Autumn has announced itself with the changing of colors, shedding of leaves, and even snow in Evergreen earlier this week.

As the leaves drop and the sap retreats into the roots, something within us shifts too. It’s time to let go, rest and turn inward. Time to sit in silence and find that inner place of quiet and peacefulness. Meditating in this place will help nurture what’s meant to come to life in the spring.

What are you ready to release? What can you shed, as the trees and bushes shed their leaves?

Releasing doesn’t need to be difficult, it can be graceful and effortless and natural like the leaves falling to the ground. If you have heavier things to release you can call in the transformative power of the fire, and burn representations of what you’re ready to let go of.

This time of year we recommend taking long walks in the park or forest, contemplating the falling leaves. And warming yourself by the fire, letting it burn away what you no longer need to carry.

One powerful way to release the past is to simply write down what you’re ready to be done with, and then burn the paper. Or write down the roles you’re tired of playing, that bind or confine you, and burn those. Then sit with the fire and watch until it consumes the paper and all the wood or fuel you’ve provided, and burns out completely.

The ashes from what you’ve burned away turn into mulch and prepare the fertile earth for what’s to come, in the same way that the fallen leaves mulch the ground for new life. You can even take the ashes from what you’ve burned and spread them on your garden or a favorite place in your yard or the woods.

Wishing you many blessings this fall as you release your past and retreat within.