The Importance of Spiritual Hibernation
3rd February 2016
By Open
Contributing Writer for Wake Up World
It’s cold in England right now. The leaves are on the ground, the birds are flitting around the garden, feeding on last minute bugs, building fat for the winter. Nature knows how to work with the changing seasons. Sadly, humanity all-too-frequently does not! But no matter. Just the sense and the idea of ‘hibernation’, if only for a few hours, can feel like you’ve been sleeping all winter (if you get it right).
Sometimes that’s exactly what you need. It’s important to honour these feelings. Because you’re worth it!
Openhand is building quite a Facebook following. I don’t like Facebook especially; it seems to encourage A.S.T. — Attention Short-Termism (did I just create that acronym? Well everyone’s doing it!) But I have found a way recently of bridging into that (short-termism). I’ve been exploring photoshop design, mixed with snippets of Openhand Philosophy, which I post most evenings. I literally just sit down, pause a second or two, and write what wants to come. Straight from the source.
Last night I was challenged though. It’s suddenly gotten cold here in the UK of late and it really makes me feel to slow down. In earlier years, like most in society, I’d have overriden it and ‘gotten on with the job’. The trouble with ignoring such feelings is that is builds internal stress, which disconnects from the divine, leads to ill-health and possibly, eventually, even breakdown. So I definitely don’t ignore these feelings, even though like many of you, I have a busy life.
How do you balance that need for hibernation in such a crazy world?
The Importance of Being Right in the Feeling
I didn’t know it was possible, but last night was fascinating. It got to around 5pm, when I’d been finding a rhythm to write a short Facebook post, illustrated with a quick design (I’m not the greatest artist!) Trouble was, I suddenly found I had no energy. And no interest either! It was as if my being wanted to go into hibernation (just like the bear in the photo — looks like he’s having a great time!)
But I wanted to nurture myself too. That felt like an important part of it. So I put on my big, brown, woolly sweater (which looks like a bear coat), pulled it up around my ears and headed out to the local shop to get a bar of feelgood “divine” chocolate. When I got back, I made a fire, ate my chocolate, then cuddled up under a blanket.
I’ve traveled far enough on my journey to know, that when a feeling comes up like this, to really express it. So that’s what I did. I went right into it, as though I would hibernate all winter. I let everything go that I’ve been working on, every thought and feeling about Openhand future events. Every article I’ve been writing, every communication I’ve been having with people. I completely let myself go, like the bear in the photo. Boy did it feel good!
Work on Your Ability to Completely Let Go
The funny thing was, that about an hour later, my ears pricked up, I had an inspiration (to write this), and was suddenly filled with energy. Awesome!
And so I’ve been working with the idea, and feeling, of hibernation — the importance of it at times — and the ability to completely let go — which I find helps if you can conjure the sense that there’s no end to it. It means you have to become skilled at being totally in the moment.
It’s worth it. You’re worth it! So give it a whirl — work on not working!
Finally, to help get you in a contemplative, hibernation-kind-of-mood, I came across this by Nahko Bear, which touched my soul deeply…
Namaste,
Open
(ps. Tune into Openhand on Facebook for daily gems — when I’m not hibernating, that is!)