The 12 Nights of Jól

When Jól Begins in the Northern Hemisphere - A Heathen’s Guide to the 12 Nights

Jól was never about shopping or modern holidays.

It was a season of the ancestors, a time of deep spiritual weight, winter survival, oaths, offerings, feasting, and honoring the forces that shape fate.

For those living anywhere in the Northern Hemisphere — including the United States, Canada, Europe, and all northern lands — Jól begins with the Winter Solstice.

On the night when the sun stands still, and the longest darkness gives way to the returning light. That night is Mother’s Night (Modraniht) — the first night of Jól.

Below is the traditional flow of the 12 Nights of Jól, beginning on December 21-st and ending on the first day of January.

The 12 Nights of Jól (Northern Hemisphere)

Night 1 — Mother’s Night (Dec 21)
Honoring the ancestral mothers, protectors of the home, and the spirits who watch over the family line.

Ba-Duan-Jin sau Cele opt Bucati de Brocart

Ba Duan Jin este o forma de Qi Gong chinezesc, cunoscuta si sub denumirea de "Opt Bucati de Brocart" sau "Opt Miscari de Matase". Este o practica traditionala de exercitii blande, compusa din opt miscari concepute pentru a imbunatati sanatatea fizica, starea mentala si cultivarea spirituala.

Aceasta rutina este potrivita pentru toate varstele si nivelele de fitness, avand scopul de a promova circulatia lina a Qi-ului (energia vitala) in organism.

Postez mai jos exemplificarea celor opt exercitii ce compun Brocartul de Matase, sub executia maestrului Shifu Yan Xin, discipol Shaolin dintr-a 34-a generatie:

How to Be Truly Free - Pepe Mujica, former president of Uruguay

How to Be Truly Free: lessons from a philosopher president. Pepe Mujica, Uruguay’s spartan former president and plain-spoken philosopher, offers wisdom from a rich life.

A decade ago, the world had a brief fascination with José Mujica. He was the folksy president of Uruguay who had shunned his nation’s presidential palace to live in a tiny tin-roof home with his wife and three-legged dog.

In speeches to world leaders, interviews with foreign journalists and documentaries on Netflix, Pepe Mujica, shared countless tales from a life story fit for film. But Mr. Mujica’s legacy will be more than his colorful history and commitment to austerity. He became one of Latin America’s most influential and important figures in large part for his plain-spoken philosophy on the path to a better society and happier life.

Last week, I traveled to the outskirts of Montevideo, Uruguay’s capital, to visit Mr. Mujica at his three-room home, full of books and jars of pickling vegetables, on the small farm where he has grown chrysanthemums for decades. As the sun set on a winter day, he was bundled in a winter jacket and wool hat in front of a wood stove. “You’re talking to a strange old man,” he said, leaning in to look at me closely, a glisten in his eye. “I don’t fit in today’s world.” And so we bagan.

How is your health?

I think that humanity, as it’s going, is doomed.

Why do you say that?