Full Snow Moon and Lantern Festival

Tonight is the full moon called the Snow Moon; also called the Atchiulartadsh, or "Out of Food" moon by the local Kalapuya.

We've not had any real snow this month, and we are not out of food, but it is a lean time: Lean on light, barren garden beds, and low on energy.

Tonight is also Yuan Xiao, the 15th and last day of the Chinese New Year Festival. Yuan Xiao means "first night", meaning the first time that the full moon is seen in the New Year. 

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. The February full moon is a good time to explore what it's like to be the receptive earth, accepting the seed and willing to nurture it. 

Agenda for today:

1. Vision walk

2. Celebrate receptivity

3. Read "Mindfulness-Based Emotional Balance Workbook"

4. Make tang yuan, sweet dumplings
5. Hang a lantern
6. Riddle guessing

1. Take a vision walk:

The full moon shines a bright light on everything, and I might experience intuitive and creative breakthroughs. I might be shocked by the clarity of my insights. I might see some ugliness - the full moon illuminates all the things I've left in the shadows, some heavy truths and some embarrassing mistakes.

Today I'm going to settle in to silence and access my intuitive mind - my connection to the Creator and the Inner Guide - by putting myself into a relaxed, trance-like state, and seeking a leading of the spirit with an open mind and heart.

Queries:

In what areas of my life do I want to be more open and receptive? What blessings am I seeking? 

How can I be more openhearted and patient with the relationships, new projects, ideas, and missions I am nurturing in my life?

How do I bring mindfulness to the practice of kindness in the ordinary setting of every day?

How can I create a habit of generosity and easy-going open-handedness?

2. Celebrate receptivity:

My theme for this Holiday Moon continues to be receptivity. Receptivity requires that I be open and available, and also requires that I do the work to care for what I receive. I've been spending time with family, and keeping in touch with friends. I'm also taking lots of time for contemplation, and working on my patience skills. 

Today I will celebrate receptivity by:

• Reviewing my intentions with a 3 Questions exercise.
• Send valentines to a few friends.
• Hang a lantern with my grandson.

3. Read "Mindfulness-Based Emotional Balance Workbook":

I'm reading again from the Mindfulness-Based Emotional Balance Workbook, by Margaret Cullen and Gonzalo Brito Pons (2015). I got it after realizing that mindfulness might be the key to gaining the equanimity I crave. This is supposedly an "8-week program for Improved Emotional Regulation and Resilience". I'm going to take it much slower than 8-weeks.

I've been reading Chapter 3, Clarifying Values and Intentions. The authors talk about the "integrity gap", when your actions don't align with your values. "The less aligned your life is with your personal values, the more vulnerable you are to emotional imbalance." In other words, the more often I fail to act with equanimity, the more disappointed and unhappy I will feel.

Exercise: The Three Questions:
Start with 3 breaths, and imagine I am outside, lying on a blanket, looking at the sky. Take some time to reflect on the 3 questions as I gaze at the sky.

1. If anything were possible, what would I love to receive from the universe?

2. If I could grow in any way, how would I love to develop in this lifetime? What qualities would I love to nurture?

3. If I could offer anything to the world, what would I love to offer? How would I like to contribute, and to be remembered?

4. Make tang yuan, sweet dumplings:

It is a tradition to eat these round sticky dumplings on the Lantern Festival to symbolize the full moon and also family togetherness.

They are delicious, but very rich, so only cook a few for each person, and freeze the rest to cook later. I have used two different fillings - sweet bean paste (you can buy it ready to use at Asian Markets), and one made with black sesame seeds. The recipe is here.

5. Hang a lantern:

The Yuan Xiao festival's other name is the Lantern Festival, because folks will make or buy lanterns of all kinds - shaped like flowers, or boats, or birds; made of bamboo, silk or paper; decorated with paintings, embroidery, paper cuts, tassels, and fringe - and tonight everyone takes to the streets to display their lanterns. It’s like a carnival: Children dress in costumes and watch parades with lighted floats, fireworks displays, puppet shows, and dances.

In China, the lantern is a symbol of eternal hope. I try to make a new lantern each year to hang on the front porch.

I used a yellow cellophane around the jar on the left, and white tissue
on the small jar in the center.

Supplies: A clear jar, tissue paper (optional), red paper (we used butcher paper), double stick tape, wire, gold cord

1. Choose a clear jar, big enough to hold a votive candle.

2. Cut a strip of yellow or white tissue paper to wrap around the jar and overlap just a bit (I used cellophane). Tape the strip where it overlaps. Or you can leave the jar clear.

3. Cut many 1-inch strips of red paper a bit longer than the height of the jar; you will need between 11 and 20 strips.

4. Put a small piece of double stick tape at the top and bottom of each strip and attach them one at a time to the rim and the bottom edge of the jar, overlapping each strip by about half.

5. Add a wire around the top rim if you want to hang it outside. Decorate with gold cord around the top.

6. Riddle guessing: 
It’s a custom at the Lantern Festival to have riddle-guessing contests; people copy out a puzzling riddle onto a paper lantern, and hang it at the door, with the promise of a reward to any who may succeed in unraveling it. 

Here are some of my favorite riddles:

• What always goes to bed with his shoes on? (A horse)

• What has feet but can't walk? (A yard stick)

• What has eyes but can't see? (A potato or a needle)

• What has hands but can't feel? (A clock) 

• What has ears but can't hear? (Corn) 

• What has teeth but can't chew? (A comb)

• Take off my skin - I won't cry, but you will! What am I? (An onion)

• There is an ancient invention still used in some parts of the world today that allows people to see through walls. What is it? (A window)

• What gets bigger the more you take away from it? (A hole)

• At night I come without being fetched. By day I am lost without being stolen. What am I? (A star)

• The more you have of it, the less you see. What is it? (Darkness)

• What must you keep after giving it to someone else? (A promise)

• What is lighter than a feather yet harder to hold? (Your breath) 

• If you have it, you want to share it. If you share it, you don't have it. What is it? (A secret.) 

• When you say my name I disappear. Who am I? (Silence)

• What is always coming, but never arrives? (Tomorrow)