April First Quarter moon and Navratri, Part Three

Camus by Alan Gillespie

Tonight is the First Quarter Moon; we are one-quarter of the way through the moon cycle. The moon is waxing - getting larger - until it's full again. Now is the time to remain flexible, use my obstacles as fuel for growth, and show full effort for priorities.

And Navratri continues for the final three nights. The nine nights of Navratri are broken up into sets of three, and during each a different aspect of Shakti is meditated upon. For these final three nights we honor and thank the Divine Mother as Saraswati, who is "the essence of self". Saraswati’s wisdom and knowledge leads to enlightenment, happiness, and peace.

Agenda Today:

1. Morning meditation and mantra

2. Read Writing and Being

3. Writing a photo

4. Journal queries

5. Make a full effort plan

1. Morning meditation and mantra:
During Navratri, Hindus work on their vyavhaar (behaviour) and acharan (character). For these last three days I honor the intuitive aspect of the Mother.

Saraswati is dressed in white, holds a scroll and plays music on a veena. She is called the Flowing-One because she comes from the river, and offers the gift of fluidity in speech and thought. She is the embodiment of the knowledge of Truth and spiritual wisdom. Saraswati shines with the pure light and uplifting energy of sattwa.

On my path I pass through the stages that everyone has to pass through - one naturally leads to the next. As I eliminate an undesirable quality, I develop the virtue opposite to it. Each time I succeed in developing and strengthening my good qualities, I am ready to receive another bit of the Light, moving towards enlightenment - that's what the nine days of Navratri are all about.

On each morning of Navratri I light a small white candle. For these last three mornings I meditate on my inner wisdom, and the new light and understanding I have received this season.

I picture this Mother spirit sitting on the blossom of my heart, sprinkling me with cleansing waters, and shining the light of wisdom, peace, and Truth.

I continue to focus on my image of Saraswati and chant- 

• Om - the primordial sound 
• Aim - from which knowledge and powers of speech emanate 
• Sa-ra-swath-yai - goddess of wisdom 
• Na-ma-ha - I pray.

(You might want to chant along with someone who knows how. Many YouTube versions exist, and my favorite is here.)

1. Read Writing and Being:

I'm reading from a book that has been sitting my shelf for a few years, "Writing and Being: Embracing Your Life Through Creative Journaling," by G. Lynn Nelson (2004).

I'm on chapter four: Letting Go. "To enter the river of our writing and being, we need to shed the certainty and the arrogance and the hubris of our hard-eyed training. ... This is why we do this journal writing - taking life out of boxes, letting go of judgment, taking back wonder, and, in the process, rediscovering our distinctly human sensitivity and letting it be our guide."

The chapter is about leaving the judgement out of our writing; to write about our feelings and memories with openness and wonder, and no evaluation. "Approaching the world and our words in this way, we find that as we say what we see (that is, as we observe and write in our journals), we come to see more. ... saying and seeing, spiraling out of boredom and into wonder."

The instructions are to avoid any absolute statements or generalizations, and just describe how things look right now, and how you feel; use words delicately and gently, tentatively, speculatively, wonderingly. Ask yourself questions.

2. Write a word photo:

One journal exploration for chapter four is to use words as a photographer uses a camera; become alert to the visual, and see a potential picture everywhere. Allow the little things in life to blossom into meaning and beauty.

1. Take a moment to center and breathe, then go back through the day in your mind looking for small moments like photos - deceptively simple images.
2. As you write, keep the words grounded in your five senses, without trying to "explain". Look at it from all angles and move around it with your words. Play with metaphors and write everything.
3. Then go back and pare it down to a few strong words - get to the heart of it, tighten and focus it. 

A photo of a sad child

He is uprooted from his expectations of a quiet day at home, and thrust out into the rain with well-meaning relatives. We tell him he will have fun, but he is separated from is mommy and feels bereft: "I want my Mommy. I want to go home." And I reply, "Yes sweetheart. I know you are sad - but we are going to the Market first, then we will go back home to see Mommy." He repeats his mantra and I repeat mine. 

The rain gets heavier. He clings to my hand, walks just in front of my knees, and slows to a stop, and I side-step him and keep going, so he runs in front of me again, over and over, block after wet block. I have to try not to laugh at the dogged persistence of his whimpers. Where does my laughter come from? I recognize his feeling of powerlessness, of yearning and clinging to his desire. I want to go home, too. We are both a little miserable, but I cherish the feeling of his hand in mine, and the bittersweet need to comfort. 

Nothing distracts him from his sadness: Not the soccer players in the wet field, or the completely splashable puddles, or the wheelbarrow filled with white flowers. I use reassurance and bribery: "We are almost there, and you can buy anything you like. Do you want an ice cream sandwich?" 

"I don't want to go to the Market. I want my Mommy. I want to go home."

We arrive finally, and the mantra quiets. He looks around at the other people at the tables, at the baby in the stroller, and the rows of food on the shelves. He sheds his angst like a wet coat, and begins to enjoy the day. 

3. Journal queries:

Today, at the first quarter moon, I prepare to give full effort to my priorities. My theme this month is joy, which requires me to live with a wide-open, unbiased attitude of appreciation for life.

I remember that for each opportunity in life there is a challenge. The challenge to joy is limitation; if I feel restricted in any way, I cannot be truly joyful. I will practice opening doors and stepping through.

Which of my priorities am I having the most trouble acting on this month?

What do I need (tools, information, allies) in order to best practice the habits of joy (contentment, creativity, playfulness, curiosity, and humor)?

What do I need to do or learn in order to express myself fully?

 

From my journal: I'm feeling calmer and more grounded than I was last month, and I have more energy. I'm quite hopeful that I will be able to meet the challenges of my priorities this month. I do want to take some daily time to open the door to curiosity, creativity, and joy.

4. Make a full effort plan: 

Full effort requires attention: You remember your intentions - what it is you want to do and your deepest reasons why - and also notice your emotions, energy, challenges, etc.

Today I will make a full effort plan to create a Daily Dose of Joy:

1. Name some key opportunities, when I might experience joy today.

2. For each moment, brainstorm the doors I might open to curiosity, wonder, playfulness, and creativity, and define a first step to take.

3. In the moment, open my appetite, my senses, my mind, and my heart to be moved and inspired by the wonder and joy of life.

 

Ideas: 

• Relax in the garden and plant one plant or seed. 
• Create something, artwork, or sewing, or …
• Move my body; dance, run, blow bubbles... 
• Laugh 30 times a day; seek out laughter situations, laugh at myself, and hang out with people who laugh....

 

5: Write a Mission Haiku:

My missions are my various big projects or directions in life. Today I'm going to look at the habits of joy (contentment, creativity, playfulness, curiosity, and humor) because when I remember these habits EVERYthing goes better. 

I'll write it as a haiku, because a poem has a unique ability of getting to the core of a Truth. Here's the steps I use:

1. Write a brief, evocative sentence or two describing this top mission in my life, and the significant issues that surround it:

The habits of joy require attention to the present, mental flexibility, love and equanimity. It helps to remember and write about joy each morning.

 

2. List the most exciting or pleasing verbs that describe what I want to do with this mission:

Remember my desires, feast and celebrate, play, create, laugh, dance

 

3. Next, list some core values that go with this mission:

Love, Equanimity, Creativity, Celebration and Play

4. Turn these sentences, verbs, and values into a haiku, an unrhymed poetic form consisting of 17 syllables arranged in three lines of 5, 7, and 5 syllables respectively (or a Cinquain, which is five lines, with 2, 4, 6, 8, and 2 syllables), that gets to the core of my mission, and gives me a framework for my actions.

Surrender to joy;

celebrate the sun and earth;

play, laugh, plant a seed.