Maidyozarem

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.

Maidyozarem, the first Gahambar of the Zoroastrian year, means "mid-spring", and it celebrates the creation of the sky, heaven, the stars, and the hot nebulous cloud of the fire of the Universe. It takes place each year from April 30 through May 4th.

Agenda this week:

1. Recite prayers

2. Make Kachumber Salad

First Quarter Moon

Tonight is the First Quarter Moon; we are one-quarter of the way through the moon cycle. The moon is waxing - growing in light and energy, creating a time for decisive action. I use this end-of-April quarter moon's energy to express myself, and find joy in just being alive.

Agenda Today:

1. Journal queries
2. Make a full effort plan
3. Write a mission haiku
4. Read the Creativity Book

Joy and Creativity

My theme this month is joy and creativity, and I've started to read a couple of books and set myself some practices.

1. Read the Creativity Book:

A few years ago I started but didn't finish this book by Eric Maisel (one of my favorite writers). The subtitle is "A Year's Worth of Inspiration and Guidance." Who doesn't want that? This seems like a good time to give it a second chance.

The introduction says to pick a creative project before you start the first section, something big, to work on for the next year. The book is a companion to this work, but not a step-by-step guide. Instead it will guide you to experience doing some odd activities that "amount to a creative education."

If this was anyone other than Eric Maisel, I'd drop this book like a hot potato, but I trust this guy.

So, I plan to start Section One on Thursday, and Thursday will be my Creativity Day for the next year. And my creative project is collage and mixed media art, for the Earth.

2. Read "Happier at Home":

The other book I picked up today is Happier at Home, by Gretchen Rubin (2012). I liked her other book, the Happiness Project (a kindred soul, who would make happiness a project!)

About this second book, she says, "This is the account of the strategies I used to feel more at home, at home." She explains that though some find happiness with adventures, she isn't an adventurous person (another way I resonate with her).

The first section is Preparation. She talks about what home is for her: a place of unconditional belonging, and the physical hub of her schedule. 

And she sets out the main premise for the project: To boost her happiness by experimenting with conscious actions (such as simplification and monthly adventures), and new thoughts (pay attention; experience the experience), and by noticing and appreciating the happiness she already has.

3. My own Home Happiness Project:

I realized, as I skimmed through Gretchen's book, that it wouldn't do for me to copy her approach. I'm not in the same phase of life, and I don't have a year to focus on the subject. Or maybe I do...

In any case, today I will make a short list of At Home resolutions to boost my happiness this month, and go from there:

1. Clean all the windows, inside and out.
2. Plant something nearly every day.
3. Work on my art at least 3 days a week.
4. Practice patience.

4. My collage work:

I started making collage and mixed media paintings this year, and have completed two. The first was a Valentine, and the second one, finished just recently, is a Garden.

Today I plan to start the third, a Landscape. The steps I will use:

1. Paint the under layer: On a large piece of watercolor paper, roll out a few colors that are in the medium and dark range, in uneven landscapy swaths. When these dry, add lighter areas.
2. Collage layer: Tear and glue on strips of papers, covering not quite half of the area, and using my intuition to decide which paint-parts to leave exposed. Consider the composition and the balance of light and darks.
3. Finishes: Add another paint layer and then drawing.

Sabbath for Joy

Today is my sabbath, a day to step out of the fray, and regroup. My theme this month is joy and self-expression, and I'm going to spend some time today reading, and making a plan.

My perfect sabbath is a celebration, a holiday. I keep it holy with my attitude: I don't rush, complain, or worry. Everything I do has a flavor of peace. I schedule some work, but it's work I find fulfilling, or uplifting. Simple is a great word to describe my ideal activities for the sabbath: Simple tasks, simple foods, and an undemanding schedule.

Agenda

1. Word #7 - Beloved Community

2. A gratitude nap

3. Joy walk

Earth Day

Today is Earth Day; we finally have a sunny day, and the climate activists here have big plans!

Agenda today:

1. Wildlife Garden

2. Ground in the earth

3. Rally and Parade

Earth Week Friday

This Earth Week I plan to post an agenda of activities for each day that grounds me in unity with the Earth. 

Agenda today:

1. Wildlife Garden

Earth Week Thursday

This Earth Week I plan to post an agenda of activities for each day that grounds me in unity with the Earth. 

Agenda today:

1. Wildlife Garden

2. Rain meditation

Earth Week Wednesday and New Sleepy Moon

This Earth Week I plan to post an agenda of activities for each day that grounds me in unity with the Earth. 

Also, the moon is new again! Correction: This is actually the Sleepy Moon because of the leap moon) 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.

Beautiful peonies growing in my neighborhood.

The new moon is the start of the lunar cycle, a time of high energy and clear thinking. Historically, the new moon is when women took time to be alone; it's a time to retreat, set intentions, and initiate something new.

Agenda today:
1. Retreat Day

2. Choose a month theme
3. Set intentions

4. New moon altar and meditation

5. Read "It's a Meaningful Life"

6. Use a mantra

7. Tree flag

Earth Week Tuesday

This Earth Week I plan to post an agenda of activities for each day that grounds me in unity with the Earth. 

Agenda today:

1. Wildlife Garden

2. Sharing Nature
3. Take action

4. Artwork

Earth Week Monday

This Earth Week I plan to post an agenda of activities for each day that grounds me in unity with the Earth. 

Agenda today:

1. Wildlife Garden

2. Talk to Mother Nature
3. Take action

4. Tree flag

Earth Week Sunday

This week before Earth Day is called Earth Week, April 16 - 22 this year. 

The first Earth Day was April 22, 1970, and it still remains a big event in the environmental movement. Interest and participation in Earth Day has increased and spread around the world, with millions of people taking part. 

I do many things everyday in my life to help the earth: I live in a small house; I walk and bike, and work at home; I buy used stuff and buy locally; I use the library instead of buying books; I compost, recycle, and grow my own food, I lead an Earthcare support group at my Quaker Meeting, and I work with other climate activists to help change the way we use carbon in our community.

This week I plan to post an agenda of activities for each day, including some reading and education, contemplation, earth care actions, and artwork, that grounds me in unity with the Earth.

Agenda today:

1. Wildlife Garden

2. Contemplation
3. Take action

4. Artwork

April Third Quarter Moon

Photo by Alan Gillespie

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 and self-care.

Agenda today:

1. Read The Purpose Principles

2. Renewal plan

3. Evaluation House

4. Monthly journal brainstorm

5. Surrender, rest, recuperate

Easter

Easter is the most important and joyful of all Christian holy days because it marks the resurrection of Jesus. Easter always comes after the spring equinox, when lots of things in nature are returning to life; specifically Easter falls on the first Sunday after the full Moon on or just after the equinox. 

The English word Easter comes from the Old English Eastre, which was the name for the spring season.

Easter is the penultimate time of hope, renewal and new life, which is at the heart of the message that Christians wish to proclaim and live in the world. I see this as a reminder to live each day as a new day, and to have faith that the actions I take will have transforming power in the world.

Agenda today:

1. Greet the Easter sunrise with joy
2. Egg hunt

Great Saturday Retreat

Today is Great Saturday or Holy Saturday, the day between Jesus' death and his resurrection. In the Church, it's celebrated with watchful expectation and funeral hymns. I'm celebrating it with a morning retreat, for reading, writing, and working in the garden!

Agenda Today: 

1. Read The Purpose Principles

2. "What You Want" Exercise 

3. Planting and permaculture

Good Friday

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

Permelia and Madeline, our first duck ladies

We are also going to dye eggs today! Eggs universally symbolize birth and potential. For Christians, at Easter, eggs stand for hope and spiritual rebirth.

Agenda today:
1. Darkness to Hope Meditation

2. Bake hot cross buns

3. Dye eggs

2023 Lent Calendar, Week 7

April 2, Palm Sunday-

1. Palm Sunday Prayer: Spirit of Love, give me the courage to challenge those systems that oppress your people and this earth, with peace and a compassion that creates openings for transformation and change.

2. Resilience practice: This Lent I'm reading daily from the book, "101 Mindful Ways to Build Resilience," by Donald Altman, which offers simple ideas for being more rooted in my body and mind. I'm into section three, on Optimism. 

Practice #55 is Let Go of Grasping, as when you fixate on one particular outcome. Instead, what if you opened to other possibilities, and just preferred one outcome over another?

1. Identify one thing you are grasping too tightly. (For me, it's usually how a family event or interaction will go.)
2. Clench your hands into tight fists, and pretend you are holding onto that outcome. Hold it for a while, and notice the tension and discomfort.
3. Take a deep breath and, as you exhale, release your fists. Shake your hands, and let them grow flexible - imagine yourself releasing the need to grasp a particular outcome, and opening to new possibilities and preferences. 
4. Spend a moment appreciating all that is now in your life, as it is.

3. Plastic fast: Researchers say that more microplastics are getting into farm soil than oceans; and it's showing up in our fruits, veggies, and bodies. Microplastics arrive on farms through processed sewage sludge used for fertilizer, plastic mulches, plastic covering greenhouses, and are even intentionally added as slow-release fertilizers and protective seed coatings. Solutions to plastic abuse by agribusiness include supporting small organic farmers, and growing our own vegetables in a sustainable way.

First and foremost, reduce your purchase of flimsy plastic seedling pots and six-packs. Plastic pots are the popular commercial plant containers because they are cheap to make; reduce the number of new plastic pots you buy by reusing the pots you already have to plant seeds yourself. Or buy used pots from BRING recycling; or use peat pots, or compostable pots made of cow dung for your starts. (The cow dung pots should be used in an outdoor greenhouse or cold frame only.) Or use containers you have around the house, such as toilet paper tubes, or even small paper bag. (Some plant nurseries also accept old plastic pots for reusing and recycling.)

Another option is to ask friends and neighbors to divide plants to propagate in your own yard. Or try growing plants from cuttings! Many herbs and some veggies can be rooted in a jar of water.

April 3-

1. Resilience practice: I'm reading section three, on Optimism. Practice #56 is Appreciate the Glass: Rather than viewing the glass of your life as half full or empty, simply learn to appreciate your life as it is.

1. Identify a situation in your life that you are having trouble accepting.
2. Use mental super powers to flip the situation, and transform it into appreciation, perhaps see it as a gift, or a learning experience.
3. Accept that we all have a different "glass" to deal with. List the skills and strengths you can use to move forward.

2. Plastic fast: Seek alternatives to plastic bags full of compost and amendments. You can find many organic amendments in cardboard boxes. Or go to a place that sells bulk soil and amendments - you don't have to buy a truck load; most places will sell by the bucket. You can also “make” mulch and soil yourself, with compost, leaves, shredded paper, and cardboard, or make a hugelkultur bed - allow brush and branches to compost in place for a super fertile, moisture-retaining garden bed. You can also make your own potting soil mix to avoid plastic bags of the stuff. (This article has a thorough discussion of how to make your own potting mix, as well as other seed-starting advise.)

April 4-

1. Resilience practice: I'm reading section three, on Optimism. Practice #57 is Build Trust with Mutuality. Trust is gained and earned through each interaction, and one way to build a trusting relationship is a mutual willingness to listen and show interest and respect. Since we can't control the mutual part, the best gift is to offer your own attention. And this will help you feel optimistic about your relationship.

1. Give the other person your full and undivided attention. Let go of your own agenda, and listen, free of judgement. 
2. Use open body language, with arms uncrossed and appropriate eye contact.
3. Be curious. Don't interrupt, but ask clarifying questions to learn more.
4. Be empathetic. Imagine yourself in the other person's shoes, feeling the other's experience. Show you care.

2. Plastic fast: DIY pest control: Instead of spending a small fortune on plastic bottles of pest repellents, make your own at home. Also think about using companion planting and introducing beneficial insects.

April 5, Full Moon and Passover-

1. Resilience practice: I'm reading section three, on Optimism. Practice #58 is Find Your Optimism Words, how to train yourself to use positive vocabulary for both inner and external talk, in order to add to how resilient you feel. 

1. Make a list of your own positive words and phrases to use. (My favorite are: "That's awesome; it's absolutely doable; and, What an exciting day!")
2. Count each time you use a positive word or phrase, and notice how it makes you feel.
3. Whenever you use a negative word or have a negative thought, replace it with a positive word or thought immediately.

3. Plastic fast: Reduce microplastics in your soil: Plastic sheets used to suppress weeds, warm the soil, and retain moisture, are challenging to recycle and costly to dispose of, so they are often left to break down in the soil. Some biodegradable and widely available alternatives to landscape fabric and plastic sheets for mulching are sheets of cardboard, pieces of burlap, or old newspapers.

April 6, Maundy Thursday-

1. Resilience practice: I'm reading section three, on Optimism. Practice #59 is Wisdom of Perhaps, which acknowledges that nothing is good or bad luck. When you are faced with a negative situation or a loss, do you predict the worst, or can you open to the possibility of "perhaps" (i.e, be neutral, balanced, and non-reactive)? 

1. Think about times when bad things have led to good outcomes that you couldn't have anticipated.
2. Next time you have something bad happen (lose something, get rejected, illness, etc.), let go of your bias and assumptions about the future, and embrace the neutral attitude of "perhaps". 

2. Show Love: Maundy is an English word that comes from the Latin mandatum, referring to the new commandment that Jesus made on that night: 

“A new commandment I give to you, that you Love one another. As I have loved you so you must love one another.” (John 13:34).

3. Plastic fast: Plastic free pet care: Rather than picking up dog poo using a single-use plastic bag, try using a shovel and putting it straight in the bin. For transporting waste on a walk, paper bags are the top option, with 100% compostable or biodegradable bags as a close second. Or see how to make newspaper dog poo bags! Also, buy pet shampoo in a bar!

April 7, Good Friday-
1. Resilience practice: I'm reading section three, on Optimism. Practice #60 is Be a Benefactor.

2. Plastic fast: Remember Peace and Equality: Plastics are not a strictly environmental issue; they also have significant impacts on human rights. The oil and gas used to produce plastics contribute to the climate crisis, and microplastics threaten communities’ food security, drinking water, and health. And also remember: The US military spends$81 billion a year defending global oil supplies.

Queries: Do we live in the virtue of that life and power that takes away the occasion of all war? In what ways do we take part in war indirectly? What will the impact of our current choices be on the lives of people in marginalized communities, and on future generations? 

April 8, Great Saturday

1. Resilience practice: I'm reading section three, on Optimism. Practice #61 is Take a Mental Vacation.

2. Plastic fast: Celebrate! Look back at what you have accomplished. Celebrate the changes you’ve made, and resolve to become even more intentional in your purchases. Manufacturers and retailers are increasingly responsive to our demand for new plastic-free options. Consequently, some of our plastics issues may be easier to resolve six months from now.

April 9- Easter

Maundy Thursday

Maundy Thursday is the day when Jesus and his disciples gathered to share the Passover meal known as the Last Supper. Maundy is an English word that comes from the Latin mandatum, referring to the new commandment that Jesus made on that night: 

“A new commandment I give to you, that you Love one another. As I have loved you so you must love one another.” (John 13:34). 

On this day three important events are documented.

Rooted- acrylic on canvas

First, Jesus showed his great love and humility by washing the feet of his disciples.

Second was the introduction of the Eucharist.

Thirdly, Jesus went to the Garden of Gethsemani to pray and was betrayed by Judas and arrested.

Agenda today:

1. Show love and humility
2. Eat mindfully
3. Find new clothes for Easter
4. Take a bubble bath
5. Go to the garden tonight to pray

Passover and Full Hare Moon

Tonight is the full moon; this one is called amanta kotantal or "Time for pounding camus" by the Kalapuya of my area, and the Hare Moon by others, because it's the month when rabbits leap and play and mate.

Carmella and Toffee

We are now at the peak of the strong-energy yang phase of the waxing moon, and will soon begin the shift to the quiet-energy yin time of the waning moon. 

And tonight is 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. Reflect on freedom

2. Passover blessing

3. Take a vision walk

4. Celebrate balance

5. Balance Walk