Our remaining practices for 2025: 12/16, 12/18, 12/21
We will resume Sunday, January 4, 2026
Winter Solstice: 12/21/25
By: Dawn Scott, devon hase, Yong Oh, and Kimi Mojica
“The Winter Solstice marks the turning point of the year — the longest night, followed by the gradual return of the light. Across cultures and traditions, this sacred moment invites reflection, renewal, and reconnection with the rhythms of nature and the cycles within us. Each winter, the world offers its oldest teaching: the turning of the light. The Solstice is both an outer and inner threshold — when darkness reaches its culmination and light begins its gradual return.
We learn that darkness is not the absence of light, but its fertile ground. Through this journey, we remember that awakening is never solitary — it unfolds in community, in nature, and in relationship. Together, we become lights in the dark for one another.
What Is the Winter Solstice?
The Winter Solstice is the turning point of the year — the moment when the sun pauses in its descent, and the longest night gives way to the slow return of light. In the Northern Hemisphere, it usually falls around December 21, marking the beginning of winter and symbolizing a time of stillness, reflection, and renewal. Across cultures and centuries, people have honored the Solstice as a sacred threshold: a moment to release the old, plant intentions for the new, and remember our deep connection to the cycles of nature.
It reminds us that darkness and light are not opposites, but partners in the rhythm of life — that rest and renewal, loss and growth, are all part of one living continuum. In the language of the Dharma, the Solstice mirrors the inner path of awakening: descending into stillness, meeting what is difficult with compassion, and emerging renewed in clarity and light.
The Solstice teaches that even in the darkest night, the light is already returning.
Each year, the Winter Solstice calls us to pause — to honor the dark, to rest deeply, and to listen for the light returning.
Amid the noise and urgency of modern life, it invites you to slow down, breathe, and reconnect with what’s timeless.In stillness, movement, and ritual, you’ll discover that darkness is not something to escape, but a teacher — a place of wisdom, creativity, and rebirth.
Why it matters now
(T)he world needs light-bearers — people who can hold presence amid change, who can listen deeply, and who remember our shared belonging with one another and the Earth. When we sit together on the longest night, we remember that the light has never truly left — it has only been waiting for us to turn toward it.
We live in a time of immense change, noise, and uncertainty. The solstice reminds us that stillness, not speed, brings renewal.
(R)emember what’s always been true:
● Wisdom arises from the dark. The very places we resist — loss, rest, grief, uncertainty — hold the seeds of transformation.
● We awaken together. The warmth of spiritual friendship lights our way through the unknown.
● Ritual restores meaning. In community, we reconnect with the larger cycles of life
● Nature is our mirror. Just as the light returns after the longest night, so too can clarity, joy, and compassion return to the heart.”
WINTER SOLSTICE AND TRADITIONAL CHINESE MEDICINE (TCM)
As winter comes closer, the days get shorter and the air gets colder. The earth invites us to slow down, rest, and reflect. In TCM, winter is a season of stillness and nourishment—a time to replenish your body and mind. TCM offers valuable insights to help us align with the rhythms of the season, maintain balance, and reflect.
In TCM, winter is a calm and quiet season. It teaches us to save our energy and reflect. In TCM, winter is connected to water and to the kidneys and bladder.
These organs are considered the body’s energetic reservoirs, storing vital energy (Qi) to support health and longevity. Just as animals hibernate and trees conserve energy in the winter, humans are encouraged to follow suit by focusing on rest, warmth, and nourishment.
We practice for the benefit of ourselves and all beings so all beings may be free. Sending loving kindness.
Dr. Kathy Yep 