Simple Holiday Season

The holiday season is already upon us. I'm making plans for Thanksgiving, preparing for advent, and starting some gift-making.

My top three tips for keeping these next months special are:

• Keep the main thing the main thing: Be clear on my holiday intentions and set priorities each week.
• Focus on savoring experiences like good meals, nature walks, and decorating together.
• Communicate early with everyone involved to confirm  schedules and priorities. 
• Don’t overspend on gifts; instead, make as many as possible and buy used books and toys.

Agenda:

1. Read "The Power of Less"

2. Simple holiday decluttering

3. Simple projects list

4. Practice visualization

1. Read "The Power of Less":

Continuing with this little book by Leo Babauta, who hosts the Zen Habits blog. I bought it because simplifying is a favorite topic of mine, one I long for and keep trying to perfect.

I'm reading to Chapter 15: Declutter Your Workspace. He's writing for people with an office desk, but the principles apply to all my various work spaces.

One benefit of a clear work space is that it allows you to focus on the task at hand, without being distracted by a book sitting in front of you, or a leftover candy wrapper. The other benefit is that it gives you a Zen-like sense of calm. "Too much visual clutter can be stressful, even if you don't realize it." 

I thought about this, and decided to tuck my computer with all its cords behind my monitor, and remove the white board from above my desk, at least temporarily.

2. Simple holiday decluttering:

Last week I set an intention to care for our home with scaled-back and simplified goals, because this is the season of drawing inward to regenerate, and Simple Cleaning is one way I can re-focus my attention on family, creativity, and abundance while still maintaining a well-ordered and peaceful sanctuary for those I love.

Along with simple cleaning comes decluttering. This is a time of year to purge, to give or throw away things I don’t need, give up habits I don’t want, and pare down my activities to make time for introspection. 

Leo Babauta would say to get down to the essentials in each space. My goals this week:

1. Simplify the living room shelf displays so that we can see each important item.
2. Clear out the kid craft cabinet and re-stock with current projects.

3. Simple Projects List:

Last month I initiated Babauta's "Simple Projects List" - with my top three projects only, which I need to finish before starting any others. (A "project" is something that has several steps, and takes only a week or two.)

My simple projects list this week:

1. Sewing: Sew new Owl appliqué and frame Small Forests.
2. Celebrate the season: Thanksgiving tree, bun men, leaf projects, paper whites.
3. Mantra signs: Advertise class and prepare, make new Wild Bee sign
4. Nature culture: Feed birds, wild garden tasks, climate advocacy plans 

4. Practice visualization:

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Every month, at the waxing gibbous moon (my last push for action), I call on the practice of visualization to help me to see the next steps towards bringing my goals to fruition. Today I choose my top three action goals to shine a light on:

1. Being a teacher again

2. Creativity challenge - art and sewing projects

3. Nature culture awareness and action

Creative visualization is a technique that uses my imagination to create change. (Because of my visual and auditory sensitivity, this is the best process for knowing what I'm feeling.) It has these steps:

• First, set an intention: Say, "Today I call on the Spirit of Love to bring me clarity and open my eyes to the next steps toward Being a teacher again."
• Center and relax each part of my body: With each breath, allow my awareness to deepen and become softer. No stress. No rush. I walk or float in an imaginary void. Open a connection to Spirit. Feel a soft warmth begin to grow and spread through me, until I am radiating quiet energy.
• Create a clear, detailed picture in my mind, as though the objective has been reached. Paint a vivid mental image of Being a teacher again, and put as much positive energy into the image as possible. 
• Lastly, affirm that this is what I want with a short positive phrase in the present tense: "Today I will take steps towards Being a teacher again."
• Give thanks and return: Saying thanks out loud is how I acknowledge the reality of the gift of my vision.

The thought-image is like a signal-flare that guides the physical thing or deed to manifest in my life (and it's a good way to keep my intentions in my mind). I will carry the vision of the completed goal with me, and focus on it often during the day, in a gentle manner.