June Transitions

June is a transition month - the end of spring and the beginning of summer. June’s element is fire, which purifies and gives life. It’s a highly yang time of movement and power, the season of completion, abundance and fulfillment. I have a hope that in summer I will reach the full flowering of my self and my dreams.

June has a different pace, less scheduled though more active. It’s a time for fine-tuning, and for decisive action. June is when I like to energetically climb to the top of a hill, survey the landscape and climb down again, to put myself in context, evaluate my progress, see what I’ve accomplished since January, and make careful adjustments in my goals and priorities. 

My aim this month is to stand still and calm in the center while I am playing, cleaning, writing, socializing, teaching, digging in the garden, swimming, traveling, and painting. 

"Only when there is stillness in movement can the spiritual rhythm appear which pervades heaven and earth." -- Taoist text

Agenda:

1. Journal query

2. Read "5 Resets"
3. Care for the Living room

4. Ray of Sun Meditation

1. Journal query: 

Summer’s question is “What is ideal?” 

Today I made a list of idyllic, peaceful, expansive, and exciting things I long to do this summer, including some I loved to do as a child and young adult:

• Go a creek for a whole day
• See my family
• Go to the ocean
• Paint in the garden
• Hike at Three Sisters or Fall Creek
• Summer adventures and pool time with grandsons
• Pick berries
• Have get-togethers outdoors with friends

2. Read "5 Resets":

I started this book for Lent: "The 5 Resets: Rewire Your Brain and Body for Less Stress and More Resilience" (2024), by Aditi Nerurkar. I'm into the 4th reset: 

Come Up for Air.

The message is that life is relentless; we need to learn how to take a break without sacrificing a feeling of creating meaning: We can do less to achieve more, create healthy boundaries, and feel more "in control".

I've introduced two techniques - Honoring my Breaks - by setting a timer for every 2 hours, and coming to a fullstops when it goes off, and the Creativity Commute, a transition from home to work for those of us who work at home, a short walk as a way to make a mental shift.

The creativity commute is a simple ritual to transition to the important project of my day, but it's not really working for me, because it just becomes another task before I start the work. I need a different ritual to bring me to the studio, a very easy "helpful catalyst" to prime my brain to transition to creative work. 

This week I'm going to try a reminder to Stop, Prep (gather supplies); then Proclaim “I’m an artist creating transformation in the world!”  

3. Care for the Livingroom:

My house care theme for the coming month is Basic Care and Zen Order. This means do the basics each week (sweeping, dusting, etc.) and find a zen balance of order that feels good.

I've been using this 2-step process for organizing stuff, from KC Davis' book:

1. Go systematically around a room and in each space, first put away everything that has a home, and gather everything with no home in one spot. 
2. Decide what to do with each of the unhoused items: Trash or find them a permanent home.  

This week I plan to:

• Clear the mantle shelf and bookcase and put away spring display; leave bare for a while.
• Gather a few more toys we don't need and drop them at the Giving Tree.
• Re-establish a Nature Tray on the craft table.

4. Ray of Sun Meditation: 

Today I will sit where I can feel the rays of the sun on my body. I will relax, be still, and soak up the light and heat of the sun. As I sit I will:

• Explore the sun’s inner qualities of warmth, light, clarity, and power. 
• Extend this awareness to all parts of my body, through each cell, my heart, mind, and spirit. 
• Radiate the sun's energy outward into the environment, in all directions. 
• Return to an awareness of my body, thank the Sun, and take this energy with me throughout the day.