A beautiful and grounding read by @Marama Elizabeth that challenges the forced "January reset." She points out the deep dissonance many feel when a global calendar ignores our local seasons, personal rhythms, and even historical truths. As she writes: "Life moves in overlapping cycles, not single resets." This piece is a powerful reminder to honor the civic new year while giving ourselves permission to align with our own *regional, personal, and creative beginnings*. If January 1st felt off, this might explain why. Highly recommend the full read for anyone feeling out of sync. 👉 https://www.skool.com/nature-inspired-living-2560/happy-new-year * Does your inner timeline match the calendar?* 🕰️🍃 * Listen to "When Calendars Collide" for the complete, soul-stirring experience.

Quick question: Did "New Year, New You" feel forced this January? There's a reason for that dissonance, and it's not you. January 1st asks the northern region to transform when nature is teaching dormancy. It asks the southern hemisphere to "begin fresh" in the peak of summer, when the year already feels underway. Same date. Opposite meanings. Global pressure to pretend it's the same for everyone. Here's what most people don't know: January 1st has only been the "universal" new year for a few decades. England didn't adopt it until 1752. Russia waited until 1700. Numerous countries didn’t join in until the early 1900’s Before the Gregorian calendar standardized things in 1582, cultures timed their new years to what they could observe: 🌱 Spring equinoxes 🌗 Lunar cycles 🌾 Harvest completions 🍁 Local seasonal markers Time was witnessed, not decreed. The word "calendar" literally comes from calendae: the Roman day when debts were due. We've let an accounting system tell us when to transform. But here's the shift: You can honor January 1st as the civic new year (coordination, shared social time) while also recognizing: - Your regional new year (aligned with your actual spring) - Your personal new year (life transitions, readiness) - Your creative or spiritual new years Multiple beginnings aren't contradictory, they're more truthful. Life moves in overlapping cycles, not single resets. If January felt misaligned with your actual experience, you're not broken. You're perceiving the gap between administrative time and embodied time. The new year doesn't begin when calendars say, it begins when you're ready, and when the earth where you stand agrees. I wrote a full deep-dive on this (the history, the hemispheric problem, how to develop "calendrical fluency" between shared time and lived time). Read the full article here: When Calendars Collide with Consciousness I’m curious: Does January 1st feel right for you this year, or were you already operating on a different timeline without realizing it?

Sometimes, music isn't just something you hear—it's a place you can visit. I've been working on a little piece of sound that feels less like a song and more like a doorway. A doorway to a still, reflective space where different worlds of sound gently meet. It’s short, but sometimes that’s all you need to pause, breathe, and feel something shift. If you're curious to step through... I’d be honored for you to listen. Listen with headphones if you can. And if it moves you, let me know what it felt like. With a quiet heart, Emil

Tonight, as some of you gather around Christmas trees while others have already opened presents on Christmas morning, I'm thinking about what unites us across all our different traditions during these darkest days of the year. We're all celebrating the same thing: light returning to a world that desperately needs it. Whether you're Christian celebrating the birth of Christ as Light of the World, honoring the winter solstice and nature's cycles, observing Hanukkah's oil that wouldn't stop burning, or simply gathering with loved ones to mark the year's turning, you're participating in humanity's oldest ritual. The acknowledgment that darkness doesn't get the final word. What This Season Is Really Asking Of Us - To acknowledge that we've all walked through darkness this year: personal, collective, spiritual. - To choose, consciously, to be people who carry light forward anyway. - To recognize that the gifts we most require they emerge from the inner work of descent and transformation. - To remember that renewal isn't passive. It requires us to release what's dying, tend what's being born, and trust the cycles we can't control. You're part of this ancient tide of humans refusing to let darkness have the final word. ✨ May you find the light you're seeking ~ and may you recognize that you've been carrying it all along. 🙌 May your celebrations be meaningful, your gatherings be genuine, your rest be restorative. 💝 May you give yourself permission to grieve what must be grieved and release what must be released. 🚶‍♂️May you step into the new year knowing that transformation is always available, renewal is your birthright, and you belong to something far larger and older than any single tradition can contain. 🎁 May you be both receiver and giver of gifts that matter. 💭 May you remember that every wisdom tradition, every spiritual path, every sincere seeker is reaching toward the same essential truth: love is stronger than fear, light is more fundamental than darkness, and we are never as alone as we sometimes feel.

Sometimes a post comes along that feels less like words on a screen and more like a quiet bell ringing in the heart. This is one of those. @Marama Elizabeth shared a beautiful reflection on what truly unites us in this season—across all traditions, beliefs, and celebrations. It's a profound reminder that, whether we gather around a tree, a menorah, the solstice, or simply each other, we are all honoring the same ancient, human truth: The light returns. And we get to carry it. It’s a post that doesn't just wish you happy holidays—it offers a deeper grounding in *why* we celebrate and *how* we can move into the new year. If you're looking for a moment of connection and perspective today, I encourage you to read her full reflection. It’s a gift. 👉 https://www.skool.com/nature-inspired-living-2560/the-light-returns After you read it, I'd love to hear: What does "the light returns" mean to you this year? Wishing you a peaceful and luminous season. 🕯️