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

1. Retreat Day:

If at all possible, I schedule a day of retreat on the new moon, or near to it: I do less talking, less business, and more personal thought and action.

And today is my baby-holding day, so I get to sit and rock Grandson #2 all day long!

2. Pick a theme:

At the new moon I choose a theme, and begin to give attention to it. My theme this month is joy -- that's contentment, serenity, harmony, and living with a wide-open, unbiased attitude of appreciation for life. A childlike quality of joy supports my spontaneous, innovative, creative spirit. Also, my joyous mood is infectious and brings success with my relationships.

Joy goals might be to experience more harmony and happiness in my life, to exercise my creativity muscle, to be more flexible with friendships, or to explore and develop my playful, intuitive qualities.

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. When I am in a joyful mood, I feel relaxed, expansive, and spontaneous, and I can turn a problem into a creative challenge.

My joy practices this month:

• Adventures, garden explorations, and play with Grandson #1.
• Find contentment in the garden, with daily planting and care, and schedule time each day to be quiet and aware, with nature.
• House of Belief: One creative addition to each room - bathroom sky, shed mural, kitchen curtain, Sanctuary sign... 
• Make fun and happy things with my hands: Tree flags, quilt blocks, garden art, birthday gifts, bear masks...

3. Set intentions:

Last week I brainstormed some wild and crazy ideas for the next 30 days, and today it's time to narrow it down a little, to the priority items that I could possibly focus on this next month. This isn't a list of the practical things I need to do this month; rather it's my top actions, studies, and growth goals that fit with the "taste" of this month of my life.

After I list my top 10-20 goals for the next 30 days, I'm ready to set some intentions for action. This is a time-consuming but important process. I'm going to choose a few to write today - those I might act on today - then work on a few more each day this week.

I intend to care for my home with integrity and ritual, and put in extra spring-cleaning time to wash windows and make each room sparkle; Also, I intend to finish some painting projects and other creative touches that express our Beliefs; I intend to create a colorful and creative, well-ordered and peaceful sanctuary for those I love, because maintaining our home in good order, and leaving rooms neat and clean (with room for messy fun), is the honorable and sustainable thing to do, and is one way that I show love for my family, and witness to self-transcendence.

I intend to find contentment in the garden, with daily planting and care, and take time each day to be quiet and aware, in unity with nature. I intend to practice my Earth-Quaker habits (ground with the Earth and sit in silent listening) because my spirit needs attention and care in order to grow, and I especially want to grow my connection to the Earth and the Sky, as a little part of nature myself.

4. New moon altar and meditation:

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?

I left from last month:

• a dragonfly - for change, transformation, adaptability, and self-realization.

and added:

• an orange candle - for joy and creativity
• a nesting doll - for motherhood and family
• An origami crane - for peace

Today I will light a small white candle on my altar. I'll center and give attention to each of my intentions, and picture each one accomplished. Then I'll let go of expectations, and feel myself fill with thankfulness for all I have now in my life.

5. Read It's Meaningful Life: 

This last Christmas Eve I began to re-read Bo Lozoff's book. When I first read this book I was in my mid-40's, and I now realize how foundational it was for me.

I'm up to chapter five, The Coal Miner's Faith, which is about that how to deal with the unexpected. Bo maintains that the darkness of the future is the necessary space for us to exercise our free will; it is crucial that we don't know what to expect from life so that we can make choices, and strive to create a good future.

We can embrace the surprises and challenges, and meet them with "our cosmic sense of humor or profoundest level of good sportsmanship. ... There is great peace and happiness in the absence of pointless anxiety and in the acceptance of the proper sphere of our concern -- doing our very best, shining our very brightest, in this one little spot we find ourselves in. ...

A person of faith is like a coal miner carrying his light on his cap. Wherever he arrives it's light enough for him to see. ... If the whole mine were lit, the coal miner would have no use for his own light".

So our task is to keep our light strong - our wisdom and intuition, presence and awareness. 

6. Mantra:

The practice that goes with this chapter is to use a mantra: Something like, "Anything that can happen may happen to me, and I accept the truth of this".

Repeat this mantra any time you feel anxious or fearful, and then surrender to the inevitability of Life: To be fully alive, we must accept, with eyes wide open, that anything can happen, and then take responsibility for the parts we have control over - for living a good and moral life, showing love and generosity, and taking care of our bodies, minds, and spirits.

The truth that anything can happen is what connects us to all other living beings, and releases us from the need to cry, "Why Me?"

7. Tree flag:

I'm going to a rally on Saturday, with a theme of forest protection, and I've invited others to join me this week to make signs and banners. 

On Monday my grandson and I painted a tree flag, and yesterday we sewed the edges together (He loves the sewing machine!)

Today we will finish it up.