Good Friday, Passover, and Full Hare Moon

Today is Good Friday, when we mark Jesus’ death and burial.

Tonight is the full moon; this one is called the Hare Moon, because this is the month when rabbits leap and play and mate.

Carmella and Toffee

And tonight is also the start of Passover, the oldest of the Jewish holidays. It celebrates the story of how God set the Jewish people free from slavery in Egypt. Passover begins on the fourteenth day of the Jewish month of Nisan, which is the night of the first full moon after the equinox.

Agenda today:
1. Darkness to Hope Meditation
2. Update my altar
3. Journal queries
4. Practice at my theme of Joy
5. Bake hot cross buns
6. Clean the kitchen
7. Reflect on freedom
8. Passover blessing

1. Darkness to Hope Meditation:

This morning I reflect on desperation and despair. I remember again that the soul's "dark night" is a part of the human condition. My capacity to experience despair is a gift; through it I am transformed. Jesus said, "You must be born again." (John 3:7). The ability to shift from despair to hope is how I get the strength to live life whatever the daily deaths I might face.

Everyone has periods and circumstances of despair. I remember quite clearly when I was laying in the emergency room on a table, with broken ribs and shoulder, and everyone left, probably to help someone else. I had been strong until then, but during that 45 minutes when I was alone I succumbed to self-pity, pain, and loneliness pretty quickly.

Meditate on that feeling: Remember, for a few minutes, what it's like to be sad and in misery- feeling alone, even feeling no connection to Spirit. "My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?" Hold that feeling and take several slow breaths.

Then shift, and remember that you have experienced great joy, and remember that you will again; discover again a connection to the Divine. Relax into a feeling of light and hope. Feel a glow slowly fill you, as dawn fills the sky, and then extend light to family, to friends, to neighbors, to strangers, and to all others who are in darkness now.

2. Update my altar:

It's time to clear my altar, and discern what to put on it for the next 30 days. (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 except:

• eggs- for hope, new beginnings, and completeness.
• a cross- to remind myself to die and be reborn every day.

and I added:

• a nesting doll- for motherhood and family.
• an orange candle- for joy and creativity.
• a picture of a lake- for joy and truth.
• a kaleidoscope- to remind myself to look at life from new angles.

3. Journal queries:
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?

4. Practice at my theme of Joy:

Permelia and Madeline

Today I set my theme for the next 30 days, and it's joy-- that feeling of 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:

• Enjoy time in the garden, and watching our ducks.
• Allow myself to enjoy daily exercises. 
• Have fun with my students- let myself play.
• Don't over-schedule my days; allow time for spontaneity and serenity. 
• Play with painting new subject matter (ducks? faces?).
• Make fun and happy things with my hands: banners, embroidered mottos, birthday gifts, Earth Week crafts... 
• Practice the virtue of optimism- extend hope to those who need it.

5. Bake hot cross buns:
The hot cross bun is probably the oldest of the many English buns. It was originally eaten only on Good Friday. In the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries street cries were commonly heard on Good Friday:

"Hot cross buns, hot cross buns,
One a penny, two a penny, hot cross buns!”

You are supposed to keep one bun all year to insure that all the bread you bake is perfect (and as a charm against shipwreck).

Ingredients:

• 1/4 c. unsalted butter
• 1 c. milk
• 2 pkg. yeast
• 1/2 c. sugar
• 1 tsp. salt
• 2 large eggs
• 3 c. white flour
• 1 c. whole wheat flour
• 1 tsp. cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp. each nutmeg and allspice
• 1/4 tsp. cloves
• 1/2 c. plumped currants
• 1/2 c. sultana raisins
• 2 tsp. minced orange rind
• 1 egg white + 1 tsp. water
• powdered sugar frosting

Yield: 1-dozen buns-

1- Melt the butter. Heat the milk to just boiling. Whisk in the butter and sugar, then cool to 105ºF. Add yeast, salt and eggs.

2- Add flour and spices, and mix  to make a soft dough.

3- Knead for 5-7 minutes (I used my Kitchen-aid). Dust in more flour if needed. When dough is smooth knead in the plumped currants, sultana raisins, and minced orange rind.

4- Shape dough into a ball, cover with a towel, and let rest for about 20 minutes.

5- Divide the dough into 12 pieces and shape into balls. Place the buns on a lightly greased baking sheet about one inch apart. Using floured scissors, snip a cross on the top of each bun about 1/2-inch deep. Brush with egg white glaze. Let rest about 25 minutes or until buns look puffy and light.

6- Preheat the oven to 375°F. Place the buns in the oven and reduce heat to 350°. Bake for 17-20 minutes, until the tops are golden brown. Remove from the oven. When cool, apply a cross of white frosting.

6. Clean the kitchen:
To prepare for Passover, Jewish families clean their homes very thoroughly and remove all leftover foods from the house so that no leavened products are left. I don't need to remove all the leavened foods, but today I will clean the kitchen floor and counters.

7. Reflect on freedom: 
The highlight of Passover is the Seder, a ceremonial meal that begins at sunset on the first night. The Seder focuses on the traditional symbolic foods that are used to help remember the Passover story. The whole family gets involved, each taking turns reading out of the haggadah (Hebrew for “narration”). The youngest person chants the Four Questions which ask why Passover is observed the way it is. After the initial ceremony the family shares a feast, then one final part of the Seder, and finally singing and poetry.

I don't hold a Passover Seder because it's too important of a ceremony. Instead, I honor the start of Passover with some thought and discussion on the themes, and some some Hebrew prayers.

Passover is about freedom from slavery, oppression, and confinement, but Judaism defines true freedom as the ability to express who you really are. If something in my heart and soul has not had the opportunity to be expressed, then I am not yet free.

What is waiting inside me to be expressed out loud?What projects or images do I need to create to be made free?

5. Passover blessing: 

Barukh atah AdonAI, eloHAYnu melekh ha’olam, hazan et ha’olam kull O betuvo, bechen bechesed uvrachamin. 

Blessed art Thou, our God of the Universe, who nourishes the universe in goodness, with grace, kindness, and compassion.