Happy holidays & winter solstice, dear one! :)

We just experienced the shortest day & longest night of the year yesterday, it got me thinking about what a sacred & shadowy time of year this is! 

The winter solstice, which happens on the 21st of December, is not just the longest night of the year when there is more darkness than any other day, it also signifies the beginning of longer days & more sunshine in the days ahead!

In many cultures, this is also considered a time to go inward, conserve & renew our energy & to reflect on where we are in our lives… almost like a bear that hibernates in winter!. 

I personally love to intentionally take time off from seeing clients in the month of December so I can do all of the above.

I assess the year that’s coming to an end by reflecting what worked & what didn’t work well as well as taking time out to envision, dream & map out a plan for the year ahead. 

I also use this time to work on bigger projects that require my undivided attention & I make LOTS of time for sleep, time out in nature & nurturing self-care practices that recharge me for the year ahead. 

And this year, much like most years during the holidays, I hear from a lot people who are really struggling during the holidays with grief, anxiety, overwhelm, depression & exhaustion and what I realized is this… 

Those who are struggling likely don’t have tools or resources for processing & transforming the literal & figurative darkness that’s happening during this time of year into the light that could lift them higher! 

Can you relate? 

Even if you’ve never been plagued with darkness during the holidays, I’m sure there’ve been times throughout your life where you were facing a dark & difficult time that was difficult to work through! 

Fortunately, this is part of the human condition (which means you’re not alone) but…

Wouldn’t it be great if you had a way to turn any shadow or darkness you’re personally facing into the light that lifts you up & empowers you to live, love, lead & work in a higher, more elevated way? 

Speaking for myself personally, GROWTH has been the #1 self-rescue tool & accelerator for helping me move through the dark times of my life (winter included) with more power, ease, wholeness & grace!

This is why having the ritual of self-assessment & course-correction that I currently have in place each December during the time of winter solstice has become a powerful practice that allows me to…

• Celebrate my successes!
• Learn from my challenges & mistakes!
• Identify & ask for the help & support I need to correct what’s not working!
• Come up with a plan to course-correct what’s not working!

When I apply this practice in December & throughout the year as necessary, I am consistently empowering myself to process & move through my darkness so I can live in an elevated way!

And, I am more consistently experiencing greater states of joy, ease, happiness, peace, wisdom, humility, grace, etc… 

So, I’m curious…

With all of this in mind, do you have any winter solstice rituals that you use to turn your darkness into light?

If you already have rituals like this that you engage in, I’d love to hear back from you what those are! :) 

And if you’re not engaging in rituals such as this or you’re just not sure what that could look like for you, here are a few practices to consider… 

• Lighting candles or fires to burn through what doesn’t serve you & to symbolize the return of the light. 
• Performing rituals & ceremonies for renewal. 
• Engaging in practices that allow for deep rest & relaxation. 
• Celebrating your success.
• Assessing your challenges. 
• Setting intentions for the year ahead.
• Spending lots of time out in nature or in the sunshine.
• Practicing gratitude for lessons & wisdom learned.
• Spending moments with loved ones who lift you up (vs. bring you down). 

Hopefully, there will be one or more of these that can help you turn the darkness of winter (and within) into the light which you are seeking! 

After all, if you don’t sit with your shadow or any darkness that you’re facing, you can’t stand in your light. 

And believe it or not, dear one, this is where your TRUE freedom lies. 

To support you with all of this, I have several offerings over the month ahead that are specifically designed to help you turn your shadow into the superpowers will empower you to stand in your light! 

First, I’m excited to announce that I will be one of many powerful female leaders offering up our gifts to the community during a *FREE* Feminine Frequency Festival happening this week & next. 

Once inside the group (simply click on the link above to join!), you will be provided with a plethora of 20-minute live Facebook classes & tools that will support you with topics such as money-consciousness, wellness, ritual, transmissions, readings, business wisdom, sacred activism, craft-making, art, earth wisdom, practical + spiritual elevation & more!

I’ll be leading a 20-minute class on How to Cultivate an Attitude of Gratitude, Growth & Grace in Your Life on Tue, 12/26 at 4 pm MT so mark your calendar now, enter the group at that time & you can join me LIVE or you can come back & watch my class later by searching for my name in the group. :) 

To join me & all the other classes being offered, click HERE. 

Second, I’m thrilled to announce that registration is now open for the 4-week Awaken Your Power! Enneagram Experience that I’m hosting in January (Wed, 1/10 – Wed, 1/31)!

This is an online course with live group empowerment sessions designed to help you heal the shadow aspects of your personality from the inside out & empower you to live a life of brave-hearted courage, authenticity & wholeness. 

In a nutshell, you’ll learn how to turn your shadow into the superpowers that help you become happy, healthy, healed & whole again! 

Imagine for a moment what would it be like to…

😁 Identify, heal & resolve the disintegrated shadow aspects of yourself & your life!
💪 Clarify & align to the path of growth & integration that will help you heal your life & is part of your life’s purpose!
♥️ Foster deeper compassion, empathy & connection with yourself & others!
💎See & feel yourself as energized, whole & complete (vs. worn out, insecure or not enough)!

Believe it or not, all this & more is available when you join us!

PLUS!! A payment plan option is available & you can also save $50 off when you enter the coupon code EARLYBIRD & register before midnight on Sunday, 1/7!

To learn more & to register, click HERE. 
 
And finally, I’ll also be leading a FREE online workshop through the Colorado Small Business Development Center on Tue, 1/16 at 12 pm MT called The Work Smart Way! How to Thrive with Less Energy, Time & Effort that will teach you how to identify & plug energy drains that drain & deplete you as well as how to set better boundaries with yourself & others so you can find better balance between work & life! 

To learn more & to register, click HERE. 

As always, I hope you find the self-rescue resources I offer helpful & here’s to becoming your very own hero! 🙂

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Jess Bonasso, also known as The Self Rescue Goddess, is a self-rescue coach, author & keynote speaker on a mission to teach women around the world how to master the art of self-rescue so they can struggle less & thrive more.

A leading expert who’s been teaching women how to save themselves since 2007, Jess is the founder & CEO of Brave Life Consulting & the creator of the Brave-Hearted Way, a personalized self-rescue compass & road map that teaches ambitious modern-day wonder women how to awaken their power, heal their life & nurture their vision for greatness so they can thrive from a place of power, wholeness, ease & grace vs. the hard work, effort, & force they’ve been used to operating from.

Not only does she speak for women’s organizations, conferences & on podcasts regularly, she is also a published co-author of two self-help books & has over 20 years’ worth of expertise with the Enneagram personality system. She is also an accredited practitioner of The Journey Method®, a highly effective form of cellular trauma release therapy that can unravel the root cause of any trauma, struggle or self-sabotage that blocks or prevents your happiness, health, wealth, or wholeness.

To assess & jumpstart your own self-rescue & discover the 3 keys to self-rescue, simply sign up TODAY for a *COMPLIMENTARY* Self-Rescue Assessment!

And be sure to follow Jess on social media where you’ll receive daily inspiration & support on how to heal & fuel your life so you can embrace your greatness on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, or LinkedIn! :)