Episode 44

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Published on:

2nd Dec 2024

Into the Dark

Ghia – Winter is a time for self-nourishment and rest. But how do we do that in our fast-paced world? By learning how to Pause!

Maia Toll https://www.maiatoll.com/

April McMurtry https://themoonismycalendar.com/bio-home-page?srsltid=AfmBOorhR1qVf86MGl_nhcmiY_2hJA_-wzkgGZIT4BTaLU2mj47V2hge

Founder of Days for Girls Celeste Mergens https://celestemergens.com/

Brooke McAlary https://www.amazon.com/Destination-Simple-Everyday-Rituals-Slower/dp/1786694417

Transcript
Speaker:

Hurray Ghia here.

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I'm this week's host of the

creative spiritual journey podcast.

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Where Judy and I talk about

those things that bring us joy.

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For me.

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I find joy by connecting with nature.

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Connecting with Jesus Christ

and our heavenly parents.

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Seasonal living.

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And all the bits of magic and wonder

I come across while navigating this

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remarkable journey we call life.

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I talked about the moon a

lot in the last two podcasts.

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And I want to step away from that.

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But I need to mention the moon for

just a moment while I'm setting

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the stage for today's topic.

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You will recall.

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I talked about the relationship

of the cycles of the moon to

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the cycles of the seasons.

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And I said the new moon

is winter at 12 o'clock.

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The waxing half-moon is spring at three.

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The full moon is summer at six.

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The waning half-moon is fall at nine.

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And then we go back to the winter and

the new moon at the top of the clock.

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Okay.

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So hold those thoughts.

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And let me read you a scripture

from doctrine and covenants.

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This is section 88.

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Verse 42 through 45.

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And again, Verily I say unto you.

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He has given a law unto all

things by which they move in

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their times and their seasons.

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And their courses are fixed.

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Even the courses of the heavens

and the earth, which comprehend

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the earth and all the planets.

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And they give light in their

times and in their seasons.

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In their minutes in their hours,

in their days, in their weeks,

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in their months, in their years.

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And all these are one year

with God, but not with man.

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The earth rolls upon her wings and

the sun given his light by day and

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the moon given her light by night.

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And the stars also give their light

and they roll upon their wings in their

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glory, in the midst of the power of God.

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Isn't that beautiful.

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I love it.

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Now.

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I know it doesn't directly support

anything I've been talking about.

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I'm not trying to make that claim.

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But the words they give light to each

other in their times and in their

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seasons, in their minutes, in their

hours, in their months, in their years.

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Doesn't that sound just a little,

like what I've been talking about.

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Take it for what you will.

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I just find it fun.

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So here we are in December.

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And what I want to talk about today is

turning this whole idea around and taking

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what we've learned about the moon and

applying it to the seasons of the year.

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If we were looking at an analog clock.

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Then right now in December, we are

about 11 o'clock heading towards the

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new moon and the winter solstice,

which takes place on December 21st.

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Now, what is the new moon a time for?

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That introspection all the

rewords a time to slow down.

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And that is exactly what we want

to do in the winter as well.

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Now, just a quick note.

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Because duty is in South Africa.

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We have a bunch of listeners

in the Southern hemisphere.

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And I just want to say, I love you.

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And I hope you're having a

wonderful season of light.

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And that you recognize Jesus Christ

as that light, you are experiencing.

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I also hope you can transcribe

all my seasonal stuff.

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Meaning.

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I hope you can remember and save

these thoughts until next July.

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Okay.

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But because of all my friends in the

Southern half of the world, I have begun

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thinking about the earth differently.

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My tendency is to talk

about me and what I know.

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So naturally I would say December

is a time when the earth rests.

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But the reality is only

half the earth is resting.

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And while of course I have

known this since grade school.

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It wasn't until this podcast that

I spent time thinking about it.

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And what it did was caused me

to recall something similar

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that I recently learned about.

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It was something I learned from

the book, why we sleep by Dr.

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Matthew Walker.

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He explained that when we are in

deep REM sleep, We are basically

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paralyzed, meaning we don't move.

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Which works for humans.

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But because of this discovery, scientists

began asking how different animals such

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as dolphins get the sleep they need.

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They can't become paralyzed

while swimming in the ocean.

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They have to continually

surface to breathe.

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So do you know what it turns out?

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They do.

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They sleep with half

their brain at a time.

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I know it sounds weird and I

don't have any idea how it works.

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I just know that somehow it does work.

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So here is where my

brain makes a giant leap.

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If dolphins sleep with

only half their brains.

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And actually other animals

such as birds do this as well.

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Is it a coincidence that the

earth would rest with only one

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of its hemispheres at a time.

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I don't think so.

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The natural world seems to have

set a precedent for this idea.

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I know I'm taking things out of

context and stretching the point.

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But I thought it was a fun idea.

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So I decided to share it.

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Okay.

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Back to the point of this podcast.

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Where I am here in the United States, we

are heading into winter a time of rest.

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And I want to talk about why resting

during the winter is important.

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And some of the ways we can

apply and practice this idea.

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Let me start by sharing with

you a quote from Maria Toll's

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book, wild wisdom, companion.

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See the show notes for her website.

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The book says, quote.

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It's time says, then reaching

down to kiss Earth's brow.

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Yes size earth.

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We have spend through a full cycle.

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Haven't we.

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I'm ready for a moment of quiet.

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Earth smiles.

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Dipping a toe into the

slipstream of memory.

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I love our work growth

and change and bounty.

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The stars are singing.

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Shall we not have another

spin Earth asks slyly.

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Sun offers this temptation every

year, bouncing a bit excited for the

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infinite possibilities of their dance.

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Earth's heart lifts at sun's

never ending exuberance.

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The fiery joy that has Boyd

them through the seasons.

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Let me catch my breath or

says a mere moment of respite.

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Earth size and settles.

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Letting go of the

striving of seasons past.

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Sun smiles.

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It's the same answer every year.

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So sun leans in and whispers the words.

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Sweet dreams.

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Rest.

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Well, And quote.

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The sun makes me think of a toddler.

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We know as adults when toddlers

are tired and need arrest.

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They get grumpy and irritable.

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But they don't want to miss anything.

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I don't know about you, but

I do exactly the same thing.

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Especially about the idea of

resting during the winter.

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There isn't time to rest.

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At least not in our society.

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We have all these

time-saving contraptions.

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washing machines, dishwashers

cars that dry fast.

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But do we have any more time?

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No, we don't.

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And besides all this, I

am a high energy person.

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I find joy in being productive.

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But aren't you catching my drift.

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I'm calling all of us who don't want to

rest during the winter babies, we are

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acting like babies, like little children.

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We are part of this earth and I believe we

are best served when we follow its cycles.

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Here is a similar idea.

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I recently heard an interview on the

magnified podcast with Celeste merkins,

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who was the founder of days for girls.

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Let me paraphrase what she said.

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As women, we are often so busy and

pulled in so many different directions.

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That when Christ says, come follow me,

we hear the comm part, but we missed the

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part that says, so I may give you rest.

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Oh, that is so true.

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But understand.

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I'm not saying we have

to sleep all winter.

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Of course, it would be awesome if

we could sync with the sun, if we

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could get out of bed when the sun

rises and wind down at sunset.

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If we could light our houses in

the evening with soft yellow flame,

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instead of bright led lights.

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All that would be great.

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But like you, I am perfectly aware.

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We live in a world that believes in

going full steam ahead at all times.

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And in all seasons.

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A world that believes we should

always be in a state of full bloom.

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It simply isn't realistic in

our current lives to come to a

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complete stop during the winter.

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Even if we would like to.

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So my goal is simply to slow down

enough to do the work of nourishing my

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soul, both spiritually and physically.

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Let me talk about how this looks.

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There was a woman.

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I will call a moon cycle

specialist named April McMurdy.

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I will also include her

website in the show notes.

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I was listening to her, talk on a podcast

and want to share her thoughts with you.

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I note, she is talking about the new

moon here, and I am talking about winter.

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But as I discussed, it is a similar idea.

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Here are her paraphrased words.

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The new moon helps us get our needs met.

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It provides nourishment and safety.

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What feels nourishing to you?

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She asks and then she answers.

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Sometimes for me, it's research.

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I had to laugh when I heard that research

doesn't sound very restful to me.

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At least I never thought of it that way.

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But can research be nourishing?

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I don't know.

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I bet my mom would say that it is.

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At 91, she loves nothing more than

a good afternoon of Google research.

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So that's the idea embrace this

time of rest as self nourishment,

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whatever it looks like for you.

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I truly believe in the power

and the importance of rest.

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I love that there are several

instances in the Bible when we

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see Jesus take the time to rest.

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to pause and even to sleep.

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Let me share a few that stand out to

me because of their unique messages.

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I especially love these examples

because they involve women.

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All of Christ's interaction

with women are precious.

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But these stand out because of the pause.

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After a long journey when

Jesus gets to Jacob's.

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Well, the scripture specifically

say he sits down to rest.

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This is where he meets the Samaritan

woman, the first person to whom he

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reveals himself openly as the Messiah

This story stands out to me because

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there is a fear that if we stop

to rest, we will be wasting time.

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But did you notice that this

rest was particularly productive?

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Jesus was resting while

officially starting his ministry.

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My question is, can I

apply this to my life?

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Can I let go of the idea that I must

be doing something to make progress.

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This story helps me believe I can.

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Another example is the story of

the woman with the issue of blood.

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Jesus was in a crowd of people.

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He had somewhere to go,

people waiting for him.

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And what did he do?

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He paused to find the

woman who had touched him.

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There was urgency and

chaos surrounding him.

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Yeti paused.

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Can I pause in my crazy urgent world,

set it all aside assured that what

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I needed to get done will still be

waiting for me when I get there.

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Or that if it isn't.

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It wasn't truly important.

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I believe that is what I can

learn from practicing with

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this concept of seasonal rest.

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The more I practice, the more

I will be able to implement

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the pause when it's needed.

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Let me share one more example.

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This is the story of the

woman taken in adultery.

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Imagine that moment when the men

have drugged the woman to Jesus and

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asked what was to be done with her.

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He didn't answer her immediately.

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Do you recall what he does?

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He takes a moment to draw in the dirt.

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I don't know if this pause was a

moment for Christ to gather his

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thoughts and decide what to say.

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Did he need such a thing?

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Or did he take the moment to let

the other people in the room settle?

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Either way.

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I believe this pause was intentional.

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Powerful and significant.

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It makes me think about the

importance of stopping to think

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about my words before I speak them.

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This would be important in any instance,

but especially during a time of conflict.

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It's my belief that learning to pause.

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Practicing the pause.

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Is something winter is here to teach us.

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Now I know none of these examples

about Christ have anything to do

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with taking a seasonal pause, either

with the moon or in the winter.

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I'm totally stretching the point here.

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But I do believe this earth was

designed by Jesus Christ with

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our best intentions in mind.

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And to me, that includes the seasons.

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So I asked myself, what are they for?

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What do they do?

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What can I learn from them?

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You need to make your own decisions.

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But what I get from winter

is the invitation to pause.

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So I want to share with

you two simple ways.

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I plan to slow down and practice

embracing the pause this winter.

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I recently read the

book, destination simple.

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Every day ritual for a slower

life by Brooke McClary.

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See the show notes for more about her.

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One thing she suggests is single tasking.

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The that just set off alarm bells for you.

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It did for me when I read

it, I love to multitask.

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And the thought of single

tasking makes me dig in my heels.

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I didn't want anything to do with it,

but as I read her chapter on single

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tasking, I began to understand her point.

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Single tasking is not about doing less.

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It's about immersing yourself, wholly

and completely in one task at a time.

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This is what she says.

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Quote.

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It might not be possible to single task

your whole life or even a whole day.

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But once a day is entirely achievable.

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And it adds no time as you can

practice single tasking while

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completing something you already do.

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Then she adds this part that I love quote.

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The single task serves an extra purpose.

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It's a chance to clear the mental

clutter, even for a moment and quote.

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Did you hear that?

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While single tasking, you actually

get to multitask Because single

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tasking helps to clear mental clutter.

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HAZOP I love that.

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So that's one simple way to

play with slowing down during

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this dark time of winter.

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To single task.

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Here is another simple place to

practice adding the pause this season.

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I love to apply the pause to prayer.

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Sometimes I get nervous praying in public.

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And I simply say the next

road thing that comes to mind

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because I'm afraid of a pause.

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Here's the truth.

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No one cares.

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If I pause to gather my thoughts

during a prayer and they don't care

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if I speak slowly and thoughtfully.

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If I am hungry and I need to get

the prayer done, I simply need to

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make my prayer shorter, not faster.

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Not less thoughtful.

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So that's a second idea for

slowing down this winter.

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I'm sure you can come up

with more of your own.

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But I hope these examples show

you just how simple and easy

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finding a deliberate pause can be.

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You can go deeper.

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That would be great.

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Just don't feel like your

life is too busy to slow down.

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The pause is doable.

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When we lean into it, when we practice

it deliberately, we will get better.

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Especially with the energetic help

provided by this dark time of the year.

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And it's my belief that learning

to utilize this rest, this pause.

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We'll service through all aspects

and an all seasons of our lives.

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I believe it's one of

winter's unique gifts.

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And one of the lessons, it

is here to help us learn.

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My plan is to work with these two

ideas, to practice them, to journal

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about them and to notice if they change

anything in my life, even my newly.

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If I am going to care for myself,

both mentally and physically,

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if I desire to become more like

my Lord and savior Jesus Christ.

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Then I want to lean into his creations.

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It's my goal to embrace the winter season.

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To live by its example and to

learn what it has to teach me.

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I want to practice slowing down.

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To embrace it and maybe even to enjoy it.

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Now as part of this winter

pause, Judy and I are going to

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take a pause from podcasting.

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Duty is going to post

an episode next week.

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And then I have two bonus episodes

that I have already recorded.

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So they'll be easy to put up.

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And then we are going to

take a long winter nap.

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This extended winter pause will provide us

time for personal nourishment and it will

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also help us gather thoughts and come up

with more content for the second season of

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the creative, spiritual journey podcast.

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Can you believe it Duty and I have

completed our first season of podcasting.

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It's so exciting.

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So with that.

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You'll hear from us again

sometime next January.

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Duty, and I know your time is precious

and that you have many choices.

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We love that you have chosen to

walk with us for a few minutes.

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As we talk about the joy, we have

found along this journey of life.

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If you like this podcast.

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Thank you.

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Thank you for sharing it with a friend.

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And let me end with this last thought.

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This was from an Instagram

post titled say no to urgency

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culture from mind, body green.

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It said.

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Spend an extra moment in the sun.

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And joy, a leisurely meal with friends.

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Put your phone away before bed.

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Respond when you are ready.

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Take the longer walk.

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Hm.

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Those sound like great

winter pauses to me.

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Nama stay.

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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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