Return to Ease

As I've said, this summer has been "busy". I am feeling stressed by the nagging sensation that I am behind on responsibilities, and also the feeling that I'm not taking time to enjoy summer days. 

Monday is my day to reset for the week and get my ducks in a row - make some plans for health and home, and prepare for Grandson fun and for a return to ease.

Agenda:
1. Read "The Sweet Spot"

2. Plan for summer ease

3. Big outdoor building projects

Step into Nature

I have a love of nature on a very local level - I do not desire to drive to the woods every weekend. That said, I would like to return to some habits of walking and biking to local natural areas - we do have some great ones - and also having an occasional adventure in the woods or at the ocean.

Agenda:

1. Practice a Reverent Way of Being

2. Read "Step into Nature"

3. Plan some adventures

New Lotus Moon (for Integrity)

It's a Chinese leap month, so a repeat of the sixth new moon, know as the Lotus Moon. The lotus is the "flower of open-heartedness", an emblem of purity, fruitfulness (because of its many seeds) and creative power. And since lotus leaves protect the goldfish under them (a symbol of prosperity), the lotus also symbolizes abundance year after year. 

Detail from "Connect", acrylic

A lotus flower grows out of the mud, and blossoms above the muddy water surface. Buddhists teach that, like a lotus, we can rise above the suffering and conflicts of life. The Lotus Moon, then, is the natural time to dig into the mud of my life, and seek out the best ways to grow above the fray.

Agenda:

1. Retreat Day

2. Read "Creativity Takes Courage"

2. Choose a month theme

3. Set intentions

Summer Playing

I hope to have some good fun this week with family and friends - that's what summer is for: Playing in the pool, the garden, and with art.

Monday is my day to reset for the week and get my ducks in a row - make some plans for health and home, and prepare for Grandson fun.

Agenda:
1. Read "The Sweet Spot"

2. Playtime plans

3. Big outdoor building project

Saturday Creativity

Today I'm circling back to think about my creative projects. I'm working on a nice variety of artwork right now: Drawing motifs from nature for my book, sewing a Coat of Many Earth Colors, making butterfly hangers with my grandson, and stenciling earth posters to give away.

Agenda:
1. Read "Creativity Takes Courage"
2. Evaluate my creativity habits

3. Do the smallest thing

Third Quarter Moon of July

Today is the third Quarter moon. This waning third quarter 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, renewal, and self-care. This isn’t a moment for starting new projects but for finishing up old ones, making peace with the past, and preparing for a fresh start at the next new moon.

Agenda Today:

1. 

Read 

"Brainstorm"

2. 

Review my passion plan

3. Five days of passion

4. Meditation and Evaluation Journal

5. Monthly journal brainstorm

Generous Reciprocity

Lorquin's Admiral

I've had a few conversations lately about how out of synch I feel with my friends and peers; it's to do with simplicity and convenience, and people's general willingness to bend integrity to make life easier. This is not a new sensation, but as the situation becomes more urgent, the gap feels like it's widening.

 
Life is hard, no doubt about it, and the powers that be keep it that way so we have less time to think about more important things like exploitation of the earth. I'm sure I'm over-simplifying, but the economic attacks on the poor and middle classes seem like a blatant ploy to undermine environmentalists. Who can care about forests and butterflies when their healthcare and children's lunches are at risk? Who has the money or time to reduce plastics and shop organic when they are worried about the losing free speech and reproductive rights?

The urgent issues of the day obfuscate the all-time importance of protecting our planet, but pointing this out is not useful or effective. So how do we create an opening for a deeper commitment to a life lived in unity and integrity with the earth?

Agenda:

1. Love meditation

2. Proaction plans

Natural Rhythm

I'm seeking a natural rhythm for my day, one that flows with the season and my energy levels, and also touches on all of my important projects and roles; I want to figure out how to find the sweet spot, where I'm engaged and challenged, but not stressed out - part of my (Slow) Passion Project, to involve myself wholeheartedly with my priorities and stretch beyond the way I’ve always done things. 

Monday is my day to reset for the week and get my ducks in a row - make some plans for health and home, and prepare for Grandson fun.

Agenda:
1. Love Meditation

2. Read "The Sweet Spot"
3. Natural living

4. Shibashi
5. Big outdoor building projects

Sabbath for Excitement

Today is my Sabbath. Sabbath in the summer is more fluid and high-energy - I'm in the middle of (virtual) Annual Session, and preparing for a visit from family and a trip to the Country Faire - exciting! I will find peace within the bustle of the day.

Sabbath Agenda:

1. Love Meditation

2. Simple sabbath plans

3. Read "Creativity Takes Courage"
4. Evaluate my creativity habits

July Garden

July is hot in our valley - hotter than I enjoy. We are experiencing 100+º weather for the next week (which is nothing compared to other parts of the world but more than we are generally used to.)

Luckily, we still have cool mornings. Most big garden projects have been completed, the yard is blooming with lots of flowers, and we have dragonflies, a few butterflies, and all sizes of bees. It's too late to plant most summer veggies, and too early to start fall crops, so my focus is on garden care - watering, weeding, mulching - and on HARVEST.

Agenda:

1. July harvest

2. July tasks

3. Drying peas

4. July planting tips

Full Thunder Moon

The full moon of July is called ameku, the mid-summer moon, by the Kalapuya of our area, and the thunder moon by others. July days have the humming energy of a summer storm. It's a month of passion and activity: I'm challenged to find integrity in my actions and expand into my Truth.

The sun is at the peak of its power, lighting all corners with its radiance, and burning away all non-essentials. 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: 

1. Take a vision walk

2. Read Brainstorm
3. Clarify my passion plan
4. Four days of passion

4. Celebrate slow passion and courage

Full and Fun Life

When people ask how my summer is going, I say "busy".  It's true I've got a lot going on - I'm clerking, and planning events, and writing a book, and caring for my grandsons, AND we have a large home project under way.

But all of that stuff fits into my waking hours with a some kind of ease and flow. The busy-ness I sense is an illusion: I have lots of free time for chatting and playing games. And any tasks I don't complete will roll over to the next week of summer with no major consequences.

I'de like to ban the word busy from my vocabulary and replace it with "full and fun". 

Agenda: 

1. Read "Present Moment Awareness"

2. Ponder use of my time

3. Shibashi

Tanabata

Tanabata is a Japanese summer festival, observed on the evening of July 7th. Tanabata means literally "Evening of the seventh", but it is also known as the Star Festival, because it celebrates the story of two heavenly lovers.

The story goes that Shokujo the Weaver (Vega), and Kengyu the Cowherd (Altair) were two young star people who worked for the gods, making cloth and milking the heavenly cows. They fell so much in love that they forgot to do their chores. The gods became angry when they found they had run out of cloth and milk, and put the two lovers on separate sides of the Milky Way.

The lovers were so sad to be separated that the gods eventually took pity on them and agreed that they could meet once a year on the night of Tanabata, if the sky was clear. It is said that the birds fly up to make a bridge so that the lovers may cross.

Agenda Today:

Wish for Wisdom

1. Shinto prayer

2. Read "Shinto Meditations"
3. Hang paper streamers
4. Make a tanzaku wish
5. Kigan-sai (Wishes Ceremony)
6. Make Hiyashi Somen (Cold Noodles)

Reset Monday

Monday is my day to reset for the week and get my ducks in a row - make some plans for health and home, and prepare for Grandson fun.

Because I'm working on a Slow Passion Project, to involve myself wholeheartedly with my priorities and stretch beyond the way I’ve always done things, I also want to figure out how to find the sweet spot, where I'm engaged and challenged, but not stressed out.

Agenda:
1. Read "The Sweet Spot"
2. Natural living

3. Shibashi
4. Big outdoor building projects

Be a Creative Force for Nature

Many years ago I set the intention to “be a creative force for nature” - I didn’t coin the phrase but it has been a powerful mantra for me. It means to use all your creative skills:

• To give a voice to nature. 
• To inspire empathy and critical action for nature.
• For education, to help to shift the paradigm.

The Wild Voices Collective is a group of artists with that same mission. I am inspired by their artwork. But creativity takes many, many forms. We each need to seek and find our personal way to be a force for nature. 

Agenda:
1. Read "Creativity Takes Courage"
2. Simple project list
3. Do the smallest thing

July Day for Commitment

The month of July is a golden time of passion and activity. Nature celebrates the peak of its power, the sun reaches her highest point, and I do the same; every day I get to share my light with the world. I put my best and brightest energy into my projects, my garden, and my art. I seek out chances to be courageous, and extend myself beyond what’s comfortable.

The question for July is How do I shine through the clouds?

“Hold the sadness and pain of samsara in your heart and at the same time the power and vision of the Great Eastern Sun. Then the warrior can make a proper cup of tea.”

~ Chogyam Trungpa

Agenda:

1. Read "The Serviceberry"

2. Vow practice

3. Visualization

Week of Passion

On Sunday I began my Slow Passion Project, an extension of my Flow Project. I've been working to SLOW DOWN and GO WITH the FLOW, and this month I'm adding INVOLVE MY WHOLE SELF.

The parts of passion are drive, commitment, concentration, clarity, and flow.

Agenda:

1. Read "Brainstorm"

2. Clarify my passion plan
3. Four days of passion

First Quarter Moon of Early July

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 early July quarter moon's energy to take the first steps toward my dreams. 

Agenda Today:

1. Read "Creativity Takes Courage"

2. Journal queries
3. Make a full effort plan

4. Proaction

5. Reciprocity plans

Find the Sweet Spot

Monday is my day to reset for the week and get my ducks in a row - make some plans for health and home, and prepare for Grandson fun.

Because I'm working on a Slow Passion Project, to involve myself wholeheartedly with my priorities and stretch beyond the way I’ve always done things, I also want to figure out how to find the sweet spot, where I'm engaged and challenged, but not stressed out.

Agenda:
1. Read "The Sweet Spot"
2. Honor my breaks
3. Big outdoor building projects
4. Make a magical smudging bundle

5. Harvest raspberries and mulch

Maidyoshahem

The Zoroastrian community honors the six seasons of the year by celebrating six Gahambars; the word gahambar means "proper season". Each of these six festivals is celebrated for five days, and each honors one of the six material creations: The heaven, water, earth, flora, fauna and man.

Maidyoshahem (may-eed-YO-sha-hem) is the second Gahambar, the Midsummer Rain feast, and it takes place each year from June 29 to July 3. This Gahambar celebrates the creation of water on our earth, and the last day is called Tirgan (pronounced Teer-gone), in honor of Tir, the angel of rain. Iranians celebrate Tirgan with dancing, singing, and by swimming and splashing water on each other.

Agenda this week:
1. Recite a Prayer
2. Read "Everyday Simplicity"

3. Teamwork plans

4. Make a Persian Salad
5. Phenology journal

Sabbath for Slow Passion

Today I'm beginning my Slow Passion Project, an extension of my Flow Project. I've been working to SLOW DOWN and GO WITH the FLOW, and this month I'm adding INVOLVE MY WHOLE SELF.

Agenda:

1. Read "Brainstorm"

2. Transform my world intentions

3. Simple project list

4. Do the smallest thing

Friday

It's Friday, with a bit of a break in people time. I have a couple social commitments today, but they are one-on-one and mellow, amidst a week filled with clerking, family gatherings, and a memorial. Today I get to take time in the garden and with my writing and artwork, to sooth my nerves.

Agenda:

1. Read "First Things First"

2. Vision and goals

New Lotus Moon

The sixth new moon is know as the Lotus Moon by the Chinese. The lotus is the "flower of open-heartedness", an emblem of purity, fruitfulness (because of its many seeds) and creative power. And since lotus leaves protect the goldfish under them (a symbol of prosperity), the lotus also symbolizes abundance year after year.

Detail from "Connect", acrylic

A lotus flower grows out of the mud, and blossoms above the muddy water surface. Buddhists teach that, like a lotus, we can rise above the suffering and conflicts of life. The Lotus Moon, then, is the natural time to dig into the mud of my life, and seek out the best ways to grow above the fray.

Agenda:

1. Read "Creativity Takes Courage"

2. Choose a month theme

3. Set intentions

Reset

Monday is my day to reset for the week. I will get my ducks in a row - make some plans for health and home, and prepare for Grandson fun.  

Agenda:
1. Read "5 Resets"
2. Live a Lifetime in a Day plan
3. Care for the kitchen
4. Kid Camp Preparations

Retreat Day

Colomia bud

The new moon comes mid-week, and, historically, this is when women took time to be alone; it's a time to retreat, set intentions, and initiate something new.

If at all possible, I schedule a day of retreat near to the new moon, and so today I will take time to write, and to be quiet in my garden.

Agenda
1. Read "Everyday Simplicity"
2. Teamwork plans

3. Design a card

Sabbath for Letting Go

Summer is a good time to practice letting go - of structure, judgements, caution, and perfection. This season, more than any other, requires space for spontaneity and time for just being. My theme this month is balance - the stability of a grounded body and a clear mind, along with equanimity of heart. When I practice balance I am better able to let go of the bank, and dive into the flow of life.

Today I have set aside some time to just be with my art project ideas and let them expand.

Agenda:

1. Read the Creativity Book

2. Brainstorm for creativity and courage

3. Set an intention for summer creativity

4. Simple project list

5. Do the smallest thing

Summer Solstice

The season is turning. Today the sun exerts its maximum energy on our part of the earth; the powers of outward expression are at their greatest, and the powers of inner contemplation are at their lowest.

And of course, just as we reach the point of maximum yang energy, yin energy is reborn and begins to gain strength: The next days will each be a little shorter again, until the winter solstice in December.

Agenda:

1. Make a New Solar Disk

2. Harvest herbs

3. Make Kanelbuller (Swedish Cinnamon buns)

4. Make flower crowns

5. Build a Solstice Fire

Third Quarter Moon of June

Today is the third Quarter moon. This waning third quarter 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, renewal, and self-care. This isn’t a moment for starting new projects but for finishing up old ones, making peace with the past, and preparing for a fresh start at the next new moon. 

Agenda Today:

1. 

Read 

"5 Resets"

2. 

Renewal plan

3. Meditation and Evaluation Journal

4. Ritual for Release and Realignment 

5. Monthly journal brainstorm

Prepare for the Solstice

The Solstice is less than a week away, and my habit is to have a week of summer fun to welcome the start of this amazing season.

Summer is the wonderful time when we get to slow down, sleep in, play with friends, go swimming, bask in the sun, eat ice cream, stay up after dark... let’s face it; all the best stuff happens in the summer! No matter how old you are, summer is a time to slow your pace and savor the fun and freedom. The shift from spring to summer is worth noticing!

Agenda: 

1. Love meditation

2. Practice a Reverent Way of Being

3. Read "A Book That Takes It's Time"

4. Plan a fun build-up to summer

5. Make Sima

6. Care for the bedrooms

Sabbath for Being Balm

My sabbath is a busy one, with lots of being in community. I intend to carry a quiet presence with me all day, that will be a balm for the anxious souls around me.  

Agenda:

1. Read "Everyday Simplicity":
2. Love meditation
3. Gratitude list
4. Simple projects list

Part 3: Passion

I'm continuing my big project to transform my life towards hope, resilience, and flow, because these will allow me to be a wise, flexible, creative, and positive leader for my family, community, and for the earth. 

The last part of the project (that I haven't touched on yet) is to be passionate and brave - let go of caution and involve myself wholeheartedly with what I love. Stretch beyond the way I’ve always done things.

Agenda:

1. Love Meditation

2. Read "First Things First"

3. Creative visioning

4. Make an inspirational postcard

Full Strawberry Moon

Photo by Alan Gillespie

Tonight is the full moon called anishnalya, the "camas ripe" moon by the Kalapuya of our area, and the Strawberry Moon by others.

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:

1. Take a vision walk

2. Celebrate balance

Gratitude and Mindfulness

Will gratitude work for me? Today I'm trying to parse the resistance I have to gratitude: It feels too easy, too superficial. How can it be the fix all it's said to be? Also, it's boring - I am grateful for my house and my grandchildren, yada yada yada. Also, it feels like a  form of denial, of minimizing my true experiences and feelings, and all the terrible shit going on around me.

Sile Walsh says, "Positivity can be as destructive to authenticity as can depression, they are both extremes that pull us from our own balance, our own grey areas, our process of being in life fully. They both have a way of coloring life in a certain light, a light we can tolerate. ... Be grateful for what you do have, seek comfort in knowing that life isn’t always the way we want — for any of us. ... appreciate the crap for what it is — crap. “Right now is crap. Can we be grateful for the reality established between us?

The dark side of gratitude is that it sounds great and can be easily misused. Mind yourself, mind your heart, mind your emotions, they hold the key to the balance we all seek.”

Agenda Today:

1. Gratitude list

2. 

Read 

"Mindfulness-Based Emotional Balance Workbook"

3. Mindful Thinking journal