Ann Moir-BussyIn the Christian calendar this week, as I write, it’s known as Holy Week – the week that remembers the passion, death and resurrection of Christ. For many, it’s a holiday, time for family or relaxation and with little or no religious meaning at all. However, almost every culture, every era and every civilisation in our world has addressed the cycle of death and rebirth. Living in this world reminds us that life is continuously going through the cycle of change, decay, transformation, and rebirth.
At Christmas, we spoke of the embodiment of Christ in each of us, and this doesn’t mean we get to just live in the light – this would be unrealistic. Here at Easter, Christ reminds us of the need to die to what is no longer needed so as to be transformed, reborn, to grow, and to live with new awareness and consciousness. Plants can’t grow unless they allow the seed to shrivel and die and allow its roots to go deep into the darkness.
The year is made up of seasons, and here in Australia, we are in autumn and moving towards winter –the brilliant colour of the changing leaves, reminding us of the long winter coming, the changes in the air, when everything seems to be dormant, even dying. But without this process, there cannot be new life.
We cannot grow without something ending first before something new can begin. How often have you encountered this when, for example, your old identity no longer works, or when you have had to let go of something that no longer gives you purpose or stability? Our ego often resists these passages, but unless we surrender, we cannot move forward. We must do this individually and collectively.
“Our task is to be continually defeated by ever larger things” (Rilke)
Collectively we are aware of the crises on our planet – the sense of loss that seeps into our consciousness, and we do not know how more chaotic lives will become or whether this is the passing of another era. What we do have is the opportunity to choose how we live.
How do you want to live in these times of constant change? Can we embrace the death of what no longer serves us, making space for rebirth in our lives, even though the passage of rebirth is not easy? We lose a sense of meaning, or purpose, a sense of identity – often accompanied by exhaustion. Can we bring attentiveness to the process and embrace and engage in this experience of metamorphosis? Can we broaden our awareness and be open to the transformation that occurs in rebirth?
The Phoenix
Across many cultures, the Phoenix is a symbol of the process of death and rebirth. This majestic bird is said to live a long time – often hundreds of years, then builds its own funeral pyre, sets it on fire, and after three days, rises from the ashes as a young, renewed bird. This cycle is renewal and transformation. Psychologically and symbolically, the phoenix represents our need for transformation – that breaking down of old parts of ourselves – beliefs, identities, or patterns, that no longer serve us. However, we often resist change because it is uncomfortable and we even fear it. There is tension between the familiarity of what we know and the weight of what no longer serves us.
It is deep inner work – and the Easter message, too, reminds us of the need to take time to go within, to reflect and examine what no longer serves us, allowing it to die so we can be renewed.
Reflective practice –The Fire of Clarity
In a safe space, light a candle, sit quietly and watch the flames with a softening focus. Then recall something you want to transform – a pattern or belief – or whatever comes to you. Embrace and be open to what it is you can now let go of or transform so that you can be reborn and transformed.
Acknowledge it and then visualise the flame transmuting the old pattern into light – and allow that light to fill you. Maybe write about it in your journal, or make a commitment or affirmation that will remind you, or plant a new seed and nurture it as it grows.
This little ritual gives the psyche permission to change, and visualisation with a candle symbolises purification.
A parting thought from the Sages’ Tao Te Ching
Where are you at this moment?
Can you sit quietly for a bit?
And look about?
Lay aside your wants and fears,
Desires and hopes,
For just a minute.
Can you feel the Sage inside?
Watch Ann’s amazing FREE video presentation on death, rebirth and transformation, and Sedna, The Goddess of the Sea, and the profound wisdom of this story:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1vlTu-Q-pxNBSWMIkE1-z5XwHpVbez4EU/view
To access all of Ann’s amazing videos, teachings and to book a coaching or psychotherapy session, please visit: www.annmoirbussy.com.au
Lisa Brough
Gerard Bini
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