Hungry Ghost Festival

My hungry ghost altar

Tonight is the Hungry Ghost Festival. The ghosts have been wandering the land since the new moon; by now they must be very hungry, so it's a good idea to offer them food.

In China both Taoists and Buddhists perform rituals to soothe the sufferings of the dead. The Taoist name for the Hungry Ghost Festival is the Zhong Yuan Festival, and Buddhists call it the Yulanpen Festival; think of it as a summertime Halloween celebration!

Agenda:
1. Prepare offerings
2. Family feast
3. Hungry ghost ceremony

Full Blue Moon and Raksha Bandhan

Today is the full moon, called the Blue Moon because it is the second full moon in August.

Actually, the original definition of a blue moon is a fourth full moon in one season, but I'm going with the newer definition - the second full moon in a month - because I don't have any better name for this moon. Both are correct, because it's folklore, and folklore is fluid.

In India, this is also the Festival of Raksha Bandhan, which means “knot of protection.” Traditionally, girls tie a braided thread called a rakhi around the wrist of each brother-- a symbol of a sister's love and prayers for her brother's health and happiness, and to remind him of his life-long vow to protect his sister. Now it is also common for girls to trade rakhis with sisters, and with friends.

Agenda for today:

1. Take a vision walk

2. Celebrate depth

3. Make rakhis

4. Send love and prayers

5. Make Kayla Halwa (Banana fudge)

Designing a practice

I need an artistic practice for the end of summer that will give me a creative outlet without too much pressure. I'm full up with expectations and caregiving; I need something that fills my creativity well without much time or energy.

The kind of filling I need is quiet and contemplative, and also short; projects or art tasks I can complete in half an hour or less.  

A day is an abundant portion of time; I can accomplish great things in a day or I can waste the day, whichever I please. And moments in a day are meant to be wasted - if I want to read a book, I should read! If I want to play a game, I should play!

But by the end of each day I want to feel like I did the work of an artist, teacher, activist, and loving human. I want and need to do something meaningful each day, to move closer to my purpose, because if I fall in to a pattern of wasted days, weeks, months, then I will feel unhappy; working on my priorities fills me and frees me.

Agenda:

1. Read the Creativity Book

2. Interesting art task ideas

3. Starting

First Quarter Moon of August

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 August quarter moon's energy to help me to discern my path, and then act on it; this requires clarity.

Agenda Today:

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

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

Finding clarity

Seeking clearness is the last step in a discernment process. Clarity - that feeling that you know what you stand for, you are sure of your objectives, you have set the best intentions, and you understand your next move - is liberating and empowering.

Most of the time we don't wait for clarity; we act on autopilot, or on other's expectations and assurances, or because the situation is urgent. Waiting for clarity seems selfish or exhausting or just impossible. But being clear in your heart that you are on the right path is a wonderful thing to wait for; it's transformative!

Agenda:

1. Discernment

2. Prepare for clarity

3. A clearness meeting

Tending the Land

Tending the land is a problematic phrase for me, as it touches on the concept of stewardship. I have seen stewardship defined as "managing and caring for resources" or "taking care of the things we own and use." In biblical terms, it's defined as "Utilizing and managing all resources God provides" or "managing and utilizing intelligently the gifts that God has given."

This is an important idea when applied to, as our Faith and Practice says, "the right use of gifts given to us - time, ability, money, and our physical selves", but it is not appropriate when applied to nature.

1. On a cultural mandate 

2. Root reading

3. Early Anglo-Saxon preservation

4. Harvest, dry, and braid my onions

5. Unity with Nature

Retreat for the Earth

Today is my new moon retreat day, a chance to spend time alone with my inner guide. 

A retreat (even a short one) needs some definition or it is just a vacation: I want to broaden my inner experience and gain clarity. I need open-mindedness and a little discipline in order to maximize my effort. The most important components to arrange are solitude, silence, and simplicity. I will do less talking, less business, and more personal thought and action. 

My theme today is Depth: What is my Truth, and what are my intentions? I'm seeking clarity for how to proceed on my Earth-Quaker path - what are my next steps? 

Agenda:

1. Root reading

2. Plant beets

3. Depth walk

4. A forest visit

5. Share an Earth circle and a land acknowledgement

New Hungry Ghost Moon

The Chinese call the seventh new moon the Hungry Ghost Moon, or Ghost Gate. This whole month is called Ghost Month, and special ceremonies take place today, and on the full moon, and again on the last day of the month.

This day is called Ghost Gate because today the Hungry Ghosts are let out of hell to roam the earth, looking for entertainment and seeking out their enemies. 

The Hungry Ghosts are depicted with huge, round bellies, large mouths, and very thin necks. They have two manifestations: They appear as the spirits of unhappy, homeless souls, and we also have our inner hungry ghosts. This month I acknowledge my unhealthy cravings and insatiable greeds, that are always hungry and never satisfied, and that haunt me - though I'm so used to feeding them, I don't really notice them anymore.

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 for Today:
1. Journal queries

2. Choose a month theme

3. Set intentions

4. New moon altar

5. Ghost Gate ceremony

6. Retreat Day plans

The August Garden

Permelia is helping me to till.

August is the beginning of the end of summer in our garden. It's still often hot (sometimes very hot), but the days are noticeably shorter. It's time to think about the winter garden.

Agenda:

1. August harvest

2. Make fresh salsa (+ spicy tomato juice)

3. August garden care

4. Prepare for the winter garden

5. Prune my raspberries

Third Quarter Moon of August

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 "How to Manifest"

2. Renewal plan

3. Evaluation House

4. Monthly journal brainstorm

5. Surrender, rest, recuperate

First Harvest Season

It's the start of harvest season, when most gardeners find that they have too much of something. (I've got a bumper crop of cherry tomatoes and yellow squash this year.) Meaningful work of any kind leads to a meaningful harvest, and that leads naturally to sharing the riches.

Agenda:

1. Define my harvest goals 

2. Harvest seeds

3. Prune my plum

4. Make freezer pickles

Summer Art Retreat

Love poem #1

I've called myself an artist for nearly 50 years now, but often my feelings about art are a vortex of chaos, and it's painful and frustrating. Currently, I'm having a struggle with direction, and I'm being pulled in so many ways I'm feeling torn.

This spring and summer I've made a few interesting collage pieces. I stillI don't have a clear idea of next steps, but I trust that light will dawn if I keep faithful to the process. My starting point is the firm belief that art is a healing force in the world.

I've set aside parts of two days to dive in and muck around with art.

Agenda:

1. Read "The Creativity Book"

2. Clean the (metaphorical) refrigerator:

3. Guided meditation

4. Harvest drawings

5. Unity art plan

Lughnasa and Full Red Moon

Lughnasa (loo-na-sa) is a Celtic festival celebrated in early August, usually August 1st. It's called a cross-quarter day because it falls approximately midway between summer solstice and autumn equinox, marking the end of summer in the Celtic tradition, and the beginning of the harvesting season.

Tonight is also the full Moon, called akupiu, the end of summer moon, by the Kalapuya of our area, and the Red moon by others, because it often appears reddish as it rises through the sultry haze of late summer - and in our valley, a sultry haze is the norm! One lovely (possibly Native American) explanation for the redness is that the moon is blushing after being kissed by the sun.

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.

Agenda for today:
1. Take a vision walk
2. Celebrate integrity

3. Take a pause to enjoy the harvest

4. Make bread
5. Paint

6. Nasad (gathering) and candle ceremony

7. Harvest Meal