For those of you living in the northern hemisphere, you’ll have noticed by now that the evenings have become darker, the temperature has begun to drop and leaves are steadily beginning to fall. Autumn is here and winter is on its way.

But this doesn’t mean that your spirits need to drop or there are any less of those heiter moments to revel in. In fact, what this article will enlighten you to is that if this time of year is given a bit more consideration and attention, it can actually end up being something you look forward to each year.

So allow me to guide you through some of the mindfulness practices I use to heighten my enjoyment of the darker, colder seasons.

Vision boards

Pour yourself a cup of your favourite brew, open up your laptop and afford yourself an hour or two to create a vision board. So often when we think about the colder seasons, our focus goes straight to all the not so pleasing aspects. However, there are many fun and exciting activities to be enjoyed during these seasons.

Fill your board with enticing images, colours, inspirational words and watch how quickly your focus fades from your usual unpleasing thoughts to ones of excitement and anticipation.

This year my autumn vision board has images of pumpkins, warm drinks held in snuggly mittens, gatherings around the fire, candle light, books, blankets, autumnal walks, favourite jumpers, marshmallows on sticks, mugs of soup and the list goes on. What isn’t to love about that?

If you can, carve out some time to create your vision board in the last month or few weeks before the end of each season, that way you won’t be shocked when the colder weather comes. Instead you’ll be eagerly awaiting those first few leaves to fall and the sound of the heating clicking on.

But if you find this article in the midst of winter, I always say there is no better time than now. What seasonal activities can you look forward to in the coming weeks?

Be prepared

They have a saying where I live in Wales, “there is no such thing as bad weather, just bad choice of clothing” and that couldn’t be closer to the truth.

Now is the time to hunt in the loft, thrift the secondhand stores or go all out and by yourself some new winter apparel.

One of the main issues people have with this time of year is the weather. Being cold and wet don’t tend to rank too highly on anyone’s list of enjoyable activities.
So prepare your outfits like you have every intention of enjoying the weather. If you have warm waterproofs, wellies and even thermals then no amount of dreary weather will dampen your spirits.

For many of us this is the number one reason why we don’t spend much time in nature around this time of year but nature is a freely available resource that allows us to neutralise our energy and soak in the rich nourishment that the earth has to offer. Don’t allow unprepared clothing choices to stop you from taking in the freshness of the air and the wonder sights that can be found in nature during the cooler months.

There is beauty in darkness

Another common complaint from people about the colder months is the increasing amount of darkness.

Sunlight is a natural mood enhancer and so when the sun loses its strength and is only present, for sometimes a few minutes each day, it can become very easy to slip into feelings of internal darkness.

But I want you to think of darkness differently. For those of you that have ever sat to meditate, I want you to think how nice, how comforting and relaxing it feels to be in the quiet and comfort of your own mind.

This form of darkness is rejuvenating, calming and zen like. And the same can be applied for those darker days of winter. The darkness is our invitation to go inward, to quieten our minds and our internal landscape.

If this still doesn’t enhance your thoughts about darkness, see if you can play around with mood lighting. Candles are a wonderful way to add an element of light but also encapsulate a feeling of warmth and cosiness in any space. Alternatively you could install a dimmer light switch, dulled lamp such as a himalayan salt lamp, or even a string of fairy lights will do the trick.

This duller lighting also allows you to stick more closely to your body's cues for sleep, as it can be difficult to start receiving sleep signals when we have bright lights in and around our homes.

Honour your body

Whatever the season, it’s important to listen to how you feel and to honour your body’s cues. If your body is telling you that it needs rest, that it needs to curl up in a warm blanket by the fire, shut out the cold and dive into a book or magazine, see if you can honour that desire.

Equally, if you feel energised by the winter sun and want to spend a day roaming the countryside in the fresh air, put yourself a flask together, pack your waterproofs and go explore.

Depending on our culture and our upbringing we can feel very pulled to conform to either of these two approaches toward the cold and dark days.

We either feel like we have to carry on with the same energetic energy left over from the summer and deny ourselves the opportunity to slow down and to rest. Or we feel like we should be slowing down, when really the bracing weather is what ignites our energy levels.

Neither is right or wrong. The best option is always what feels good for you, your life and your body.

Mindset shift

All it takes is a simple mindset shift. A turning of our attention from the less desirable aspects that often consume our conversations around this time of year and a refocus towards the small heiter moments, that if peppered throughout the colder seasons, can have a profound effect on your mood, outlook and enjoyment of half the months of each year.

Will this year be the year that you see the cold, dark and damp in a different light?

Words: Josephine Snowling

Josephine Snowling is a writer, teacher and entrepreneur who shares her own personal truth, understanding and insight of how this reality works and how you can learn to come home to yourself so that you may consciously manifest the life you desire.

Main image: Katharina Geissler-Evans

Images 2-4: via Unsplash

Image 5: tobetold for heiter issue 2, Homecoming

It has been a year now since my family and I relocated to Wales. Apart from a few holidays as a child, this country was unknown to us before we moved.

Throughout our first year we have spent time getting to know the local area, which has been encouraged by our regular drive to my daughters school, 9 miles from our home.

Being our first owned home we’ve also been on the lookout for thrifted household items to upcycle and add some character to our new home. Facebook Marketplace has been our friend this past year.

But aside from finding some beautiful second hand pieces of furniture, my expeditions to locate the properties where these items are located have sometimes been challenging and eye opening to say the least.

I have been taken down dirt tracks, up very steep and narrow one lane roads, along the edges of high up hills and through some questionably sized puddles that verged more on the side of small ponds.

Some of this has been partly my own choosing, some have been unavoidable to reach the villages of where these must have items are located and some have been by mistake. Word of warning, if you ever find yourself driving in Wales using a satnav, always check out the route before just opting to follow the shortest route available (it will usually find a very off course track to take you there).

But whilst my driving expeditions to find items to fill my home have been a highly amusing topic of conversation at dinner time for our family, they have also given me a profound insight into life itself and provide an ideal representation of what it feels like to take an alternative path in life, something I know a lot about.

For most of my life it’s felt as if most of my choices and opinions have gone against the grain of general society. From our parenting choices, choosing an alternative form of education for our children, our diet and lifestyle choices and now even in my business.

I wouldn’t say I purposely choose to ignore societal norms, I just simply chose to find alternative choices that at their core make me feel good, that align with my inner values and desires.

But this hasn’t always been an easy road.

Plagued with doubt, fear and insecurities about the path itself and my ability to navigate the path. Like the backroads I’ve been driving along here in Wales, there have been times when I’ve wanted to turn back. Is this furniture really worth it, I’ve asked myself. Do I have the driving skills needed to make it down this road? Were all the same questions I asked in doubt whilst driving along my alternative life path.

But even though these roads can sometimes be thrilling, sometimes terrifying, what is always certain is the breathtaking scenery I encounter along the journey.

The spectacular panoramic views, the hidden gems of nature which seem only visible to those willing to find them. I’ve seen babbling brocks, gushing waterfalls and hills that seem to roll for miles, usually without anyone else in the world present, except sometimes my daughters.

What I’ve come to learn about these roads in Wales and it is true as well in life, is that the backroads are quiet, they are only for the ones daring enough to look for an alternative route. For those willing to question whether there is another road they can take.

They aren’t for the faint of heart. You don’t always know what the road ahead will uncover, a sharp turn, a steep hill or a beautiful clear track. You just have to trust in yourself as you drive the road.

You have to be willing to go off the main road every once in a while, to forgo the standard route if you want to experience the beauty that comes with the alternative path.

This is true in relationships, in business, in any aspect of life. Choosing to follow the path of your heart, the path your soul wants and knows you should follow. Sounds like something that should be easy but quite often it’s the rockiest path you’ll ever go down.

Like the Buddha transcending on his journey to enlightenment, he was faced with his own inner demons, his limiting beliefs, his doubt and fears. He was presented with a choice each and every time, do I turn back or move forward?

And although it may seem that following your soul's path can feel lonely sometimes, what I’ve actually found over the years, is the stronger my own inner belief has become. The belief that taking an alternative route isn’t only right for me but can actually lead me where I want to go faster and yield a more exciting and abundant journey along the way. The more I have attracted, into my reality, stories of others who have done the same and very successfully.

They have felt like that comforting sign post you see when you’ve been travelling down a bumpy unmarked road for a while, wondering whether you made the right turn. That sign that reassures you that your intended destination is not far away, that all this time and through all the doubt and fear you have always been travelling on the path your soul intended you to. You aren’t lost but instead found.

Following a soul led life path doesn’t mean you always travel the backroads. I still use the motorways on the road and in life. But don’t be afraid to take the backroads when you feel called to.

Although it may seem scary at first, that inner calling is never wrong and the more you take the leap of faith the stronger your belief comes in trusting your inner voice and guidance.

Images via Unsplash

How to enjoy the cold, dark season: a guide to finding heiter

What is it like to take an alternative path in life?