, without consideration, the notion that excellence is an admirable quality in and of itself.  It remains of value – with and without attaining a specific, predetermined outcome.  It’s more fluid than that.  Excellence in this sense is more in the shape of a circle than in a straight line.

Let’s consider the fourth place finishers at the Olympics, for example.  Do they embody excellence any “less” than those who get to stand on the podium as the gold, silver, or bronze medalists?

There are inherent benefits of embracing excellence, within ourselves and in appreciating it when we see it in others.  It FEELS GOOD to excel!  It feels good to watch others excel!  It’s PASSION in MOTION!

For your consideration:

As we close, I leave you with these words, from Nobel laureate, Pearl S. Buck:

“The secret of joy in work is contained in one word – excellence. To know how to do something well is to enjoy it.“

Okay, your turn:

What does excellence mean to you? Is it worth pursuing?  Better yet, is it worth embracing in our daily lives? If so, in what way or ways?

I invite you to share your thoughts, feelings, and experiences in the Comments section, below. Soul-to-soul!

© 2016 Lori A. Noonan. All Rights Reserved.
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