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.