March Creativity

Today I have a wide-open day to fill with the work of creating my vision here on the earth. 

Agenda:

1. Beingness 

2. Earth Action

3. Read "The Book of Doing and Being"

4. Creative Imagining for cleansing

5. Cleansing ritual for Earth Unity

6. Teaching brainstorm

7. Projects for the week

1. Beingness:

For Lent I am finding creative ways to make space for Being in Nature. Today: A cleansing ritual in the garden to transform one space into a sanctuary.

2. Earth Action:

Each day I am taking an action for the Earth. Today: Advertising a clean water discussion.

3. Read "The Book of Doing and Being":

I'm reading from this book by Barnet Bain (2015), subtitled "Rediscovering Creativity in Life, Love, and Work". This is a book of creative perspective, to help jiggle me out of the straight line way I usually think into something new: Use the exercises with consistency in order to stay focused on my destination. Practice will ground me and allow my ambitions to take root and grow.

Chapter 5 is Creativity in Balance, about assessing your life wheel. "The creative life is propelled by a sense of purpose."

The 7 areas of creative life that I need to balance are Spirit, expression, money, love, family, health, and relaxation. "Clarity about where you are in and out of balance helps you to take action in beneficial ways." 

4. Creative imagining for Cleansing:

My theme this year is Creative Perspective: To keep a positive and broad perspective; shift my perspective to help myself find equanimity, and also expand my perspective (think outside the box), having the courage to take experimental risks and express myself honestly with words and art.

Beginner's mind is dropping expectations and preconceived ideas, seeing things with an open mind, fresh eyes, curiosity and wonder.

Today I'll enjoy a beginners's mind meditation for a cleansing ceremony, using the Creative Imagining practice.

1. Hold in my mind an idea for a ceremony of cleansing that I can use in the garden to transform myself and the space into unity. 
2. This ritual smells like wet earth, feels like spring rain, tastes like mint, and sounds like a Robin song.
3. My confident self says, just do it - it will all work out. No need to belabor the "meaning". 
4. My abundant self says, start with a small patch of earth and expand it to the whole earth. 
5. My higher self says, I'm looking to wake up to and acknowledge the spirit connection. 
6. My child self says, it works because it's fun - dancing in the rain!
7. My analytical self says, it works because it's so simple - uses only some mint and the rain to cleanse.
8. My feeling self says, it works alone or in community, ut community is better.

5. Cleansing ritual for Earth Unity:

In the spring, I'm prompted cleanse myself and my sanctuary with spring cleaning, and also with some purification rituals. Today I want to design a personal ritual that I can write about and also share with my community, so it needs to be simple and not at all silly.

The introduction / description: Robin Wall Kimmerer says, “Restoring land without restoring relationship is an empty exercise. It is relationship that will endure and relationship that will sustain restored land. Therefore, reconnecting people and the landscape is as essential as reestablishing proper hydrology or cleaning up contaminants. It is medicine for the earth.”

Next time you find yourself in a garden in the rain, find a stem of peppermint or lemon balm, or any other cleaning herb, and try this short ritual:

1. Stand (together) in silence in the rain, and smell the smells and listen for the sounds. Be present with this small space in nature.
2. Open your spirit to join with the earth's spirit, in this one patch of earth; or in other words, acknowledge that you are a part of nature, and your souls are one.
3. Expand this oneness to include the natural space and all the people in your neighborhood, town, county, state, and wider. We are all one.
4. Crush the herbs in your hands and rub them on your body, letting the herbs and the rain wash away grief, doubt, or feelings of inadequacy - we are enough; we are the ones the earth needs. 

6. Teaching brainstorm:

Today I am brainstorming some goals for teaching for March: N

ext themes for pre-school, possible projects, nature and skills goals, as well as ideas for a spring class or workshop or retreat for my community. Ideas:

• A-2: Painting, playdoh, or construction every day (big motor, process oriented) + Wonder walks (Float the paper boats, bird talk, worms, rain and puddles, signs of spring).
• A-1: Drawing birds and real creatures + baking and planting
• Wednesday overlap day: Caring for nature projects (Feed the squirrels, worm care, planting peas) + celebrations (Holi celebration, equinox, Birthday gifts).
• EC news- share thoughts on Rights of Nature.
• Outdoor worship: Cleansing ritual?
• Potting day - March 15th - What is regenerative planting?
• Water poetry and painting class?

7. Projects for the week:

Each week on Thursday I plan the projects I will work on in the next week - one or two kid projects, one or two home projects, and one or two Unicorn projects (those that feed ME). This next week I will:

• Th: Design the kitchen + sew sleeves for Earth coat
• F: Re-work the worm bin + hang shingles 
• S: Planting + varnish the rainbow
• Sun: Sewing Earth coat + planning gifts 
• M: Watershed watercolors
• T: Worm paintings 
• W: Suncatchers

Doing the smallest thing is a great way to make courageous creative work less frightening; also finding the "minimum effective dose", the amount of work that keeps me challenged and joyful, and if I keep at it will get me to the finish line on time.