Winter’s Wisdom-The Power of the Pause
Updated 12/05/2025 Originally from 11/11/2022
Winter arrives with a natural shift in rhythm. The world quiets, animals move inward, and the landscape softens into stillness. This season offers us something rare: a meaningful pause. Not an interruption, but a spacious moment where we can reflect, recalibrate, and gently prepare for what’s ahead.
I often imagine the brown bear curled into its den—resting deeply, dreaming, and gathering strength. Winter gives us that same invitation: to slow down enough to hear ourselves again, to tend to what we’ve rushed past, and to reconnect with the inner voice that gets lost in busier seasons.
Even though the New Year often brings pressure to set goals, organize, and “have it all figured out” by February, Winter reminds us that we don’t need to force momentum. As Shun Ryu Suzuki wrote, “In the beginner’s mind, there are many possibilities.”
We can begin again at any time. The pause makes room for possibility.
The Winter’s Pause: My Story
At Thanksgiving of 2023, a routine pacemaker battery and lead replacement unexpectedly became a life-threatening open-heart surgery. Slowing down wasn’t a choice—healing required complete stillness.
Late-night journaling became my refuge. Poems, prayers, and small moments of gratitude kept me grounded, supported by angels, Reiki, and the love around me. Reiki helped me release fear and tension, opening space for insight and clarity. In those quiet, still moments, I could see what truly matters and what I want to carry forward.
That experience reshaped how I approach year-end reflection—gently, softly, and without pressure. Knowing I’ve been given a new beginning, I now invite you to embrace one for yourself as well.
The Power of the Pause
A pause is not a step backward—it’s a conscious resting point.
It gives us:
Clarity, because the mind settles
Perspective, because we slow down enough to see what truly matters
Inner guidance, because stillness makes space for intuition
Renewal, because rest restores creativity and energy
Winter’s pause allows us to respond to life rather than react to it. It’s where intention has room to form, and where our next steps become clearer.
How Reiki Supports This Beginning
Reiki naturally aligns with Winter’s quieter, restorative energy. It helps:
Soften the nervous system
Calm mental clutter
Bring insight and intuitive clarity
Reveal what is ready to be released
Support simple, meaningful beginnings
Reiki brings ease into the pause. It creates space for solutions, wisdom, and gentle direction to arise without pressure.
Gentle Winter Reflection: Steps for a Beginner’s Mind
Step 1 — Go Outside
Let yourself experience Winter directly. Notice the quality of the air, the trees at rest, the way sound changes in colder months. Engaging your senses helps reset your internal rhythm.
Step 2 — Slow Down
Re-engage with practices that support listening—Reiki, meditation, quiet breathing, warm tea, journaling, or simply sitting without distraction. This is where your inner voice becomes clearer.
Step 3 — Reflect Softly on the Past Year
Look back with kindness and curiosity. Consider these three questions:
What challenges did you navigate this year, and how did you move through them?
What successes or meaningful moments are you most proud of, and why do they matter to you?
What lessons or insights emerged this year that you want to carry into the year ahead?
These questions deepen reflection while keeping the wisdom gained gentle and grounded.
Step 4 — Envision the Year Ahead
Begin exploring what you want to cultivate. Not a long list—just values, intentions, experiences, and feelings that matter most. Converse with or create using your SoulCollage® cards, receive an oracle card reading or an energy session, and listen to your inner self. I’m here to support you.
Ways to Support Your Reflection
Spend no more than an hour so the process stays easeful, not overwhelming.
Call in any helpers or guides—Reiki, prayer, angels, ancestors, or your spiritual allies.
Browse your journals for patterns, insights, or lessons that want to be carried into the new year.
Allow ideas and memories to percolate naturally. Let clarity unfold rather than forcing answers.
Celebrate with poetry, automatic writing, a SoulCollage® card, dance, or song to honor or celebrate what’s emerging.
Closing Thought
Winter is not a deadline, it’s an invitation.
The pause it offers is powerful, healing, and necessary. With the support of Reiki, this season can become a time of clarity, renewal, and gentle beginnings. Whenever you’re ready, Winter reminds you that you can begin again.
