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Carmella and Toffee
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Agenda for today:
1. Update my altar
2. Journal queries
3. Practice at my theme of Joy
1. Update my altar:
It's time to clear my altar, and discern what to put on it for May. (For my thoughts on altars see About Altars). I generally keep it simple and choose only things that speak to me and feed me, and reveal what I believe in. I ask, what quality of Spirit do I want to invoke?
Today I cleared everything off and added:
Review the intentions I set 2 weeks ago, at the new moon.
Do these goals all still seem vital?
What are my next steps?
What do I want to create in my life?
Write about what brings me joy, contentment, serenity, satisfaction, and harmony.
How can I invite more of this into my life?
How can I develop my creative and playful qualities?
3. Practice at my theme:
My theme this month is joy-- that's contentment, serenity, harmony, and living with a wide-open, unbiased attitude of appreciation for life. It’s this childlike quality of joy that supports my spontaneous, innovative, creative spirit. Also, my joyous mood is infectious and brings success with my relationships.
Like compassion, joy is a limitless quality. I train in it by noticing the moment it arrives and the moment when I shift away, into disapproval or sorrow. When that happens, I just notice the shift without acting on it or repressing it; I hold my feelings of "not joy" softly so that the barriers to joy might come down.
Besides attention, two other supports for a joyful mind are curiosity and humor. A joyful mind is very relaxed, expansive, and spontaneous.
My joy practices this month:
1. Update my altar
2. Journal queries
3. Practice at my theme of Joy
Today I cleared everything off and added:
- a nesting doll for motherhood and family.
- a picture of my kids when they were little.
- an orange candle for joy and creativity.
- a picture of a lake for joy and truth.
- a kaleidoscope to remind me to look at life from new angles.
Review the intentions I set 2 weeks ago, at the new moon.
Do these goals all still seem vital?
What are my next steps?
What do I want to create in my life?
Write about what brings me joy, contentment, serenity, satisfaction, and harmony.
How can I invite more of this into my life?
How can I develop my creative and playful qualities?
3. Practice at my theme:
Like compassion, joy is a limitless quality. I train in it by noticing the moment it arrives and the moment when I shift away, into disapproval or sorrow. When that happens, I just notice the shift without acting on it or repressing it; I hold my feelings of "not joy" softly so that the barriers to joy might come down.
Besides attention, two other supports for a joyful mind are curiosity and humor. A joyful mind is very relaxed, expansive, and spontaneous.
My joy practices this month:
- Enjoy time in the garden, and watching our ducks.
- Have fun with my students- let myself play.
- Don't over-schedule; allow time for spontaneity and serenity.
- Play with painting new subject matter (ducks? faces?).
- Make fun and happy things with my hands: a pinata, lots of embroidered wallets, paper banners...
- Celebrate life and love with my family.
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