End of August Wrap Up

This final week of August has been fraught with worry about the health of my family as they navigate Covid, uncertainty about our travel plans, and then full on Covid hibernation in my house.  

Today I settle into the waning moon energy - yin, quiet, internal, heart-driven, intentional Being-ness; I ease off a bit on actively pursuing goals, slow down, go within, and attend to inner work and self-care, and give gentle attention to tying up loose ends.

Agenda:

1. Read Total Chakra Energy Plan

2. Solar plexus chakra practice

3. Tying loose ends

Third Quarter Moon of August

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.

On this last week of August - before the transition time that Labor Day brings -  I will give gentle attention to my art and my garden, and to tying up loose ends.

Agenda:

1. Read "The Creativity Book"

2. Renewal plan

3. Evaluation House

4. Monthly journal brainstorm

5. Do the smallest thing

6. Surrender, rest, recuperate

Late August Garden

Summer deluge from under our canopy

Now, at the end of August, the days are shorter, but still warm. We've had a lull in the heat, and no smoke, so I've been able to be outside regularly, for my 15 minutes of harvesting and puttering in the garden. I'm collecting tomatoes, cucumbers, raspberries, and duck eggs every day, and looking forward to peppers and beans soon. I especially enjoy it when one or the other my grandsons goes with me to pick tomatoes, collect eggs, and look at the sunflowers - it's the best kind of therapy.

Agenda: 

1. August garden tasks

2. August planting

3. Make fresh salsa (+ spicy tomato juice)

Generous Love

Earlier this month I wrote about opening the door to love. I want to practice the habits that allow love to shine in my life: Compassion, respect, patience and equanimity, gratitude, forgiveness, generosity, kindness and care. At the start of the year, I set some goals for growth in this area of my life, and it's time to review them.

Also, I want to start a better set of practices that brings me to love and receptivity every month after the full moon, in the quiet-energy yin time of the waning moon.

Agenda:

1. Love Journal
2. Review and add to love goals
3. Love meditation

4. Monthly receptivity practices

Year of Witness

My theme for this year is Witness, and I started off strong in January with that focus, but my attention has wandered. 

Witness (verb): To have personal or direct cognizance of something important or amazing; to see or experience something oneself, and then to testify, make a statement based on that personal knowledge or belief.

In the Bible, “bearing witness,” is when someone sees something important or amazing, and then begins to share what they’ve seen. Quakers call it testimony - the public witness of an inward faith; the consequence of one’s relationship to God and the outworking of that relationship in one’s life. Friends have always believed that what was most important was how you live your faith in the world.

Today I will review my start-of-year intentions, and see if I need to make a change or a recommittal.

Agenda:

1. Review Witness intentions

2. Witness ideas for fall

3. Tiny steps for art as witness

4. Recharge my talisman

Full Red Moon and Raksha Bandhan

Tonight is 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.

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)

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

Sabbath for Depth

Today is my Sabbath. In the best world, everyone would have one whole day each week to spend as we want; to stay in bed, read a good book, take a slow walk or do a crossword; one whole day to do no work, run no errands, send no emails, and clean no toilets! And why don't we? Mostly because we don't make it a priority.

A sabbath day was originally a day of renewal, and rest from work, kept on Saturday by the Jews and Sunday by most Christians. And, of course, when religious people got involved, the day got bound up with "shall and shall nots". Keeping the day holy became a lot of work, and people were arrested if they didn't do it right; enforced rest is not usually very relaxing or renewing! 

In the modern world we have swung the pendulum too far the other way, escaping religious rules and adopting the rules of progress, where no day is holy - only the dollar.

My theme today is Depth: What is my Truth, and what are my intentions? What are my next steps? 

Sabbath Agenda:

1. Simple sabbath plans

2. Read "The Creativity Book"

3. Plant beets

4. Depth walk

Transformative Habits

I've been reviewing some of the transformative habits I've developed over the years. Last week I wrote about the journal-brainstorm process, and a vision walk, which are steps in discernment. Today I'll write a bit more about discernment, and some of the steps after discernment.

Agenda:

I. Read PowerHunch

2. Visualization

3. Review intentions

4. Morning ritual

First Quarter Moon of August

The first quarter moon is today; 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 dive deeper into my Truth and then act on it; this requires some open-mindedness, and a reliable connection to my inner guide.

Some people call it intuition, or a gut feeling. You might experience it as butterflies, or tingling on the back of the neck, or as a flash that takes the breath away. Others feel it in their heart; and some might call it a guiding voice, or leading of the spirit. It's that flash of insight, or creative impulse, or sudden clarity you get when you've been working out a problem; or it might be a leading or itch to act on something you never thought of before. It's sometimes quiet and subtle, and sometimes loud and clear.

And when your Inner Guide speaks to you with a message that seems foreign to how you normally think (maybe a rush of new hopefulness, or an urging to action), then it's hard to not credit it to a something outside yourself.

Who's to say?

Agenda Today:

1. Journal queries
2. Go on a vision walk

3. Make a full effort plan

August Deep Dive

My theme this month is Depth - following the deep water flowing within, cutting a natural path, the true course of my life. 

I've developed many tools and practices for this process, and this month I'll take an analytical look at how I'm doing. Am I still on the right path and are my tools in good order?

Agenda:

1. Read Total Chakra Energy Plan

2. Solar plexus chakra practice

3. Review transformative habits

4. Deep clearing the kitchen

Open the Door to Love

Our main purpose on earth is to grow in love; our world needs more love. With more love, we could do away with war- we would have no prejudice, oppression, or violence of any kind. Everyone would have enough food because we would feed each other. We would care for the environment because we love our planet, and the animals, and our children too much to harm it.

How, then, do we create more love in the world? We simply need to open our hearts wide as often as we can, wider and wider, calmly throw open the door to love. 

If you have a leading to act in love, and you have gone through all the stages of discernment, you might be clear on your next steps. That's where we are often stuck, though - we might hear the Truth, but still have doubts about its absoluteness; we might hear the Truth and see our path forward but struggle against apathy, or mind-numbing fear.

Ed Bacon says, “But however Truth comes, it bears with it just enough of its own sense of rightness to overcome the fear of risk taking. While genuine risk plays a crucial role in all of the Habits of Love, it is perhaps most keen in the Habit of Truth. At too many forks in the road, anxiety stops us from following Truth's suggested direction. What will happen if I say yes to Truth as I recognize it? That question can arrest us in our tracks."

Whatever your biggest mission is now - personal growth, healing, service, relationship revival, activism, or something else - you need to find the strength to open the door. This is your growing edge: To accept that you will be carried beyond yourself; to accept that you will find the strength and creativity to take the risk, walk your path, and speak your message out loud.

Agenda:
1. Read the Creativity Book
2. Have a chat with myself

3. Open doors one at a time

4. Do the smallest thing

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

Early August Garden

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. Freezing and roasting onions

3. August garden tasks

4. Prepare for the winter garden

5. August planting

6. Prune my raspberries

Luhgnasa

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.

The name Lughnasa comes from Lugh, the Celtic God of harvests, crafts, and the lightening flash, and nasad, which was an assembly or gathering. The Lughnasad was a gathering to honor and appease Lugh, so he would hopefully not throw a summer storm temper-tantrum, and ruin the harvest.

Agenda Today:

1. Journal Queries
2. Make gingerbread

3. Sewing project

4. Take a pause to enjoy the season

6. Nasad (gathering)