Since moving to Alaska on Halloween, 1999, I have observed -- especially in the Anchorage bowl -- that we really have only three seasons: winter, spring and autumn. This is great for me since I grew up in the hot, humid south. Summer was never my favorite season. I have also discovered that I fit into one of the categories that most everyone new gravitates towards: the "I love Alaska" group or the "I hate Alaska" group. As you might probably guess, I am in the former, the I love Alaska group.

Responses from guests on my "Ask Dr. Glenn" TV show during the past two and a half years indicate a similar pattern of feeling that "there is something about the energy here" when asked why they came to stay in Alaska. Some say, "It is hard to explain; it is a feeling." Others say, "Alaska, with its mountains and unique environment, is a vortex of energy." I remember the first time I flew over the mountains, just before the plane landed, feeling that unique Alaskan energy and knowing that this was "home." For three years, I have been trying to figure out what makes this beautiful state a vortex of energy. I believe the answer is intrinsically associated with the question so many newcomers to Alaska ask: "How do you stand the long winters and the darkness?"

We adapt to the long, dark winters and the long, sun-filled days of spring-like summers because we understand the cycles of life here. In the sixties, the musical group, The Birds, sang about this in their song based upon the Biblical scripture, Ecclesiastes 3: 1-8: "(turn, turn, turn) To everything (turn, turn, turn) there is a season (turn, turn, turn)…" As this scripture and song reveals, everything in our natural world is divinely harmonized, for there is a melodious rhythm that controls all creation.

Any student of the sacred sciences of Astrology and Numerology is aware of the many cycles of an individual's life. Personal year forecasts are based upon four major cycles and the numerous minor cycles that occur simultaneously in the person's life. There are yearly, quarterly, monthly, daily and longer cycles as well. The Saturn Return cycle every 28-29 years, for example, is known for bringing about major regenerative changes. The Moon cycle every twenty-eight days affects emotions.

The cycles of nature affect our lives, too, in varied ways. Both my parents crossed over in the fall. Returning to the cemetery for the second burial, I remembered the autumn leaves that covered the ground eleven months earlier, and thought, "What a perfect time!" My parents had chosen to begin their cycle of rest and renewal along with the trees and grasses and flowers.

Here in Alaska, we have more than the many colored leaves and wilted wild flowers covering the ground. The gentle, white, dry snowflakes begin to fall and fall until soon the ground is covered for the winter. All growth of the spring and summer is now lying quietly under the snow and beginning its cycle of rest and regeneration. It is not death. Rather, the thick layer of snow is giving the earth and all that lies hidden under its blanket a chance to rest and renew itself… a chance to recharge. How quickly, after break-up, the grasses and flowers appear, greener and more beautiful than the last season!

So, how do we in the "I love Alaska" group stand the long, dark winters? We know that even though it may seem that everything is dead or dormant, it is not. The divine rhythmical order of the changing seasons is recharging our earth energy. Is Alaska an energy vortex? Yes! The divine power of nature and the universe continually creates this in our beloved state. But what about you? Is your life in divine rhythmical order? Are you preparing to enter into your personal period of spiritual and emotional rest to regenerate and recharge yourself? What in your life needs "breaking down" (discarded or let go) so it can be "built up" (be replaced with something new and better)? Perhaps this is the time to clean out closets, drawers and cabinets? Perhaps this is the time to let go of guilt, fears, anger, resentment, grudges and other emotions that do not need to be fertilized during the winter and resurfaced in the spring?

Have you found your personal spiritual vortex? I had not been here long before I discovered several special locations where my internal batteries were easily recharged after spending only a few minutes or a few hours there. One of my personal vortex areas is near Earthquake Park, where you can see the sun setting behind Sleeping Lady. Another is the drive toward Beluga Point. How does viewing the turquoise Kenai River and lake affect you? Maybe your vortex is a meditation spot in your home? Perhaps it is simply gazing out your window at home or at work at the mountains or the water? For those away from the city lights, watching the Aurora would seem a perfect time and place for an energy surge. Find your own special spot and go there.

As you look upon the snow-covered yards, fields and mountains, remember that everything under the snow pack is alive and growing. We can all be a part of that recharged vortex of energy. Now is the season to break down the old and rebuild the new you! What kind of awakening will you have next spring?