Episode 127

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Published on:

1st Jun 2026

127. June Solstice Celebration of Jesus Christ

Ghia—Looking for ways to feed and nourish your soul? How about a ritual water fast on the summer solstice?

Transcript
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Hello, this is Gia.

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Welcome to the Creative Spiritual

Journey, where Judy and I explore the

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connection between faith, nature, and joy.

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Oh, my word, I can hardly believe

what I'm about to say, but here goes.

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The solstice is just around the corner.

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The longest day of the year

arrives on June 21st, which means

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that half of the year is gone.

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Can you believe it?

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Crazy.

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But for me, the good news

is, it's time for my seasonal

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celebration of Jesus Christ.

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As you may recall from my equinox

celebration back in March, this

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year I have chosen to use fasting

as the theme for my celebrations.

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and here is what is so cool about that.

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This morning, right before sitting

down to write this podcast, I happened

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to open one of my favorite books.

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It's called Upon Waking

by Jacki Hill Perry.

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It is a daily devotional

featuring a scripture and her

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brief, poignant reflections.

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She is not a member of the Church of

Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints,

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but she is a wonderful Christian

woman with powerful insights.

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When I first got her book, I just started

opening to random pages and just reading.

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But this morning, for some reason,

I decided to start at the beginning,

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and what did I find but a beautiful

thought that I am applying to fasting.

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Don't you love it when

serendipity works this way?

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Let me share her thoughts.

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First, she talked about our biology.

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We need food.

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Our bodies need food.

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So much of our lives revolves

around that need, and so much of

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our mood revolves around whether

we have fulfilled that need.

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We all know the misery of being

hangry and the joy of being satiated.

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So it shouldn't be a surprise that Jesus

Christ calls himself the bread of life.

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What a perfect analogy, right?

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He can satisfy us.

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He can make us feel better.

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But in scripture, he isn't specifically

talking about bodily sustenance, is he?

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He's talking about being the bread

of life, His bread gives us eternal

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life, the thing we need the most.

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Okay, with that set up, let

me read you Jackie's quote.

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She says, "In the same way our bodies

need a constant diet of food, our

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soul needs God like this always.

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Upon waking, we are hungry for heaven,

and yet we fill it with a scroll or many.

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As the day moves forward and the

belly still empty, we fill it

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again when a person gives us a

measure of love, a like, a look.

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Before bed, the soul, if visible, would

be skeletal, barely able to stand on

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its own or smile with all of its teeth.

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The body who holds this almost

dead thing feels alive because

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it depends on every other bread

except the one the Father sent.

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but the Lord's table has been set,

so sit, revive yourself in His

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life, fill yourself in His love,

scrape the plate, and wipe it clean.

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We need the bread of Heaven because

truly no other food will do."

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End quote.

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I love the part where she describes

a spirit that has been starved of

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the bread of life as being skeletal,

barely able to stand on its own

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or smile with all of its teeth.

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That is a very vivid image.

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So one of the goals for my solstice

celebration is to fast from food

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that would nourish my body and

instead feed myself spiritually.

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I want to fill myself at the Lord's

table and scrape my plate clean because

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I want a nice plump spirit, One that's

full of life and has the energy to

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love and be kind to those around me.

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Now, before I dive into my plans, I

want to talk for a minute about why I

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have anchored my seasonal celebrations

of Jesus Christ around the solar cycle,

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specifically the solstices and equinoxes.

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While Christian celebrations do have

ties to the solar cycle, for example,

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it's not a coincidence that Christmas

came right after the winter solstice.

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The date was deliberately picked to

coincide with the return of light.

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Still, celebrating the phases of the solar

cycle isn't generally a Christian thing.

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but I love tuning into the seasons.

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It brings a richness and depth to my life.

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I think it grounds me in

my body and to the Earth.

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I also think it anchors

me in time and space.

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I like the sense that I know where

I am in my journey around the sun.

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Modern life is incredibly

good at flattening time.

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Tuesday in February can feel almost

identical to Tuesday in August

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because so much of our world is

centered around screens, climate

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control, and artificial light.

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So here's my theory.

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In general, celebrations

create a sense of meaning.

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They remind us what matters.

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Celebrations strengthen relationships

and enforce a sense of belonging.

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Celebrations are also a way we

create joy on purpose instead of

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randomly waiting for it to show up.

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and creating seasonal celebrations

creates traditions and teaches our

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communities what's important, sacred,

and worth remembering that's why I'm

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anchoring my celebrations of Jesus

Christ on the seasonal solar cycles.

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I want the constant reminder

of what's important, sacred,

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and worthy of remembering.

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But for me, it goes one step further

because it also helps me connect

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to the larger rhythms of nature,

which I love, because it gives

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me a strong connection to my God.

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I'm just in so much awe of this world,

which translates directly into awe

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for my creator Now changing gears a

little, it's interesting to note that

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nearly every ancient culture developed

some form of solstice observance.

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There could be several reasons for this,

but one that stands out is that watching

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the sun was how they kept track of time.

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Before modern calendars, the

changing length of daylight

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was the only clock people had.

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Isn't that crazy to think about?

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Stop for a moment and try to

imagine what it would be like to

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live without a clock or a calendar.

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Honestly, I can hardly

wrap my mind around it.

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Judy and I just went on a

nine-day backpacking trip.

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I was fine without my phone.

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Honestly, I didn't miss it at all.

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What I did miss was a clock.

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I kept asking people what time it was.

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I was worried about eating my lunch too

early and getting hungry before dinner.

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I kept wondering how far we could

walk before it was time to find camp

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I suspect if I were more in tune

with my body and the cycle of

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the sun, I wouldn't need a clock

to help me make these decisions.

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But as much as I think it would be

grounding to live without a clock, I know

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that isn't practical in this day and age.

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Even still, it's my idea that if I

want to connect more to this Earth

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and my body, one step would be to

connect more to the cycle of the sun.

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Thus, my seasonal solar

celebration of Jesus Christ.

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Now, for my upcoming solstice

celebration, I want to take this

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one step further and create not

just a celebration, but a ritual.

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Rituals help our brains slow things

down, pay attention, and turn

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actions into something intentional.

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I believe that creating a ritual

will help me step out of the nonstop

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pace of modern life and experience

my celebration more deeply.

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As I said above, this year I have

chosen to use fasting as the theme

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for my celebration of Jesus Christ.

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In March, I talked about some of

the physical aspects of fasting.

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For June, I want to dive

into ritualizing my fast.

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To ritualize is to repeat an action

so that it begins to have structure

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and symbolic importance, The

action itself can be ordinary, but

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ritualizing gives it meaning, intention,

emotional weight, and sacredness.

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So here's my plan.

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I'm going to ritualize my fast with water.

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Yep, I was just talking about Jesus Christ

being the bread of life, but now I want

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to talk about him being the living water.

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I live in the desert, where water

is important and oh so precious.

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Isn't that a fitting symbol for

Jesus Christ, important and precious?

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I love to think of him as refreshing

and cleansing my spirit so that

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my cute little chubby soul can

be vibrant and full of life.

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I know sometimes we are invited to fast

without water, and I often do, but I

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have a lot of trouble with dehydration.

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If I get dehydrated, I don't sleep

well, and my fingers turn into claws.

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So when I'm engaging in what I

call an extracurricular fast, I

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prefer to drink lots of water.

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So here's my plan.

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I intend to turn every drink of water

into a grounding mindfulness ritual

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that connects me to Jesus Christ.

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While preparing my plan, I

looked at different ritual ideas.

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Of course, there are lots of options.

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I could use different types or

temperatures of water: cold to

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stimulate alertness, warm for grounding,

mineral water for rich contemplation.

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I could make my ritual into a tea

ceremony with water, which could

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involve preparing, pouring, noticing,

drinking, and reflecting on water.

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All of these things would have been

fun, but here's what I decided to do.

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I am going to prepare my

water the night before.

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I would like to say I have a beautiful

vessel to fill, but in reality, I am

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just going to use a two-quart mason jar.

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Filling the jar means I won't

have to keep track of how much

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water I drink during the day.

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It will already be measured

and will be easy to watch.

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I might add some cucumber or mint just

to make it special, and then I was

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thinking I would write words on the jar.

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are you familiar with the Japanese

researcher and photographer, Dr.

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Masaru Emoto?

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Among other things, he labeled

bottles of water with words such as

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love or hate, and then froze tiny

droplets of water and photographed

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the crystals under a microscope.

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The resulting photographs are amazing.

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the water appears to have

absorbed the energy of the words.

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the positive words produce beautiful

symmetrical crystals, while negative

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words create distorted patterns.

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And since I want to fill my body with

beautiful water, I am going to write

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beautiful words all over my jar, probably

on masking tape or Post-it notes.

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I plan to put my jar in the

fridge overnight, then put it

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on the counter in the morning.

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Once again, it would be fun if I

had a beautiful glass I could use,

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but since I don't, I am probably

just going to use my Yeti mug.

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But I want to make this a ritual, so with

each drink of water, I intend to slow

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down and pay attention to what I'm doing.

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I want to pour slowly from my jar

into my mug, noticing how it looks,

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how it smells, how it sounds.

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I want to notice the light

pass through the jar.

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I want to feel the weight

as the jar lightens.

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Before drinking, I want to hold my

mug for a moment and take a breath,

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acknowledging this gift from God.

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As I drink, I want to do so attentively.

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I want to notice the

temperature and texture.

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I want to notice how my body responds.

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I want to keep my attention

on the act itself, really try

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to be there in the moment.

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And then it's my intention to

pause and speak the first words

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of gratitude that come to my mind.

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I'm not going to let it matter

if my words feel dumb or if I say

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the same words with every drink.

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it's my intention to make this a

mini-prayer spoken to my Father in heaven

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in the hallowed name of Jesus Christ.

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Yep, I wanna say a little prayer

with every drink of water.

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Not every sip, that might be too much,

but with every filling of my mug.

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So that's my plan.

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It may evolve as I get closer or

change with the actual doing, but I

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really want to make this a ritual.

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I want to see the water,

enjoy the crystal clarity.

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I want to feel it on my lips and in my

mouth as it goes down my throat, and

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I want to express my gratitude openly.

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I want to use all my senses to

connect with my body and my God.

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I can't help but think of a baby.

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How much do they love their bottles?

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A lot, right?

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How long has it been since

I drank anything like that?

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I don't know where or when it happens,

but as we grow up, we begin to numb out

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to the sensations of our body, and I think

that the older we get, the more we numb.

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I don't think we do this deliberately,

but we seem to get so used to

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sensations that they don't have

the same fascination they once did.

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It's my idea that as I tune back into

these sensations, that I will reconnect

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to my body, and that by so doing, I

will begin to see more of the simple

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pleasures of life, and that enjoying these

daily pleasures will connect me to God.

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They will feed my soul.

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the water is physical, of course, but as I

focus on the physical water with gratitude

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for God, I believe it will feed and

nourish and fill my soul, because I want

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a soul that can smile with all its teeth.

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Now I am sure I will run out of thoughts

about water faster than I might like, so

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I suspect I will also turn my gratitude

towards my body and my family, this earth,

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the birds, the sunsets, and I don't even

know what else, but it will all be in

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celebration of my God, Jesus Christ.

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So there you go.

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That's how I plan to ritualize

a water fast for my solstice

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celebration of Jesus Christ.

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Thanks for spending your time with me.

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Until next week, namaste

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About the Podcast

Creative Spiritual Journey
one small, deliberate step at a time
We are all on a journey—a journey home to our heavenly parents. Any experienced traveler knows there are days you laugh and days you cry.

We aren’t here to tell you how to live—we are here to share how we live—how we survive, thrive, and even find joy!

The journey gets messy with rainstorms and sleepless flights but the hard times—the miserable times—those make the best stories.

And the vistas, the sunsets, the little birds outside the window—those are the reminders that God is in the details, he is aware of us, he has trod the path before.

The Creative Spiritual Journey Podcast is hosted by Judy and Ghia Cooley—two sisters in their wisdom years—who love the savior and are dedicated to making this journey one small, deliberate step at a time.

Join us!

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