Autumn 2024
Today’s article has been written by Judith Frizlen, a beloved teacher of LifeWays and mentor to caregivers.
Our experience of both the outer world and the inner world varies. Each one of us is a unique individual and the shared goal of our human experience is to know ourselves. We can learn by observing and aligning with the seasons of the year and our lives.
Some experiences are universal. Summer draws us outward into a world full of light, flowers, frivolity, and fun. We may engage in the outer world more than the inner one to satisfy a yearning to be in the light.
But when autumn comes around, it gets dark earlier and the days grow colder. We may spend more time indoors, which is the portal to introspection and soul development. Without the light of summer, we seek to kindle the light within.
Autumn is the time to plant seeds in our souls, so they blossom in spring, just as we plant seeds in the soil in spring for an autumn harvest. When nature is its most productive, our soul is quiet. But when nature lies dormant, our soil awakens. Can you feel it?
Remembering that this is the time of year to go inward and gain self-knowledge, I am writing about the relationship between our inner and outer worlds. This topic has led to three themes: getting to know our demons, being like a child, and kindling the inner light.
What do I mean by demons? I mean the dark forces that live both inside and outside of us. If there was only light in the world, it would not be a choice to embrace it but there is also darkness, and it is in the face of darkness that we can choose the light.
Being human means we have both forces within us and choices about the one we feed with our attention.
Before choosing our thoughts, feelings, and actions, we need to become aware of them. Notice the voice in your head or how you talk to yourself. A critical voice within is like a well-intended parent disciplining a child by chastising and punishing.
This form of discipline is meant to protect but ends up causing harm. When a critical voice becomes the soundtrack of a person’s life, it is dark force that binds us to self-limiting beliefs, minimizing our potential.
What begins with a harsh inner voice can grow into anger and resentment toward others. Feeding these emotions (rather than noticing and releasing them) strengthens the darkness within us which then aligns with dark forces or demons in the world.
If what is within is also without, it makes sense that bullies and haters in the world intend to resolve an inner struggle, to release pain and free themselves. But as history reveals, anything done in the name of fear and resentment, even if it is unconscious, serves nothing but darkness.
We cannot resent ourselves or others if we want unity and peace, but we can choose love to bring light into the darkness. It starts within. We know that demons grow in the dark but cannot survive in the light.
And what about children who have not yet developed consciousness, what do they hold within? Children come here with eyes of wonder and curiosity. Bugs on the ground, birds in the trees, chipmunks in the woods – they are all wonderful. And it is wonder that leads them to a love of nature and of life.
Children are also full of unfettered love for the people in their lives. When we are on our way to meet our daughter’s family, as soon as the grandchildren see us, they run arms open into our outstretched arms. The force of their enthusiasm could knock us off balance, but instead it anchors us in delight.
Those are the superpowers of children – to see the world with wonder and enthusiasm and to love with an open heart. Their experience of the world is unfiltered. What children experience inwardly is expressed outwardly. Adults, on the other hand, are not so transparent. It might require events in the outer world (like storms, illness, failures, etc) to lead us to recognizing and reflecting on the inner world. As in so without, so within.
When adults strive to be like children, their minds and hearts are open. You can witness the light shining forth from their eyes. They value love more than material things. Being in the presence of young children reminds us to kindle our inner light, to let go of stories, resentments and inhibitions.
So we begin by acknowledging that there is darkness in the world, both in the outer world and inner worlds. To that point, we may recall that children are light-bearers and we, too, can kindle the light within. But how you might wonder.
One way is with seasonal rituals. This time of year, no matter what culture you are in, the emphasis is on bringing light into the darkness. Since we can witness the effect of the darkness in nature, we can share the experience of recognizing its effect on our souls.
On October 31st, we celebrate Halloween. Since the 1700’s, people have been carving pumpkins and lighting a candle inside to ward off evil spirits. “This tradition is based on an Irish legend about a man named Stingy Jack who was cursed to roam the Earth with only a burning coal to light his way”. Imagine being in the dark without enough light.
It’s a scary thought and on Halloween, people explore the darkness by dressing in scary costumes or i
f not scary ones that show another side of themselves, one that is usually hidden. The modern iteration of Halloween includes costumed children walking in the dark, collecting candy on their way. It is truly a joyful, exciting ritual for children and adults alike.
On Halloween, we poke fun at the darkness and shrink it down to size. Humor and playfulness are ways to bring light into the darkness. In my family, we used to deal with an access of candy in our home by encouraging the children to fill a bag for the candy fairies who then took it away and left a small toy.
Other ways of dealing with darkness include honesty in recognizing and naming it both outside and inside of us. When I acknowledge the demons within, I can make changes, letting in more light.
Another festival experienced in a Waldorf school community is the Lantern Walk, also known as Martinmas. It’s a celebration of the kindness of a soldier, St. Martin, who shared his cloak with a beggar. Loving kindness brings light into the darkness. Around November 11h, children make lanterns and carry them while singing into the dark evening.
At the end of November, we celebrate and give gratitude for the harvest. Gratitude is another way to bring light into the darkness.
This season of bringing light into the darkness culminates with festivals around the time of the winter solstice, December 21st. That’s the shortest day of the year, after which the light begins its slow and steady return. To celebrate, we have gatherings, share meals and gifts and put lights on evergreen trees.
The tradition of celebrating the winter solstice dates back to 3,000 BC. In Scotland, there is a subterranean chamber, called Maeshowe, that was miraculously engineered (before engineering was a discipline) to capture the sun’s rays through a small opening at the winter solstice. Those rays shining onto the back of the chamber were a cause for celebration then and now.
When the season of rituals and gatherings to kindle the light within come to an end, we continue to tend it throughout the winter. Our earthly survival depends on the sun just as our soul depends on our inner light to guide us.
When the light in nature withdraws and the earth goes to sleep, centuries-old traditions remind us of the light within.
As within, so without.