First Quarter Moon of Late September

Monarch in St. Paul

Tonight is the First Quarter Moon; we are one-quarter of the way through the moon cycle. The moon is waxing - growing in light and energy, creating a time for decisive action. I use this end-of-September quarter moon's energy to find clarity and balance in the chaos of travel.

Agenda Today:

1. Read "Earthwalks"

2. Journal queries
3. Make a full effort plan

Arriving

We arrive in St. Paul in about 4 hours, at 8:30 in the morning, and will pick up a rental car, then drive around a bit. We will probably look for a park to sit and drink coffee in, and perhaps a place to eat lunch, maybe an art museum or gallery, and check in with family. Then at the earliest possible moment, check in to our hotel and take naps!

I did manage 6 hours of sleep last night, but it wasn't great.

Agenda Today:

1. Read "The Earth Keeper's Handbook"

2. Ongo journal

3. Days of Passion

Train Art

It's one in the morning and I'm on the Empire Builder, in Spokane, Washington. They are adding a dining car with a lot of bumping and banging. 

I managed to get 4 and a half solid hours of sleep before my knees started to ache, and so now I get a relatively quite time to write and read, in the observation car. Not a lot to observe - it's dark; but I heard an owl call.

Agenda Today:

1. Read "The Creativity Book"

2. Evaluate my creativity habits

3. Make some Save the Butterfly tags

4. Ongo journal

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1. Read "the Creativity Book":  

A few years ago I started but didn't finish this book by Eric Maisel (one of my favorite writers). The subtitle is "A Year's Worth of Inspiration and Guidance." Who doesn't want that?

I'm on part 8, Be Ambitious, and Week 29: Want Everything. He talks about the "desire to make our mark, to do great work, and to create like a god..." and asks that my focus this month be to dream big, let my ambitions out of the bag, and to want it even in the face of long odds. He says it's in our nature to want what we want: to use our brains, discover new things, live authentically, and create something.

 

He challenges me to be precise - to want everything true, beautiful, and good. And then plan how to get it.

2. Evaluate my creativity habits:

Once a week I try to take stock of my creative habits: 

Have I launched into a large creative project, one worth exhausting myself on, and if not, why? 

Have I constructed a schedule for my creative work and am I keeping to it? 

Do I set goals at the beginning of each week? 

Do I have a daily routine that supports my creative efforts?

 

Journal: Yes, I have launched into a large creative project - it involves writing, but also practicing all the steps needed to blend nature and culture. It's an all-day, everyday kind of project. I'm making a craftivism component this week: Save the Butterfly tags.

 

3. Make some Save the Butterfly tags:

I brought along a craftivism project for this train trip - I revived a butterfly tag I made a few years ago, with a new QR code and a compelling message: 

Save butterflies;

Plant natives!

Butterflies and moths face threats 

that are leading towards 

extinction. Habitat loss is one 

of the top causes of butterfly 

and moth species decline - they 

do not have the food and living 

conditions they need to survive.

Discover how to help at 

Homegrown National Park.org

 

Today I'll take some time to paint some small butterflies on watercolor paper to cut out and sew onto the tags, add a bead, and they will be ready to fly! 

 

My goal with craftivism is always two-fold: Making something with my hands to calm and revive my creative spirit, and in the process make a small token that is eye-catching and educational. My butterfly tags are a gentle gift to both butterflies and to people.

 

Soon I'd like to design a similar tag for fishes, and clean water.

 

4. Ongo journal:

One important shift we need to consciously make is to always remember the nature in ourselves and in others. I mean, remember the wild animal that we each are, and the wild needs: The physical survival and sanctuary that earth provides. Just as the wild birds need a safe place to live, with food and clean water, so do we. When we care for the earth, we care for people too.

This seems obvious when stated that way, but we often place all our attention on humanitarian needs, and forget that human needs are the same as all the creatures. And so the opposite is also true: When we care for ourselves and other people, we are also caring for the earth. When I feel cynical about humankind and all our excessive behavior, I remember to look at us as wild animals, deserving of my compassionate forgiveness. When I remember to honor the nature in you, I honor also the earth and the creator.

The Great Journey Begins

Today we will get on a train for Minnesota - the longest train trip I've ever done: Two nights of sleeping in a chair; going through two time zone changes. I'm approaching it as a challenging adventure - and I'm not doing it alone. 

I've got two goals for this trip: First, that I practice my communication skills with my beloved husband, and second, that I stick to my other priorities - creativity, writing, healthy self-care, and earth unity.

Agenda:

1. Read "Present Moment Awareness"

2. Start an Ongo journal

3. Train schedule

4. Pack for self-care

Autumn Equinox

The autumn equinox occurs this morning at 11:19 a.m. in the Pacific Northwest. Summer is over and darkness will again catch up to the light.

The rains have already begun (hallelujah!), Canadian geese are on the move south, the leaves are turning and beginning to drop, and night temperatures are cooler. Everything in nature is paring down, and moving energy to the roots and into the earth.

Mark the Start of Autumn:

1. Journal queries

2. Read "The Sweet Spot"

3. Sustainable straw collecting

4. Make a straw doll

5. Fall cleaning and gardening

International Day of Peace and New Harvest Moon

Today is the International Day of Peace, established in 1981 by a resolution of the UN General Assembly. In 2001 the date was fixed on September 21, and declared as a day devoted to strengthening the ideals of peace, through observing 24 hours of non-violence and cease-fire.

United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres says, "Around the world lives are being ripped apart, childhoods extinguished, and basic human dignity discarded, amidst the cruelty and degradations of war."

Tonight is also the new moon. The Chinese call this eighth new moon the Harvest Moon, for obvious reasons. The new moon is the start of the lunar cycle, a time of high energy and clear thinking. Historically, the new moon is when women took time to be alone; it's a time to retreat, set intentions, and initiate something new.

Peace Day Agenda:

1. Journal queries

2. Choose a month theme

3. Set intentions

4. Raise awareness

5. Make peace stones

6. Peace vigil

7. Retreat Day plans

Mid-September Garden and End of Ghost Month

The September garden is cooler and calmer. We have had some rainy days to refresh the green, and I can relax with the watering. This is the time to begin a little garden clean-up, and prepare for winter.

Today is also the last day of Hungry Ghost month. On the last day of the seventh lunar month, before the next new moon, the gates of hell close up again. Asians celebrate this day in a variety of ways - they might burn paper money and clothing again, and taoist monks might chant to drive the ghosts away or release them; and the Toucheng Ghost Grappling Competition is held in Yilan's Toucheng Township in Taiwan(!)

 

Today:

1. Release my hungry ghosts

2. September garden tasks

3. Garden clean up and winterizing

4. Freeze tomatoes

5. Make a floating lantern

Nature-Culture Brainstorm

I'm making slow progress on my big passion project, writing a book about Nature-Culture. The research of a new topic - water, drought, and pollution - has been slow work. I've only made a dent and it's soon going to be time to move on to air!

Agenda Today:

1. Read "The Earth Keeper's Handbook"

2. Compassionate Observer practice

3.

 Five days of passion

Autumn Art Plans

Autumn begins next week, and then we will be trapped  on a train for 8 days... I need some ideas that will span the trip and flow into an autumn art practice.

So what are my goals for art this autumn?

Agenda Today:

1. Read "The Creativity Book"

2. Evaluate my creativity habits

3. Discern Autumn art themes and goals

4. Preschool plans

5. Do the smallest thing

Cusp of Autumn

 We are on the cusp of Autumn, and I want to take time to prepare myself - body, mind, and spirit. I'm taking this whole week to bring my attention to the shift we are undergoing - attempting to slow down, simplify my schedule where possible, and celebrate.

Agenda:

1. Read "Earth Walks"

2. Fall possibilities

3. Practice a Reverent Way of Being

4. Nature culture practices for fall

5. Fall vignettes

Reset on the Road

Monday is my day to reset for the week and get my ducks in a row - make some plans for health and home, and prepare for Grandson fun.

Agenda:

1. Read "The Sweet Spot"

2. My Exercise Script

3. Home projects

4. Bird School plans

Third Quarter Moon of September

Today is the third Quarter moon. This waning moon energy is yin - quiet, internal, heart-driven, intentional Being-ness. At this phase we can ease off a bit on actively pursuing goals, slow down, go within, and attend to inner work, renewal, and self-care. This isn’t a moment for starting new projects but for finishing up old ones, making peace with the past, and preparing for a fresh start at the next new moon. 

Agenda Today:

1. Read "The Earth Keeper's Handbook"

2. Spiritual growth goal

3. Renewal plans

4.

 Ritual for Release and Realignment

5. Meditation and Evaluation Journal

6. Monthly journal brainstorm

Creativity on the Road

 

Agenda Today:

1. Love meditation

2. Read "The Creativity Book"

3. Evaluate my creativity habits

4. Do the smallest thing

Paitishem

The Zoroastrian community honors the six seasons of the year by celebrating six Gahambars; the word gahambar means "proper season". Each of these six festivals is celebrated for five days, and each honors one of the six material creations: The heaven, water, earth, flora, fauna and man.

Paitishem is the third Gahambar, celebrating the creation of the earth, the end of summer, and the harvesting of crops. It takes place each year from September 12th through the 16th.

Agenda:

1. Recite prayers
2. Make Iranian soup
3. Harvest and preserve

People are Nature

People are Nature. I want to help to create a shift towards a deep acceptance that we are not separate, that caring for the earth and for people is the same thing, that it's not an "us vs. them" scenario! We can find creative ways to inhabit this planet together, with space for butterflies and houses for people.

"...a personal Earth Connection [can] also be achieved simply by considering ourselves and our fellow people as “natural resources” who are also beautiful, unique and wild and who should be revered, explored, protected and shepherded as carefully as conservation biologists strive to protect those undeveloped “natural” spaces we deem ecologically important..."

1. Read "The Earth Keeper's Handbook":

I've just begun this book by Loren Swift (2019), subtitled "Assuming Leadership in a New World." The premise is that lack of care for each other (people) results in lack of care for the earth. She says, "At our core, I know we are good. ... It is our external focus and false beliefs in separation, the illusion that we don't need each other, that keeps us held back."

"This book details the practical steps to shift the paradigm internally from conflict to cooperation and to make the same shift in relationships and in group endeavors." Well, that is the work I need to do this fall and winter. The sections include The Way In, The Way Through, the Way Together, and Divine Intimacy.

2. Love meditation:

Every month after the full moon, in the quiet-energy yin time of the waning moon, I practice a love meditation that progresses from receptivity, to gratitude, to generosity:

Day 2: Practice a love meditation, and end by feeling and expressing gratitude - send a prayer to the universe of thanksgiving for all I have in my life. 

(If I practice using an I-message to express gratitude, I will give more of myself: I feel such gratitude when you ... because ...)

When I remember to feel grateful for my blessings, my days take on a different tone: I have more vigor, optimism, compassion, and peace. By noticing how I am blessed, my impatience decreases and I realize how satisfied and fulfilled I really am.

3. Proaction and Reciprocity:

Every Wednesday I journal a bit about the future, and my dreams and goals: What GREAT things do I want to accomplish? How will I serve people? How will I use my talents? How will I stretch myself? How can I become an “island of excellence”? What is essential?

Then I try to define achievable, meaningful goals and prioritize the goals and tasks with the greatest long-term impact.

Last week I wrote as my fall goal to: Gather a core group of active individuals who want to work on earthcare projects; Take a theme that the group is excited about and write and plan my own kind of education and craftivism; Personal growth and study in clean water and air.

This week I expound on that:

1. Help the newly gathered Earthcare Action Group begin to define a plan of action for the fall, with the theme - Our Garden, Our Earth.
2. Write an essay about the intersection of Gardens and Earthcare (creating small-scale habitat then spreading it out, helping to clean waterways with our gardens, taking the next step into reciprocity...), and share it.
3. Go back to writing a bi-weekly action newsletter.
4. Write a mad-libs script for letter writing regarding the neonics bill.
5. Prepare a trout friendly tag to give away at a Meeting event.
6. Prepare a sample neighbor letter for Habitat Haven.

Liking People Again

Sometime in the last couple of years I've begun to quip, "I don't like people very much." I think it's time to make a shift in that thinking, before it becomes too real.

It's true that I'm disappointed in human kind, especially liberals, for not taking action to protect our planet; it's true that my attention has shifted to loving nature; but love is not a zero sum game, as they say. If I want to be an effective leader of people, I'm going to need to learn how to love them again.

Agenda: 

1. Read "Present Moment Awareness"

2. Love Meditation

3. Nature-Culture awareness

4. Inspiration and awe practice

Routine

Monday is my day to reset for the week and get my ducks in a row - make some plans for health and home, and prepare for Grandson fun.

Agenda:

1. Read "The Sweet Spot"

2. My Exercise Script

3. Home projects

Full Harvest Moon

The full Harvest Moon rises this evening -- obliquely, close to the horizon -- and remains big and bright for a long time, giving extra light to harvesters. This moon is called Atchiutchutin, the After-Harvest moon, by the Kalapuya of our area, because the big harvest in our area comes earlier. 

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.

1. 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, and I might have some profound new understandings. 

This month, as I have explored my life-path, I've been swept into my own depths. I’m directed back at every turn into deeper waters within, to watch the unfolding of my purpose. I need courage, because the abyss is dangerous, the path is mysterious, and it leads to unexpected challenges and changes.

Like water, I am persistent and sincere, and I keep flowing. Today I'm going to settle into silence and access my intuitive mind - my connection to the Creator and the Inner Guide - and seek a leading of the spirit with an open mind and heart, using these queries:

When I grow up (when I reach my full potential), what kind of person do I want to be, and what kind of life do I want to lead? In what ways am I off that path now, and what small adjustments could I make to get on course? 

What is my framework or guidance system for my day-to-day priorities and choices? 

What are my highest values? If I follow them to the deepest place of love, joy, generosity, fulfillment and peace, what work do they point to that I am to do for others? 

 

What in my life is asking for the light of Truth to shine on it? What choices am I facing? What paths am I resisting? What are the risks? What are the benefits?

From my journal: I truly want to write a book that is a gift to everyone seeking a way forward that is in greater balance with nature. It's the calling that will fill the final years of my life. It will require me to be a bigger and better person; have the strength of my convictions and shift my own life in small and big ways. I will eventually need a council of friends to read and advise me, but for now I am picking up pieces and placing them in the altar of my document, turning them this way and that to see what fits. 

2. Celebrate depth:

My theme ​this month ​is Depth, discerning my true purpose and path in life, working on transformative practices, and committing to my priorities.

Today I remind myself of my intentions for the month, and then celebrate how far I've come, give thanks for the lessons learned and the blessings received, and reaffirm this theme for the next two weeks. Each month I choose a different way to celebrate the full moon, and I am ready to celebrate depth today in these ways:

1. Write about the gifts of water.
2. Paint more butterflies on the wall.
3. Meet with my Moon buddies to share my story.

3. Spiritual growth goal:

Last week I worked at Spiritual simplicity and order. This week my practice is developing the strength of my convictions. In my role as writer and teacher, I need to stand firm in my beliefs, and in my resolve to act with integrity and authenticity.

"Conviction is more than just believing in something. It’s the unshakable confidence that what you stand for is worth defending, even when it’s inconvenient or unpopular. The courage of conviction is the strength to follow through on those beliefs, irrespective of opposition, fear, or uncertainty."

Practices:

1. Know my core values
2. Practice self-awareness: understand my strengths, weaknesses, and triggers.
3. Set parameters for behaving with integrity, to reinforce my convictions.
4. Surround myself with people who encourage me to stay true to myself, to help strengthen my resolve.
5. Practice putting my values into consistent action to reinforce my sense of purpose.

Hungry Ghost Festival

My hungry ghost altar

Tonight is the Hungry Ghost Festival. The ghosts have been wandering the land since the new moon; by now they must be very hungry, so it's a good idea to offer them food.

In China both Taoists and Buddhists perform rituals to soothe the sufferings of the dead. The Taoist name for the Hungry Ghost Festival is the Zhong Yuan Festival, and Buddhists call it the Yulanpen Festival; think of it as a summertime Halloween celebration!

Agenda:

1. Prepare offerings

2. Family feast

3. Hungry ghost ceremony

Craftivism

Craftivism is such a lovely word: It's craft plus activism, meaning the process of creating and sharing art that speaks a political or social message. Writer and activist Betsy Greer coined the term in 2003, and since then it has spread around the world. 

Many activists share testimonials about how engaging in craftivism has changed their lives, making them calmer and happier people. As an introvert, activism is often a painful challenge; my leadings take me to uncomfortable places- into prisons, and speaking at city council meetings. In between these challenging moments I get to rest with a paintbrush, or a needle and thread.

My crafting makes my activism sustainable; it allows me to slow down, think deeply about issues, and share my passion creatively. It’s a way to voice my opinions visually, and with great power; to use my special powers for the greater good!

Agenda Today:

1. Read "Creativity Takes Courage"

2. Evaluate my creativity habits

3. Discern some craftivism

4. Do the smallest thing

Habitat Haven

I had a visit from a botanist from Habitat Haven early this month, who sent me a report, and 6 certification objectives, which I will list here-

Agenda:

1. Remove invasive and nuisance weeds

2. Plan new naturescaping

3. Wildlife stewardship plans

4. Stormwater management

5. Pesticides reduction

6. Education & Volunteerism

Slow progress

I'm making slow progress on my big passion project, writing a book about Nature-Culture. The research of a new topic - water, drought, and pollution - is daunting. I have so much to learn. Also, I continue to be very busy with social obligations, doctor appointments, fundraiser events, and childcare. The trick is to get organized the night before so I don't eat into my writing time in the morning.

Agenda Today:

1. 

Read 

"Brainstorm"

2.

 Five days of passion

3. Outdoor preschool brainstorm