Prepare for Solstice

It's time to prepare for summer! Next Thursday is the solstice, and it's an important enough day to require some pre-planning.

Agenda:
1. Journal queries
2. Make Sima
3. Make a new solar disk

Eid al-Fitr

My finished mehndi design.

Tonight is the Islamic Festival of the Breaking of the Fast, which ends Ramadan. In Arabic, eid means festivity and fitr means to break a fast. 

Muslims celebrate for three days; they decorate their homes with lights, dress in their finest clothes, and visit with friends and family. It’s a day of peace, unity, and forgiveness. A common greeting is “Eid Mubarak” (Blessed Eid).

Agenda this week:
1. Mehndi Designs
2. Zakaat zl-fitr (Charity of fast breaking)
3. Prayers
4. Make Ma'amoul (Stuffed Date Cookies)

Full Flower Moon and Wesak

Tonight is the full moon. The May full moon is called the Flower Moon, because this is a month of blossoming and the promise of abundance. The flowers in my garden are a delicate reminder to me to project a gentle, honest spirit into the world. I open my heart, give my gifts with love, and receive, with gratitude, the bounty of gifts others offer to me.

Today is also Wesak (pronounced way-sak). The full moon in May is the day that Buddhists honor the birth of Gautama Buddha in Lumbini, Nepal, in 623 BCE, and also honor his enlightenment and death.

Buddhists all over the world celebrate this day by pausing to remember the Buddha's virtues, expressing their gratitude and appreciation for his teachings, and by finding ways to be more Buddha-like.

Agenda for today:
1. Update my altar
2. Journal queries
3. Practise at my theme of abundance
4. Find ways to be more Buddha-like
5. Make a lantern for Wesak
6. Cook Hath Maaluwa (Seven Vegetables Curry)

Shavuot

Shavuot is a two-day Jewish holiday that always starts fifty days after Passover, during the Hebrew month of Sivan. It’s the Jewish First Fruits Festival, when the spring wheat is harvested in Israel- a time of thanksgiving for the grains and fruits of the earth. This is the beginning of the harvest season in Israel, which continues throughout the summer and ends with Sukkot in the fall. 

Shavuot also celebrates the giving of the Torah to the Jews.

Agenda Today:

Cheesecake Parfaits

1. Decorate the house
2. Make cheesecake parfaits
3. First Fruits Meal and Prayer
4. Read the Ten Commandments

Ramadan

Tonight is the start of Ramadan, an Islamic holiday that marks the discovery of the Qur’an by the Prophet Muhammad. The Islamic calendar is totally lunar, so Ramadan begins a few weeks earlier each year, at the sighting of the thin crescent moon, hopefully at sundown tonight.

Sunset photo by Brayden

Ramadan is a month of blessing. By night, Muslims read the Qur'an, and celebrate the compassion of God with special prayers. 

By day, they give generously to charities, and observe the discipline of fasting: They eat an early morning meal before the sun rises, then eat and drink nothing until after sundown. The Ramadan fast includes abstinence from falsehood and anger, in words and in deeds. It's purpose is to help Muslims to develop self-discipline, a strong spirit, generosity, and empathy. 

Even though I don't partake in a fast, I observe Ramadan in this same spirit, renewing my relationship with God, and exercising self-discipline and generosity. I hope to build my empathy for Muslims as they observe their month-long fast. 

Agenda:
1. Celestial awareness
2. Sunset prayer
3. Practice intentional acts of kindness
4. Enjoy Iftar tomorrow night

New Peony Moon

Beautiful peonies growing in my neighborhood.

The new moon rose early this morning; the Chinese call the fourth new moon the Peony Moon.

Peonies are the flower of riches, romance, and honor, called sho yu in Chinese, which means "most beautiful." Their lush blooms are an omen of good fortune, and also foretell a happy marriage.

This is the season of blossoming into abundance; I open myself to the receipt of gifts, and try to be fully awake to all that each moment holds.

Agenda for today: 
1. Journal queries 
2. New moon meditation
3. Prepare for a garden party