Consciousness Concierge Volume 6

Welcome to winter!

This was originally sent to our Consciousness Concierge subscribers. Want to receive each carefully curated volume straight to your inbox? Sign up for the list here.

I have always loved the hush and quiet of the winter season. Maybe because I am someone whose natural tendency is to push past my own boundaries, winter’s subtle permission to slow down and go inside has always appealed to me.

As I participated in some of the visioning exercises we hosted at ALTAR, I found that although my mind expected 2023 to be focused on expansion and growth, the message from my heart and body was loud and clear: soften…rest…center Self.

After a year consumed with ALTAR’s birth, and many of the typical emotions and challenges that accompany caring for a newborn, I find I am welcoming winter’s invitation to rest with more intention than ever before. I’m guessing that after the strange intensity of the last few years, maybe you are too. Since ALTAR’s offerings ultimately grow out of my own experience and curiosity, this winter we’ll be playing with the theme of Fertile Darkness as a thread that runs through our Signature Offerings. From now until the spring equinox, we’ll create intentional opportunities to slow down and get curious about our own inner landscapes as the outer landscape freezes over.

In particular, we’ll be hosting a full day SoulCollage® Retreat on Sunday, February 5th – a cozy and creative day to restore body, mind and soul. SoulCollage® is a playful, yet profound, way to tune in to our deep wisdom and allow our yearnings and new inspirations to emerge. We're considering an overnight option at a nearby Airbnb, stay tuned...

If you'd like to receive Consciousness Concierge musings periodically throughout the winter season, subscribe to the list here. If not, we'll see you in the spring for the Equinox Edition. Thank you for being a part of ALTAR Community. Wishing you all the wonder of the season. Love, Kathy

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Take It Slow by Ayla Nereo A gentle invitation to embrace the unknown in this season of darkness... Oh honey... don't forget there is unknown inside you... and your darkest tunnels are where your light comes from...

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​Wintering by Katherine May​

Our January book group selection has been on my list ever since I heard Katherine May's conversation with Krista Tippett of the On Being podcast. You can pick up your copy of Wintering here and join us live or virtually on January 25th at 11:30am CT to discuss this poignant reflection on navigating the natural and inevitable winter periods of our lives.

In the meantime, enjoy this beautiful excerpt:

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Sweet Darkness by David Whyte A favorite poem for this time of endings and beginnings. As we sift through what to lean into and what to leave behind in the year ahead, I can't think of better criteria than the closing lines... anything or anyone that does not bring you alive is too small for you. ​For an extra treat, hear David Whyte read the poem in his irresistible accent and style.​ When your eyes are tired the world is tired also. When your vision has gone, no part of the world can find you. Time to go into the dark where the night has eyes to recognize its own. There you can be sure you are not beyond love. The dark will be your home tonight. The night will give you a horizon further than you can see. You must learn one thing. The world was made to be free in. Give up all the other worlds except the one to which you belong. Sometimes it takes darkness and the sweet confinement of your aloneness to learn anything or anyone that does not bring you alive is too small for you. ​

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​Here's to feeling fully alive, even in the darkness of winter! xo

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