Dear friends,
As we move into December, I’ve been thinking about how tender this time of year can be. There is the beauty of it, yes - the lights, the quiet, the sense of something sacred stirring under the surface. And there is also the pressure. The expectations. The old family dynamics. The invitations that don’t always feel like invitations. The unspoken rules about how we’re supposed to show up, who we’re supposed to be, and what we’re supposed to tolerate.
The holidays tend to magnify everything: our light and our longing, our growth and our grief, our clarity and our old wounds. And many of us feel torn between the truth within us and the patterns around us.
I want to speak to that gently and honestly.
Because this season is not meant to be a performance. It is meant to be a sacred turning inward.
Winter is a time of contraction.
A time for rest and reflection.
A time for integration.
A time for the light within us to rekindle itself in the quiet.
It is the season when nature withdraws so that it can renew.
And we are no different.
Yet our culture has created a version of this season that is the opposite of what our bodies and spirits actually need. Instead of resting, we rush. Instead of listening inward, we overextend. Instead of honoring our own rhythm, we abandon ourselves for the sake of tradition, obligation, or other people’s comfort.
How often have you dimmed your own light in December, just to make things easier for others?
How often have you overridden your body because you felt you should?
How often have you silenced a truth to keep peace at a table you didn’t truly feel safe at?
Unconditional love does not require self-abandonment.
And boundaries are not a lack of love; they are love expressed with clarity.
Sometimes a boundary can be soft and gentle.
Sometimes it needs to be firm.
And only you know which is needed.
I won’t share personal stories here, but I will say that this year asked me to draw a few firm boundaries of my own - boundaries that protect the light within me. Not because I stopped loving anyone, but because I realized that love without integrity eventually empties the soul.
The truth is, if a relationship consistently dims your light, it’s not unloving to step back.
It’s not cruel to protect what is awakening in you.
It’s not a betrayal to honor your own becoming.
You deserve to be able to inhabit your life fully - to be deep, playful, mystical, joyful, quiet, expressive, tender, honest. You deserve relationships where your presence is not mocked, minimized, or misunderstood. You deserve to explore who you are becoming without shrinking yourself to soothe someone else’s discomfort.
This is not selfishness. It is spiritual maturity.
Winter offers us the wisdom of the inward turn.
A chance to rest, to listen, to allow something new to take shape from within.
And as we move towards Christmas - a season symbolically connected to the birth of light - it is worth asking:
Where am I being asked to stop dimming my own light?
What boundary is needed so that I can stay whole?
What truth is rising in me that wants to be honored gently and fully?
If holiday invitations drain you, it’s okay to say no.
If certain gatherings leave you depleted, you do not have to attend.
If an interaction consistently harms you, you are allowed to step away.
If you crave solitude, rest, quiet, or introspection, that is your soul speaking.
You are not required to contort yourself to fit the season.
You are invited to let the season support who you are becoming.
Christ Consciousness - the consciousness of unity, love, and clarity - begins with honest. It begins with the courage to love yourself as deeply as you love others. It begins with protecting the flame within so that it may grow stronger, not weaker.
As you move through the coming weeks, may you choose the spaces that nourish you. May you honor the boundaries that keep you safe. May you trust the light that is returning within you. And may you allow yourself to rest into the rhythm of winter without apology.
With love,
Alara
If today’s message spoke to you, feel free to share it with someone who may benefit. I’m off social media right now, and this newsletter is my quiet temple space - thank you for helping the work reach the hearts who need it.
You’re always invited to reply to this email with reflections, questions, or what you’d love to explore in the year ahead. I read every message.
Two upcoming gatherings:
Illuminating the Heart: A Yeshua-Inspired Caco Ceremony - St. Louis, Dec 8 at 6:30pm. Eight spaces available. Suggested donation: $88, supporting the nonprofit I’m founding. Address shared after registration.
Unity in light: A Yeshua-Inspired Gathering - Sedona + online, Dec 26 at 2pm PST / 3pm MST / 4pm CST / 5pm EST. Six in-person spots and unlimited virtual space. Suggested donation: $88 in person, $33 virtual. Reply if you’d like a discount for my favorite ceremonial cacao.
No one is ever turned away for lack of funds. Thank you for giving abundantly when you can; when you can’t, please know that your presence is enough.
Ongoing offerings:
We host a Christ Letters Study Group one Saturday each month. You’re welcome to join our current group in progress, or reply to be added to the waitlist for the next group beginning in February.
If you feel called deeper, silent retreats and my signature Cosmic Christ-Consciousness 5D immersions in Sedona are available by request throughout 2026. Reply for details.
Register using the links below, and you’ll receive the event information promptly.
All gatherings are offered by donation, with proceeds supporting the nonprofit I’m building to anchor divine light through service, education, and healing. Thank you for supporting this vision as it unfolds.
