The Winter Solstice is approaching, and the start of winter. This an occasion to honor the sun, and remember that in spite of our technology, we are still dependent on the sun for life.
Our world does revolve around the sun!
Agenda today:
1. Love meditation
2. Read a Novena
3. Read "Active Hope"
4. Say a prayer of aspiration
5. Paint a plum tree calendar
6. Piñata Party
1. Love meditation:
This fall I began a 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 gibbous moon.I practice this Love Meditation for a few days each month to help open a door to bodhichitta - a completely open heart and mind
.
- 1 minute - Relax your body, and focus on the tender emotion of generous love. Allow a smile to settle on your face and in your heart.
- 1 minute - Visualize love as soft, tingly, warm, pink light, and see it move from your heart to every part of your body so that every cell is glowing and vibrating.
- 1 minute - Now see the pink light of love radiating to fill the whole room, then the whole city, and the whole planet earth.
- 1 minute - See that all people, plants, and animals feel warm and happy.
- 1 minute - Send an extra dose of love light to those people you want to have a better connection to.
On this second day, I end by feeling and expressing gratitude - send a prayer to the universe of thanksgiving for all I have in my life. When I remember to feel grateful for my blessings, my days take on a different tone: I have more vigor, optimism, compassion, and peace. By noticing how I am blessed, my impatience decreases and I realize how satisfied and fulfilled I really am.
2. Read a novena:
I'v been reading this Creation Novena from the Indian Catholic Matters site:Day 4: A Prayer for the Land:
Creator God, we give thanks for the land. Thank You for the confidence and comfort we feel from the earth beneath bare feet. Thank You for the earth that sustains us, as it is the home of the plants and animals from which we draw sustenance. Thank You for the many uses of minerals in our lives—uses that shelter us, heal us, and connect us.
Creator God, we give thanks for the land. Thank You for the confidence and comfort we feel from the earth beneath bare feet. Thank You for the earth that sustains us, as it is the home of the plants and animals from which we draw sustenance. Thank You for the many uses of minerals in our lives—uses that shelter us, heal us, and connect us.
As we mine Your Earth beyond its capacity, as mountains are carved to nothing and rich soil turns to dust, give us a sense of measure. Help us see when we’ve gone far enough—when we’ve taken enough. As we anticipate Jesus’ birth, help us find a new direction.
We ask this through Christ, our Lord. Amen.
3. Read "Active Hope":
I think this might end up being my book of the year: "Active Hope - How to Face the Mess We're in without Going Crazy", by Joanna Macy and Chris Johnstone (2012). "Our approach is to see this as the starting point of an amazing journey that strengthens us and deepens our aliveness. The purpose of this journey is to find, offer, and receive the gift of Active Hope."
I'm still reading the introduction, which goes on to describe "Three Stories of Our Time": One is the mainstream view that economic growth is essential and we don't need to change our ways; one is the story of the Great Unraveling and collapse of the ecological and social systems; and the third is about a new and creative responses and a transition to a life-sustaining society committed to healing and recovery.
She calls this the story of the Great Turning, and the "central plot is finding and offering our gift of Active Hope." The rest of the book describes the "Work That Reconnects", which involves 4 stages: Coming from Gratitude, Honoring Our Pain for the World, Seeing with new Eyes, and Going Forth. But it's actually a spiral that we go through over and over and get stronger each time.
4. Say a prayer of aspiration:
The Chinese celebration of the winter solstice is called Dong Zhi, meaning "Arrival Of Winter". The Chinese have a great feast on Dong Zhi; everyone wears new clothes, and visits their families with gifts.
The Dong Zhi Festival is a time of hope, optimism, and thanksgiving for a successful harvest, the fertility of the land, and the reunion of the family. Many people offer incense on the morning of Dong Zhi, and prayers of thanksgiving to Heaven and Earth, the household gods, and to the spirits of the ancestors. People also pray for safety and prosperity in the coming year.
Buddhists have a very long powerful prayer of aspiration for the solstice.
I'm still reading the introduction, which goes on to describe "Three Stories of Our Time": One is the mainstream view that economic growth is essential and we don't need to change our ways; one is the story of the Great Unraveling and collapse of the ecological and social systems; and the third is about a new and creative responses and a transition to a life-sustaining society committed to healing and recovery.
She calls this the story of the Great Turning, and the "central plot is finding and offering our gift of Active Hope." The rest of the book describes the "Work That Reconnects", which involves 4 stages: Coming from Gratitude, Honoring Our Pain for the World, Seeing with new Eyes, and Going Forth. But it's actually a spiral that we go through over and over and get stronger each time.
The Chinese celebration of the winter solstice is called Dong Zhi, meaning "Arrival Of Winter". The Chinese have a great feast on Dong Zhi; everyone wears new clothes, and visits their families with gifts.
The Dong Zhi Festival is a time of hope, optimism, and thanksgiving for a successful harvest, the fertility of the land, and the reunion of the family. Many people offer incense on the morning of Dong Zhi, and prayers of thanksgiving to Heaven and Earth, the household gods, and to the spirits of the ancestors. People also pray for safety and prosperity in the coming year.
My prayer today: I offer my grateful thanks for life, my family and friends, this bountiful and beautiful planet, and for the people who are working daily to make the world a better, more loving place. May I grow to be ever more open to the Light of God; may I be rooted and grounded in Love, Peace, and Grace.
4. Paint a plum tree calendar:
Funny looking plum tree!
The feminine yin qualities of darkness and cold are most powerful at this time of year, but the solstice is the turning point, giving way gradually to the masculine yang of light and fire.
In China, the number nine is linked with winter because odd numbers are yang, and nine is the largest odd number. Nine represents infinity and extremes. Winter is divided into nine periods, each nine days long, totaling 81 days.
The Winter Solstice is the beginning of the first nine-day period. The weather should improve a bit every nine-days, and at the end of the ninth period, spring comes!
Before the Winter Solstice, people in China sometimes paint a plum tree with 81 white flowers. The plum blossom symbolizes longevity, hope, courage, and the promise of spring.
See here instructions.
5. Piñata party!Today we will have our long-anticipated party to break the piñata. It's supposed to be dry, so I will hang the piñata over the clothesline and provide a stout stick.
4. Paint a plum tree calendar:
 |
| Funny looking plum tree! |
The feminine yin qualities of darkness and cold are most powerful at this time of year, but the solstice is the turning point, giving way gradually to the masculine yang of light and fire.
In China, the number nine is linked with winter because odd numbers are yang, and nine is the largest odd number. Nine represents infinity and extremes. Winter is divided into nine periods, each nine days long, totaling 81 days.
The Winter Solstice is the beginning of the first nine-day period. The weather should improve a bit every nine-days, and at the end of the ninth period, spring comes!
In China, the number nine is linked with winter because odd numbers are yang, and nine is the largest odd number. Nine represents infinity and extremes. Winter is divided into nine periods, each nine days long, totaling 81 days.
The Winter Solstice is the beginning of the first nine-day period. The weather should improve a bit every nine-days, and at the end of the ninth period, spring comes!
Before the Winter Solstice, people in China sometimes paint a plum tree with 81 white flowers. The plum blossom symbolizes longevity, hope, courage, and the promise of spring.
See here instructions.
5. Piñata party!
Today we will have our long-anticipated party to break the piñata. It's supposed to be dry, so I will hang the piñata over the clothesline and provide a stout stick.
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