Prepare for Imbalc

Imbalc is in a week and I have a few practical and contemplative preparations to make - mostly I need to slow down to watch as the wheel of the year turns. I'm exploring what it's like to BE the earth, accepting the seed and willing to nurture it, and shifting my perspective to make room for the possibility that the Earth-Me has a powerful Goddess supporter called Brigid. 

We've been having a very cold spell, and we still have a month of winter left, but my thoughts are turning outward, to the garden, our neighborhood, and my community.

Agenda:

1. Practice a Reverent Way of Being

2. Read "The Spirited Walker"

3. Love cycle

4. Make a Creativity Altar

5. Write about my seeds of inspiration

6. Plan a party

1. Practice a Reverent Way of Being:

Today I will again adopt a Reverent Way of Being for the days before this turning point of the year - which is to say, I try to be respectful and humble, and use a discipline of speech and thought that I find difficult to maintain for long periods of time.

Specifically, I try to be impeccably honest, and tell no little fibs. Also, I try to not gossip or say (or even think) anything negative about anyone. These are my worst habits, and it's useful to practice being virtuous for a few days at regular intervals throughout the year!

To remind myself, I made a ribbon bracelet with the words: Reverence, Respect, Honesty.

2. Read "The Spirited Walker":

I'm reading this little book by Carolyn Scott Kortge (1998), with the subtitle, Fitness walking for clarity, balance, and spiritual connection. She equates walking to a regular meditation or mindfulness practice. " ... walking has many parallels to life. Walkers move forward, take steps, go toward something. ...the action changes your perspective. It offers a fresh point of view."

Chapter 2 is On Your Mark: How Far? How Fast? How Often? She begins by discussing all the benefits of a fast-paced walk at least 3 times a week. She also talks about starting small, with a commitment that will be easy to keep, and a schedule that doesn't require decisions. 

Like my habit-work for exercising, t

he only way to combat my lack of discipline is to make it super easy and never delete it from my schedule, even when it's icy and cold.

So far, a daily walk has not become a solid habit. I'm not grabbing on to my Walking Script to get myself out the door. I think perhaps it's too diffuse - even when I do put my shoes on, I lose my momentum after eating and brushing my teeth. Also, I've got to stop scheduling walking for shopping trips, which do not really motivate me. Also, I need an irresistible cue to get me out the door.

My updated Walking Script.

9:00 - Put on walking shoes, put on coat, grab my phone. Say, "I'm walking to honor the Earth".

9:15 - Out the door - walk at least around the block every day. 

Keep track of steps and aim for an average of 3000/ day.

 

3. Love cycle:

Years ago I wrote this month-long meditation on love, with a daily reading and work. Day 7 is Remember Joy.

Joy is my elated response to the awareness of my abundant blessings. My feelings of joy grow out of attention to all the love in my life. It’s the feeling of simple delight in being alive, and anything- doggie kisses, a phone call, or a fresh tomato- can trigger it. Joy is the jewel hidden in my clothing, always with me but often forgotten. I only need to remind myself to slow down, really savor the tomato, celebrate the phone call, and cherish the doggie kisses.

The Dalai Lama says, "The purpose of life is to be happy". I long for a life with no anxiety, no loneliness, grief, disappointment, or sadness, but only an ongoing feeling of joy! But true happiness comes when I enter into the "full catastrophe" of my life with an open mind and heart, using all of the day-to-day insults as a way to awareness. It’s the ability to be relaxed enough to receive the pleasant without clinging to it and the unpleasant without pushing it away. If I can let events unfold- whether they are glorious or wretched- the joy is there, in the vividness of life.

“Do not say that I'll depart tomorrow 
because even today I still arrive. Look deeply: I arrive in every second
 to be a bud on a spring branch, 
to be a tiny bird, with wings still fragile, 
learning to sing in my new nest, 
to be a caterpillar in the heart of flower, 
to be a jewel hiding itself in a stone.” ~Thich Nhat Hanh

Do this Joy Practice every morning for one week-- 

• Ground to earth, stretch towards the sky, feel joy flow up and out, then down again to the earth. 
• Touch my heart and concentrate the joy energy- this is the jewel.
• Open my mind- Remember the jewel.
• “Spirit, help me to feel joy in the rich jumble of my life.”

4. Make a Creativity Altar:

Imbalc is sacred to Brigid, the European and Celtic goddess of healing, crops, poetry, and creativity. As a sun goddess her powers are light, fire, inspiration, and vital energy: Wow! She’s one of my favorite images of the Spirit.

Brigid is the maiden aspect of the Great Goddess and so her color is white; her symbols are a sun-wheel, Brigid's cross, snake, and cock (herald of the new day). 

This week I'll make a special creativity altar for Brigid with:

• a white candle - for light and purity
• a Brigid's cross - for the sun and the seasons
• a beaded snake - for healing and regeneration
• a small basket - for openness and inspiration 
• and some of my garden seeds

5. Write about my seeds of inspiration:

At Imbalc, I write about my seeds of inspiration - thoughts, dreams and ideas that are inside me waiting to grow into wise actions, sweet words, or beautiful things made by my hands.

Today I sit in silence and let my mind wander, asking only, "What is waiting to bloom in my heart?" I write each germ of inspiration on a tiny slip of paper, and roll it into a seed, then put these in a bowl on my altar.

6. Plan a party:

We always have a fire and a party for Imbalc, this year on Monday, February 2. Today I will send invitations and a reminder:

Hi Friends and Family!

It's time for an Imbalc fire again!

Monday, February 2

5:30 - 7 p.m. 

Bring snacks or drinks to share.

Bring bits of winter to burn.

Cynthia