St. Patrick's Day and Waxing crescent

St. Patrick's Day is an Irish holiday that falls on March 17 each year. In Ireland it’s celebrated with parades, community feasts, singing, dancing, and church services, all in honor of St. Patrick, an English man who lived in about 400 A.D.

St. Pat’s whole name was Magnus Sucatus Patricus. When he was 16, Irish raiders carried him off from England to Ireland to work as a slave. He escaped six years later, traveled and studied for many years, and became a Christian missionary. He returned to Ireland, and grew famous for all the miracles he performed and for converting many Irish people to Christianity.

The Celts brought a new perspective to Christianity, quite different than the Romans; the four major themes of Celtic spirituality are:

• Pilgrimage as a means of discovering your own path to God 
• Monasticism and life in community
• Art and symbolism
• The idea that God is present everywhere

And now the moon is waxing - getting larger - until it's full again. During the waxing moon, energy remains high; I focus on persistent action, and find the motivation to accomplish my priorities and follow through with my intentions: I gather information, study, create, and exercise. 

• Waxing crescent - Growing energy, attention, first steps 

Agenda Today:

1. Prayer of St. Patrick

2. Plan first steps

3. Remember my intentions

4. Awareness Walk
5. Wear the green
6. Plant onions
7. Enjoy hot Irish coffee

1. Prayer of St. Patrick:
Before you read this prayer, I need to explain how I translate the word "Christ". I understand it means the Chosen One; and I believe we are all chosen ones, with "that of God" within - that was Jesus' message to us.

Christ, shield me this day:
Christ with me,
Christ before me,
Christ behind me,
Christ in me,
Christ beneath me,
Christ above me,
Christ on my right,
Christ on my left,
Christ when I lie down,
Christ when I arise,
Christ in the heart of every person who thinks of me,
Christ in the eye that sees me,
Christ in the ear that hears me.

It's very powerful to ask to be surrounded and protected by a world and people filled with the love of God, and feel the Spirit of Love within and all around me.

2. Plan first steps:

Today, at the waxing crescent, I give attention to my level of energy, and prepare to act on my priorities.

What are my top priorities for action this week? Are these priorities truly leading me on the right path?

Is my energy really growing? Where do I feel resistance to action? What information or help might I need to ease the way?

What are my first steps? Do I have supplies to gather or calls to make?

3. Remember my intentions:
The first step towards giving full effort to my priorities is attention; I want to remember my deepest, most essential, most passionate reasons for acting on my intentions, every day, and hold my intentions with gentle awareness all day long. 

Remembering my intentions throughout the day is a mindfulness practice; it creates energy and excitement for my priorities, but I have to take care to hold my intentions gently, not obsessively. If I begin to worry about completing my intentions, or think about them in an aggressive way, I try to back off a little. Even though I fully intend to take these actions, life sometimes shifts under my feet; and it is not my intention to feel self-loathing or anxiety.

4. Awareness Walk:

This month as I focus on vitality and strength I will practice this walking meditation each morning, giving attention to my body, heart, mind, and ki, an Asian concept that translates to "energy, life-force, spirit, or breath." It’s the Cosmic Power that flows out from the center of the Universe and returns back to the center.

1. Physical Awareness: Begin my walk, and concentrate on my feet as they touch the ground, the feel of my muscles, my breathing, my surroundings, the breeze, the sky. Center my weight low and maintain balance as I walk. Continue this for 1-2 blocks. 

2. Heart Awareness: Turn a corner, and focus on my tender heart. Feel it soften and open. Send loving thoughts to my neighbors as I walk by their homes, to my family, to my community, to the world. Become aware of ki as feeling. Continue this for 1-2 blocks. 

3. Mindfulness: Turn another corner, and pay attention to my thoughts. Make an effort to open my mind to the ambiguity of the moment, and my life. Become aware of ki as intuition. Continue this for 1-2 blocks. 

4. Spiritual Awareness: Turn the last corner, and (holding on to the awareness I've raised) speak a prayer out loud as I’m moving; feel the power and energy move through me. Say “Spirit of the Universe, I am open and awake to whatever comes into my life today. I am a limitless being, accepting from a limitless source, in an infinite way. I am incredibly blessed.”

5. Wear the green: 
In Ireland, it’s an old custom to wear a shamrock or a green ribbon pinned to your clothes on St. Patrick’s Day. 

The three-leafed shamrock plant (Trifolium repens, or white clover) is a national symbol of Ireland. St. Patrick may have used it to teach the Irish about the Christian trinity (the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost). Before that, though, the leaves stood for love, courage and wit; it was also a symbol of the Goddess Brigid as virgin, mother and crone.

A couple year's ago I made a shamrock pin, following the directions from the Saturday Evening Post. The only thing I added was a safety pin, so I can wear it on my jacket. Directions are here.

6. Plant onions:

In Ireland, St. Patrick’s Day is the traditional day to plant peas and potatoes (or so some people say). I've already got two plantings of peas in, so today I planted my onions. You can see the new onion seedlings to right and left, with small lettuce starts, California poppies, and over-wintered beets.

7. Enjoy hot Irish coffee:
Ingredients:

• 1 c. freshly brewed strong black coffee 
• 1 jigger (1-1/2 oz.) of Irish whiskey 
• 1 tsp. to 1 Tbsp. brown sugar 
• heavy cream (not whipped)

Yield: 1 serving-
1- Warm a mug with hot water and then empty it. Pour piping hot coffee into warmed glass until it is about 3/4 full.

2- Add the brown sugar and stir until completely dissolved. (The sugar is essential for floating the unwhipped cream on top.) Blend in the Irish whiskey.

3- Shake the heavy cream a little, then pour it carefully over the back of a spoon, held just above the surface of the coffee. The layer of cream should float on the coffee without mixing. Serve hot, and drink the coffee through the layer of cream.