This is the second day of the twelve-day festal tide - a sacred, festive season. In some old traditions, this whole season is seen as a sort of Sabbath: Prepare ahead of time and then spend the Twelve Days doing as little work as possible; rest, reflect, and find peace within.
This is also the start of Kwanzaa, a seven-day African-American cultural holiday - an American holiday inspired by African traditions. The word kwanza is Swahili for “first”, as in "first fruits", because in some parts of Africa this is the season for first fruits harvest festivals. Kwanzaa is a time of thanksgiving for the earth, but also a time to honor ancestors, and a time for African-Americans to celebrate their heritage and learn about African traditions and values.
And it's the Full Moon of December, sometimes called the Cold Moon (for obvious reasons), but it is also called the "Not Bad Weather Moon" by the Kalapuya of my area, and that's generally pretty accurate.
Agenda:
1. Christmas retreat
2. Kwanzaa principles
3. Light a candle for spiritual growth
4. Spiritual reading
5. Plan spiritual habits
6. Take a vision walk
7. Celebrate Stillness
1. Christmas retreat:
I'm also doing some reading and writing every day, focusing on my priorities and what I'm called to do (or not do) next in my life. My plan is to contemplate, honor, and practice a different one of my life priorities on each of the 12 days, and set some goals and resolutions for 2024, based on guidance from God.
Today I am honoring Spiritual growth, which is the basis for a more harmonious life; a life of calmness, clarity, courage, and inner strength. Spiritual growth has (at least) four parts:
- Awareness practices, such as meditation or journaling;
- Soul searching, which is the ongoing quest to understand your purpose and intentions;
- Virtue habits - the values and principles that guide your moral life;
- and opening to God or a higher power.
Today I ask myself:
Today I ask myself:
What kinds of awareness practices have worked for me in the past? What new kinds of practices sound fun and fascinating?What virtuous habits and behaviors would I like to try to build, that will help me to act with greater love and responsibility, and will also renew my soul?What practices would help me to get a better picture of my purpose in life, who I want to be, and what I want to contribute?What practices would help me to open to a Higher Power, or the possibility of a Higher Power?
What kinds of awareness practices have worked for me in the past? What new kinds of practices sound fun and fascinating?What virtuous habits and behaviors would I like to try to build, that will help me to act with greater love and responsibility, and will also renew my soul?What practices would help me to get a better picture of my purpose in life, who I want to be, and what I want to contribute?What practices would help me to open to a Higher Power, or the possibility of a Higher Power?
2. Kwanzaa principles:
Kwanzaa was created to introduce and reinforce seven basic values of African culture, called the Nguzo Saba, which in Swahili means the Seven Principles.
Kwanzaa was created to introduce and reinforce seven basic values of African culture, called the Nguzo Saba, which in Swahili means the Seven Principles.
All of the Kwanzaa principles focus on community because in African philosophy a true human is always a person-in-community; this is reflected in the African saying, "I am because we are"- a good counter balance for the Me First thinking of the American culture. All of us can benefit and grow by celebrating these principles.
The first value is Umoja (oo-MOH-jah), which is unity - the unity of working and playing together with family and community, in harmony.
3. Light a candle for spiritual growth:
Today I light a blue candle for spiritual growth, and ask the Spirits to bring the rain of loving care down upon the whole world.
4. Spiritual reading:
Today I'm reading from The Book of Awakening, by Mark Neppo (2000). The subtitle is "Having the Life You Want by Being Present to the Life You Have".This is a book of daily readings, and the entry for today is: Inside the wind. "Just as the stream carries both the hungry fish and the sleeping one downstream, the Great Winds carry both the agitated heart and the peaceful one into tomorrow.
Thus the work of prayer, when we feel least like praying, is neither to inflate or deflate the world or ourselves, but to restore our connection to the powerful currents of life."
5. Plan a spiritual practice:
At the end of each year I take a deep look at my self-renewal practices - how I nurture the physical, mental, and spiritual parts of myself - and set some goals for the new year.
My ideas for spiritual practices so far in 2024 are:- Continue with a daily reading from "The Book of Awakening".
- Review the values, principles, and testimonies that guide me, and set intentions for how to give voice and witness to them.
- Study, write, and give mindful attention to growing resilient.
- Study and practice techniques for conversations and listening.
- Use a timer for a daily reflective pause.
- Practice Unity Art to connect to nature.
- Continue to build a sacral calendar and Wheel of the Year that is true to my valley and not appropriated, and includes traditional crafts and recipes.
6. Take a vision walk:The full moon shines a bright light on everything, and I might experience intuitive and creative breakthroughs. I might be shocked by the clarity of my insights. I might see some ugliness - the full moon illuminates all the things I've left in the shadows, some heavy truths and some embarrassing mistakes.
Today I'm going to settle in to silence and access my intuitive mind - my connection to the Creator and the Inner Guide - by putting myself into a relaxed, trance-like state, and seeking a leading of the spirit with an open mind and heart. I ask myself:
What dormant seeds are sown in my heart? How can I create the most favorable growing conditions? What is my experience of “sinking down to the seed”?
How do I go about putting down roots? What are the conditions that nourish and feed me? What practices help me to stay grounded?
What is my growing edge, and what is my next step? What beliefs, obstacles, doubts, or attachments are holding me back? Can I release them now, or can I lean into them and let them guide me?
7. Celebrate stillness:We are now at the peak of the strong-energy yang phase of the waxing moon, and will soon begin the quiet-energy yin time of the waning moon. But today it's time to CELEBRATE how far I've come, and give thanks for the lessons learned and the blessings received.
My theme for this White Moon cycle continues to be stillness. I've been studying some good books, taking lots of time for contemplation, and working to understand myself better. Today I get to celebrate my accomplishments and reaffirm this theme for the next two weeks.
To celebrate stillness I will:- Read from The Book of Awakening.
- Contemplate themes for the New Year.
- Take a long Awareness Walk.
- Take a mid-day nap.
- Share deeply with my Full Moon Cohort.
My ideas for spiritual practices so far in 2024 are:
- Continue with a daily reading from "The Book of Awakening".
- Review the values, principles, and testimonies that guide me, and set intentions for how to give voice and witness to them.
- Study, write, and give mindful attention to growing resilient.
- Study and practice techniques for conversations and listening.
- Use a timer for a daily reflective pause.
- Practice Unity Art to connect to nature.
- Continue to build a sacral calendar and Wheel of the Year that is true to my valley and not appropriated, and includes traditional crafts and recipes.
The full moon shines a bright light on everything, and I might experience intuitive and creative breakthroughs. I might be shocked by the clarity of my insights. I might see some ugliness - the full moon illuminates all the things I've left in the shadows, some heavy truths and some embarrassing mistakes.
Today I'm going to settle in to silence and access my intuitive mind - my connection to the Creator and the Inner Guide - by putting myself into a relaxed, trance-like state, and seeking a leading of the spirit with an open mind and heart. I ask myself:
What dormant seeds are sown in my heart? How can I create the most favorable growing conditions? What is my experience of “sinking down to the seed”?
How do I go about putting down roots? What are the conditions that nourish and feed me? What practices help me to stay grounded?
What is my growing edge, and what is my next step? What beliefs, obstacles, doubts, or attachments are holding me back? Can I release them now, or can I lean into them and let them guide me?
7. Celebrate stillness:
We are now at the peak of the strong-energy yang phase of the waxing moon, and will soon begin the quiet-energy yin time of the waning moon. But today it's time to CELEBRATE how far I've come, and give thanks for the lessons learned and the blessings received.
My theme for this White Moon cycle continues to be stillness. I've been studying some good books, taking lots of time for contemplation, and working to understand myself better. Today I get to celebrate my accomplishments and reaffirm this theme for the next two weeks.
To celebrate stillness I will:
- Read from The Book of Awakening.
- Contemplate themes for the New Year.
- Take a long Awareness Walk.
- Take a mid-day nap.
- Share deeply with my Full Moon Cohort.
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