‘Tis the Season for Volatile Conviviality
I sit this evening in the dark by the light of a fire, remembering and touching all the people I have loved, those who have left, holding this beautiful, heart breaking world.
So we gather in this vortex of frenzy, the telos looming at year's end…Telos, that’s an ancient Greek term referring to the 'end, aim, purpose, goal.'
We wait in anticipation during this season of Advent. We wait for the light, for the world to break and heal, for love to be born again in all our hearts. Advent, the Christian designation for this season: Latin for Adventus meaning 'arrive or approach, that which is to come ' (the same root as adventure).
Since time immemorial, humans have been gathering in the dark of this time and holding the light.
It is the most ancient tradition, constellated by the natural world. It is natural, not just a convention, organically true in the very essence of our experience as humans. A deep truth we feel in our bones.
Most major world religions hold festivals of light at this time of year. All these religious conventions have evolved out of this ancient, natural, organic experience of what is so.
So how do we honor the dark?
One has to really BE IN THE DARK, don’t escape it, negate it, resist it: allow it.
Find ways to honor the dark.
Sit in the dark. Don’t turn your lights on for a while. Touch the primal fear of being in the dark.
Go out at dusk and feel the shift of the waning daylight into the shadow of quiet, the sensuousness of light. Stop and take an inhale with the sun’s retreat.
Things that disappear in broad daylight reveal themselves in the gracious surrender of the light.
Look at what’s uncertain in your life and walk the edge of that. This is the mandate of this time. Not just a societal construct, it’s nature’s way.
And what brings the light? How do we hold the light?
At our Gateway House Winter Solstice, we pass a votive candle around the circle, saying, 'I, ___, recognize I am a light in the world' then turning to our neighbor, saying, 'I recognize you___as a light in the world.
Think of the lights of Hanukkah, Kwanza, Diwali...
Let us touch the still, broken heart of love with the light we all hold.
The traditions of gift giving, singing, celebratory revelry give us the opportunity to be about dwelling with the love we share with our close community, and with all of humanity.
Let us really dwell with what it means to be in sacred reciprocity, exchanging, through the tangibility of gifts, charitable opportunities, just reveling in the true nature of a gift economy.
Gifting arises from the intention of our abundance....the Telos, goal of how our resources will manifest in the world.
Finally reckoning with the fact that we’re at ending and completion. The time draws nigh... hence the intensity we feel. In the scripture readings for the season of Advent, many of the readings are about the end of the world, the destruction of what’s been. This destruction is all about the advent of the birth of divine love, however we understand that.
And births are messy, bloody, laboring AND essential to life.
May this honoring of the dark and the light enable us to hold the societal frenzy constellated at this time of year.
May we dwell evermore with in the love of our sacred community gatherings.
May we dance with the messy madness and be with the volatile conviviality of this time.
We are profoundly grateful that Gateway House has received an extension on the offer from an anonymous donor to match all contributions up to $10,000.
To date during this matching campaign, we have raised 80 % towards our goal!!! We need just $1300 to complete our match.
Winter Solstice Ceremony
Sunday, December 21st | 5 pm
Gateway House, 12 Fairview Ave, Rosendale
Gate of Winter Ceremony
Deer Mother with Meryn Oakwood
Winter Spiral & Luminariums
Seasonal Reflection from Kathleen
PERFORMANCES; 7pm-ish
Sean Crimmins
Meryn Oakwood & Marann Langlois
$15 Donation | Potluck (please BYO utensils) & Fire
Please RSVP to 845-417-5430 for parking info.
The way you look at things changes the things you look at.
Learn more about this work here.
Monthly In-Person Group
Sunday, December 20 | 3 - 6PM | $50
Gateway House | 12 Fairview Ave | Rosendale
Space is limited; Advance registration is now required.
Please fill out this Registration Form below.
photo credit: Lauren Thomas, for Hudson Valley One
Do you remember the heat of last summer, and the need to slip away into nature to cool off in clear, flowing water? Deep Hole Nature Sanctuary on the Peterskill Stream has been that place for so many of us, and with your support, it can continue to welcome visitors for years to come
Deep Hole Nature Sanctuary is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit dedicated to conserving the natural beauty and spirit of the land that makes this place so special. Our work is guided by a commitment to long term environmental care, inclusive access, and shared responsibility for this community resource.
To support ongoing essentials like insurance, legal protection, and staffing, we are close to meeting this year’s operating needs, and your contribution will help carry Deep Hole fully through the season and keep it open to all. To make your donation, go to our Deep Hole Nature Sanctuary Donation Link.
We look forward to seeing you at Deep Hole, whether you take a daring New Year’s polar plunge or join us when the waters are warm again this spring!
With Love, The Deep Hole Nature Sanctuary Board
Dan Getman, Kathleen Mandeville, Steeven Price Lall, Zoe Getman-Pickering, Amy Little (Board Member Emeritus)
An Invitation to the Practice of Biodanza
As explorer of the many modalities and forms of spiritual growth and healing, Biodanza is the spiritual somatic form which I have practiced consistently over the recent years. Boidanza deeply nourishes me personally, and allows me to sustain and embody the depth of my own work at The Outer Edge and Gateway House. Biodanza cross pollinates with both Constellations and Ceremony. Join us!
Saturday, January 10, 2025 10am-6pm: FREE Day of Biodanza Vivencia and Potluck Picnic!
You can find detailed info and the event calendar at the New World Ritual & Dance, the Hudson Valley's Biodanza center.
Holding a still point in the turning of the wheel,
Kathleen C. Mandeville, M. Div.
Community Pastor, Consultant, Facilitator, Coach
Through The Outer Edge, Kathleen offers personal and organizational coaching, employing the modalities of Systemic Constellations, ritual, pastoral guidance. Her specialities include working with healers and creatives, as they achieve the true expression of their soul’s mission. Combining heart centered intuition with hard headed strategy...'Cuz, baby you're a firework.'
Contact me at The Outer Edge Coaching to schedule an initial 30 minute consultation.
