Sabbath for Family

It's been a few days of intense family. My one brother came through town on his way north, to his new home, and had a rest stop with us and our grandsons (not sure how much rest he got!) 

Then yesterday we had a zoom party for my mother who just turned 90. (We had planned a whole family reunion for this weekend, but that devolved due to my mother's anxiety about travel and large gatherings.) 

And this morning we are leaving to go north to visit both my brothers, who were together to visit my mother. (We settled on only half of the family visiting in person, and I hope that eased my mother's anxiety)

My youngest brother is flying back to New York tomorrow, so I want to see him before he goes. I'm driving north for 3 hours with W, my daughter, and my two grandsons, and my role is backseat peacekeeper.

Agenda:

1. Read "Happier at Home"

2. Pack for peacekeeping

First Quarter Moon of Late July

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 July quarter moon's energy to help me to discern my Truth and then act on it; this requires some discipline.

The ancient Stoic philosophers used discipline as a tool in their journey towards a life lived well. Epictetus listed three disciplines: Amor Fati, or the loving acceptance of one’s fate, which was for living in harmony with the nature of the universe as a whole; Hormê, or the impulse to ethical action, for living in harmony with humans; and Sunkatathesis, which is mindfulness, for living in harmony with our own essential nature, with reason and truthfulness in both thoughts and speech.

I long for better discipline - to give me stability and structure, and help me to be responsible; to allow me to keep promises to myself and to others, and maintain the integrity and self-control that I want; to empower me to grow and reach my dreams. But I also hope that this growth in discipline might lead to a transcendent state where I no longer rely on discipline because I love and understand myself enough to follow the right path naturally!

Agenda Today:

1. Journal queries
2. Read "How to Manifest"

3. Make a full effort plan
4. Write a mission haiku

Butterfly Sabbath

Butterflies and other pollinators are in dramatic decline. This is alarming because the size of butterfly populations shows the health of an ecosystem. 

In the last few weeks, I've been applying my Medicine Art practice to butterflies. Medicine Art is a process that opens the doors of creative healing to anyone, any age, any ability. My intention is to use my creative fire to forge a stronger connection between me and butterflies. Here are some Medicine Art projects with and for butterflies that anyone can practice.

Agenda:

1. Set butterfly intentions
2. Collect photos of butterflies

3. Educate myself

4. Transformative unity with butterflies

5. Prepare to create butterfly habitat

6. Butterfly craft

7. Host a Butterfly Party

8. Other actions to help butterflies

Al-Hijra

 Al-Hijra is the first day of the Islamic month of Muharram, the Islamic New Year; it begins at sunset tonight, when the crescent moon is sighted. 

Hijra means migration, and also an escape from a dangerous situation. The original hijra was the journey of the Prophet Muhammad from Mecca to Medina in 622 CE, after he learned that another Arab tribe was trying to assassinate him.

Islamic years are calculated from that day, called 1 Muharram, 622 CE. They are followed by the suffix AH, which stands for "After Hijra". Tonight begins 1443 AH.

Agenda:
1. Journal queries
2. Read the Creativity Book

3. Prayers

New Lotus Moon (for Integrity)

The Chinese call the sixth new moon the Lotus Moon. The lotus is the "flower of open-heartedness", an emblem of purity, fruitfulness (because of its many seeds) and creative power. And since lotus leaves protect the goldfish under them (a symbol of prosperity), the lotus also symbolizes abundance year after year. 

Detail from "Connect", acrylic

A lotus flower grows out of the mud, and blossoms above the muddy water surface. Buddhists teach that, like a lotus, we can rise above the suffering and conflicts of life. The Lotus Moon, then, is the natural time to dig into the mud of my life, and seek out the best ways to grow above the fray.

Agenda:

1. Retreat Day

2. Read "It's a Meaningful Life"

3. Choose a month theme

4. Set intentions

5. New moon altar and Lotus Meditation

Make My Dreams Reality

I have a dream of a world where people are an integral part of nature and we show our love and respect with our actions every day; a world where people have a growing awareness of how to change our habits to care for the earth, and a growing and expanding love, to shift us all towards life.

I read the phrase "transformative eco-justice" on a webpage a few months ago, and it has been hanging in my heart: My dream is to live that transformation, and teach about it. 

Agenda:

1. Read "How to Manifest"

2. Write an invocation

3. Starting

Third Quarter Moon of July

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 "Happier at Home"

2. Renewal plan

3. Evaluation House

4. Monthly journal brainstorm

5. Surrender, rest, recuperate

Tanabata

Tanabata is a Japanese summer festival, observed on the evening of July 7th. Tanabata means literally "Evening of the seventh", but it is also known as the Star Festival, because it celebrates the story of two heavenly lovers.

The story goes that Shokujo the Weaver (Vega), and Kengyu the Cowherd (Altair) were two young star people who worked for the gods, making cloth and milking the heavenly cows. They fell so much in love that they forgot to do their chores. The gods became angry when they found they had run out of cloth and milk, and put the two lovers on separate sides of the Milky Way.

The lovers were so sad to be separated that the gods eventually took pity on them and agreed that they could meet once a year on the night of Tanabata, if the sky was clear. It is said that the birds fly up to make a bridge so that the lovers may cross.

Agenda Today:

Wish for Wisdom

1. Shinto prayer
2. Hang paper streamers
3. Make a tanzaku wish
4. Kigan-sai (Wishes Ceremony)
5. Make Hiyashi Somen (Cold Noodles)

The July Garden

July is hot in our valley - hotter than I enjoy. Luckily, most big projects have either been completed or deferred until next year, and the yard is blooming with lots of flowers. It's too late to plant most summer veggies, and too early to start fall crops, so my focus is on garden care - watering, weeding, mulching - and on HARVEST.

Agenda:

1. July harvest

2. July garden care

3. July planting tips

Full Thunder Moon and Asalha Puja

The full moon of July is called ameku, the mid-summer moon, by the Kalapuya of our area, and the thunder moon by others. July days have the humming energy of a summer storm. The sun is at the peak of its power, lighting all corners with its radiance, and burning away all non-essentials. It's a month of passion and activity: I'm challenged to find integrity in my actions and expand into my Truth.

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

Today is also Asalha Puja, a Theravada Buddhist festival that takes place on the full moon of July. Asalha Puja celebrates the Buddha's first sermon, in which he set out the teaching of the four noble truths. The day is observed by donating offerings to temples and listening to sermons.

Agenda: 

1. Take a vision walk

2. Celebrate abundance

3. Read Happier at Home

4. Study the Four Noble Truths

July Sabbath for Creation

The month of July is a golden time of passion and activity. Nature celebrates the peak of its power, the sun reaches her highest point, and I do the same; every day I get to share my light with the world. I put my best and brightest energy into my projects, my garden, and my art. I seek out chances to be courageous, and extend myself beyond what’s comfortable.

The question for July is How do I shine through the clouds?

“Hold the sadness and pain of samsara in your heart and at the same time the power and vision of the Great Eastern Sun. Then the warrior can make a proper cup of tea.”

~ Chogyam Trungpa

Agenda:

1. Keeping the Sabbath

2. All day abundance meditation

3. Read "How to Manifest"

4. Make a vision board

5. Set intentions