This session plan focuses on themes of reflection, balance, and renewal, as they align with the Winter Solstice, the longest night of the year. The Winter Solstice is a powerful time to explore the balance of light and darkness, both externally in nature and internally in our lives. This plan uses music, creative reflection, and imagery of the sun and moon to help participants find balance and celebrate renewal. A referential improvisation allows participants to explore these emotions through sound.
Goal:
- Encourage self-reflection on life’s challenges and blessings.
- Foster emotional balance by recognizing both light (positive aspects) and darkness (negative aspects) in life.
- Promote relaxation, renewal, and hope.
Materials:
- Music player (for recorded music) or live instrument (e.g., guitar, piano)
- Sun and moon cutouts (pre-made or made during the session) — one of each per participant
- Markers, pens, or colored pencils
- An assortment of instruments for referential improvisation, minimum two for each participant
Session Plan:
1. Opening Reflection
- Facilitator Introduction: Explain the Winter Solstice, the time when the longest night of the year occurs, and how it signifies both the depth of darkness and the beginning of the return to light. Highlight themes of introspection, letting go, and renewal.
- Guided Grounding Exercise: Ask participants to close their eyes if comfortable, or provide a focal point image instead, take a few deep breaths, and imagine themselves standing at the edge of a dark winter night. Invite them to reflect on a time they felt “in the dark” or faced challenges. Then, ask them to imagine the sun rising, slowly filling the sky with light, representing hope and renewal.
2. Musical Reflection: “Here Comes the Sun”
- Song Selection: “Here Comes the Sun” by The Beatles
- This classic song symbolizes the return of light and positivity after darkness, fitting the Winter Solstice theme of transition and hope.
- Listen & Reflect: Play or sing “Here Comes the Sun.” Invite participants to listen closely, focusing on the lyrics and the music. Ask them to notice how the music makes them feel.
- Discussion: After listening, facilitate a brief discussion:
- What emotions came up during the song?
- How does the idea of the sun returning resonate with experiences in your life?
- What challenges have you faced recently, and how have you begun to move toward hope or light?
3. Moon and Sun Balance Activity
- Introduction: Explain the symbolic meaning of the moon and the sun. The moon represents darkness, challenges, or things we want to let go of. The sun represents light, positivity, and things we are grateful for or want to bring into our lives.
- Cutout Preparation: Distribute moon and sun cutouts to each participant. Ask participants to take a moment to hold both in their hands.
- Moon Activity:
- Ask participants to think about recent challenges, worries, or anything that feels heavy in their lives. Using the moon cutout, they can write or draw words, symbols, or images that represent those darker elements.
- Encourage them to let the moon hold these feelings or experiences for now, just as the winter solstice holds the longest night.
- Sun Activity:
- Next, invite participants to reflect on the positives in their lives, the things that bring them joy, strength, and light. On the sun cutout, they can write or draw these positive aspects.
- As they decorate their sun, encourage them to think of what they want to grow and nurture in the coming days and months.
- Balance Reflection: After they finish, ask participants to hold both the sun and the moon in their hands. Explain that just as the Winter Solstice brings balance between night and day, we can acknowledge both the challenges and the joys in life.
- Discussion Prompt: What can the balance between the sun and moon teach you about handling both difficult and bright moments in life? How can you use this balance to move forward?
4. Closing Improvisation
- Creative Musical Expression: Use the sun and moon metaphor to choose instruments that sound “light” and “dark” to the participants.
- Briefly share as they choose instruments how musical sounds can represent emotions to us, and the words we use to describe sound like warm, cold, bright, dark, etc.
- Encourage participants that as they play to imagine the moon setting and the sun rising, filling them with warmth, light, and hope.
- Facilitate a group improvisation with the referent of dark and cold moving to light and warmth through sound.
- Support the improvisation with grounding chords on guitar or piano, or other melodic instruments like chimes.
- Closing Words: Thank participants for their reflection and openness. Remind them that, just as the days will gradually get longer after the Winter Solstice, they too can continue to find more light and balance in their lives.
Takeaways:
- Participants can take their sun and moon cutouts home as reminders to embrace both challenges and positivity.
- Encourage them to revisit their reflection throughout the winter season, especially during moments of darkness.
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