Earth Week Sunday

This week before Earth Day is called Earth Week, April 19 - 25 this year. 

The first Earth Day was April 22, 1970, and it still remains a big event in the environmental movement. Interest and participation in Earth Day has increased and spread around the world, with millions of people taking part. 

I do many things everyday in my life to help the earth: I live in a small house; I walk and bike, and work at home; I buy used stuff and buy locally; I use the library instead of buying books; I compost, recycle, and grow my own food, I lead an Earthcare action group at my Quaker Meeting, and I work with other activists to bring attention to climate and environmental issues.

This week I plan to do some reading each day, and take one action that grounds me in unity with the Earth.

Agenda today:

1. Reading

2. Meeting outside

3. Take action

Retreat for the Earth

Next week is Earth Week, and I plan to post an agenda of activities for each day, including some reading and education, contemplation, earth care actions, and artwork, that grounds me in unity with the Earth.

Today I just want to sit with the notion that I am of the earth, and settle into a contemplation of how I want to BE.

Maya Angelou said, “If you don’t like something, change it. If you can’t change it, change your attitude.” This is the kind of flexible optimism I aim for - not naivety, but realistic and adjustable. 

I am aware that the planet is suffering, that birds and insects are dying, that we will face riots and wars because of our actions. But I need to have hope that things can change, and I need to do what I can to make change. And then I need to cultivate an attitude of joy because of all the beauty we still have.

Agenda:

1. Read QEW pamphlets

2. Get native plants

New Peony Moon

Beautiful peonies growing in my neighborhood.

The new moon rises today; the Chinese call the fourth new moon the Peony Moon. Peonies are the flower of riches, romance, and honor, called sho yu in Chinese, which means "most beautiful." Their lush blooms are an omen of good fortune, and also foretell a happy marriage.

The new moon is the start of the lunar cycle, a time of high energy and clear thinking. Historically, the new moon is when women took time to be alone; it's a time to retreat, set intentions, and initiate something new.

Agenda:

1. Retreat Day

2. Journal queries

5. Pick a theme

4. Review caregiver resilience

5. Set intentions

Waning Moon Creativity

As I come to the end of the Sleepy Moon cycle, and wrap things up a bit, I'm sitting with creativity in a contemplative way, and I realize two things:

I've been reverting to an earlier phase of my life, before painting and art school, when I was internally driven to Make Things, and they were varied and creative. 

But I'm also a different person now - as Grandma Earth Teacher I am led to make things that are a gift to the Earth in some way, sustainable and with a message. 

  

Agenda: 

1. Read "The Book of Doing and Being"

2. Projects for the week

Defeat the Hump

I've made a mid-week bump plan to defeat the hump that often makes me feel stuck: A plan to help me build momentum and preserve the goodness of the week throughout each of the five days, so that I arrive at Saturday feeling fulfilled and content.

Agenda:

1. My bump plan

2. Writing themes and passion flow plan

Tuesday

Tuesday is my day to look at my social and emotional self and make an effort to shift my perspectives around how I view and treat the people in my life.

Agenda:

1. Ongo journal

2. Synergy and hope plans

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 get ready for a week of fun activities with my grandsons.

Agenda this week:

1. Read "The Spirited Walker"

2. Walking script

3. Clearing and Home projects

4. Grandson fun

Sabbath for Vision

Today is my sabbath, and the start to a new week, and because we are approaching the new moon I will take time today to create a vision of what I want my future to be.

The sabbath is a celebration, a holiday. I keep it holy with my attitude: I don't rush, complain, or worry. Everything I do has a flavor of peace. I schedule some work, but it's work I find fulfilling, or uplifting. Simple is a great word to describe my ideal activities for the sabbath: Simple tasks, simple foods, and an undemanding schedule.

Agenda today:

1. Read "Revolutionary Witchcraft"

2. Soul flight practice

3. Brainstorm for awareness, celebration, and renewal 

Prepare for the New Moon

Every month just after the third quarter moon, I take some days to be quiet and contemplative and prepare for the next phase of my life. I'm lucky that this year I have a three day Earthcare retreat just at the right time!

Agenda:

1. Read "Perspective"

2. Monthly journal brainstorm:

3. Brainstorm my Earthcare message

4. Cleansing 

April Third-Quarter Moon

Tonight is the waning Third Quarter moon of April. Today's 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.

March is a month of actions it's a relief to take a small breather this week to discern the next steps forward.

Agenda today:

Agenda: 

1. Read "The Book of Doing and Being"

2. Meditation and Evaluation Journal

3. Ritual for Release and Realignment

4. Projects for the week

5. Surrender, rest, recuperate

Mid-Week Bump

I've been pretty consistently having a mid-week dip in energy, and today I want to look at ways to build momentum for the end of the week. I think I can be proactive, and make a plan to preserve the goodness of the week throughout each of the five days, so that I arrive at Saturday feeling fulfilled and content.

Agenda:

1. My bump plan

2. Renewal brainstorm:

3. Writing themes and passion flow plan:

Tuesday

Tuesday is my day to look at my social and emotional self and make an effort to shift my perspectives around how I view and treat the people in my life. 

Agenda:

1. Generosity practice

2. Read "Intrinsic Hope"
3. New narrative for naming feelings

4. Synergy and hope plans

5. Plant sunflowers!

Monday 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 get ready for a week of fun activities with my grandsons.

Agenda this week:

1. Gratitude meditation

2. Read "The Spirited Walker"

3. Clearing and Home projects

4. Grandson fun

Easter Sunday

2021 egg hunt

Easter is the most important and joyful of all Christian holy days because it marks the resurrection of Jesus. Easter always comes after the spring equinox, when lots of things in nature are returning to life; specifically Easter falls on the first Sunday after the full Moon on or just after the equinox.

The English word Easter comes from the Old English Eastre, which was the name for the spring season.

Easter is the penultimate time of hope, renewal and new life, which is at the heart of the message that Christians wish to proclaim and live in the world. I see this as a reminder to live each day as a new day, and to have faith that the actions I take will have transforming power in the world.

Agenda today:

1. Read "Revolutionary Witchcraft"

2. Greet the Easter sunrise with joy
3. Love meditation

4. Egg hunt

Great Saturday Garden

Today is Great Saturday or Holy Saturday, the day between Jesus' death and his resurrection. In the Church, it's celebrated with watchful expectation and funeral hymns.

I'm celebrating with a morning of catching up with friends, house tasks, and gardening.

Garden this week:

1. April garden tasks

2. Hardening off

3. Planting

4. Sharing with nature

5. Build healthy soil

6. Cover everything with plants

Good Friday

Permelia and Madeline, our first duck ladies

 Today is Good Friday, when we mark Jesus’ death and burial. This morning I remember again that the soul's "dark night" is a part of the human condition. I reflect on desperation and despair. My capacity to experience despair is a gift; through it I am transformed. Jesus said, "You must be born again." (John 3:7). The ability to shift from despair to hope is how I get the strength to live life whatever the daily deaths I might face.

Agenda today:

1. Darkness to Hope Meditation

2. Read "Intrinsic Hope"

3. Proaction and reciprocity plans:

4. Dye eggs

5. Bake hot cross buns

April Flow

April is spring; the yellows and violets of March explode into all the amazing colors of the rainbow: orange tulips, pink azaleas, red-flowering currant, fresh green, and the blue true dream of sky - that rich blue of patience, peace, and understanding.

During this middle month of spring, I celebrate the limitless energy of the maiden and the crazy wisdom of the fool. I turn everything upside down and inside out - anything is possible! April offers me happiness and wonder; maybe now I can say YES with vigor, enjoy the surprises, confusion, and chaos that life brings, and feel comfortable in the depths of my life.

Agenda: 

1. Read "The Book of Doing and Being"
2. Creative imagining for spring bliss
3. Bliss brainstorm
4. Projects for the week

5. Writing themes and passion flow plan

Maundy Thursday

Maundy Thursday is the day when Jesus and his disciples gathered to share the Passover meal known as the Last Supper. Maundy is an English word that comes from the Latin mandatum, referring to the new commandment that Jesus made on that night: 

“A new commandment I give to you, that you Love one another. As I have loved you so you must love one another.” (John 13:34). 

On this day three important events are documented.

First, Jesus showed his great love and humility by washing the feet of his disciples.

Second was the introduction of the Eucharist.

Thirdly, Jesus went to the Garden of Gethsemani to pray and was betrayed by Judas and arrested.

Agenda today:

1. Show love and humility
2. Eat mindfully
3. Find new clothes for Easter

4. Take a bubble bath
5. Go to the garden tonight to pray

Full Hare Moon and April Fools Day

Carmella and Toffee

Tonight is the full moon; this one is called amanta kotantal or "Time for pounding camus" by the Kalapuya of my area, and the Hare Moon by others, because it's the month when rabbits leap and play and mate.

We are now at the peak of the strong-energy yang phase of the waxing moon, and will soon begin the shift to the quiet-energy yin time of the waning moon. 

Agenda today:
1. Review, refine, and shift

2. Celebrate joy

3. Truth walk ceremony

Hope I can Agree With

Hope is necessary in order to have any kind of happiness, and I think I've lost it. I am unable to contemplate any dream of a better future without being washed in an overwhelming sense of dread and sadness. I need to find a new entry into hope.

Agenda:

1. Read "Intrinsic Hope"
2. New narrative for being present

Easter Week

This whole week is called Easter week or Holy Week, and I enjoy celebrating it with my family. 

Monday is my day to reset for the week and get my ducks in a row - make some plans for health and home, and get ready for a week of Easter activities with my grandsons.

Agenda this week:

1. Read "The Spirited Walker"

2. Clearing and Home projects

3. Grandson fun

4. Pocket calendar plan

Palm Sunday

The first Palm Sunday was the day that Jesus entered Jerusalem almost 2000 years ago. At that time Jerusalem had a normal population of about 50,000, and it at least tripled in size because of the influx of pilgrims celebrating the Jewish holiday of Passover.

Agenda Today:

1. Read "Revolutionary Witchcraft"

2. Journal queries

3. Ongo journal

4. Egg tree

5. Figgy pudding

End of a Crazy Week

What a week! Spring break is not what it used to be - no break for us. We had the boys for longer days, and one with an ear infection - not fun. Still, we had the kind of conversation and time you can't have on shorter days. Tonight we will have them again for an extended evening, and I want to set us up for success.

Agenda: 

1. Read "The Book of Doing and Being"
2. Creative imagining for Dragonfly Studio
3. Studio brainstorm
4. Projects for the week

5. Writing themes and passion flow plan

First Quarter Moon and Navratri Part 3

Navratri continues for the final three nights. The nine nights of Navratri are broken up into sets of three, and during each a different aspect of Shakti is meditated upon. For these final three nights we honor and thank the Divine Mother as Saraswati, who is "the essence of self". Saraswati’s wisdom and knowledge leads to enlightenment, happiness, and peace.

And Tonight is the First Quarter Moon; we are one-quarter of the way through the moon cycle. The moon is waxing - getting larger - until it's full again. Now is the time to remain flexible, use my obstacles as fuel for growth, and show full effort for priorities.

I use this March quarter moon's energy to create hope.

Agenda Today:

1. Morning meditation and mantra

2. Journal queries

3. Make a full effort plan

4. Add to the altar

5. Proaction and reciprocity plans

Sneaky Joy

Joy is a difficult emotion to consider right now, with life so challenging and the earth in crisis. I've decided to experiment in the next weeks with a sneaky path to joy, finding happiness through indirect, unexpected, or subtle methods rather than chasing it directly.

Agenda:

1. Read the Antidote
2. Stoic exercise of releasing control
3. New narrative for embracing the unexpected
4. Ongo journal

Pick Up the Pace

Spring is giving me new energy to get things done! 

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 this week:

1. Read "The Spirited Walker"

2. Walking script
3. Spring cleaning and Home projects

4. Spring plastic round up!
5. Grandson fun

Navratri Continues

 Navratri continues tonight with the visit of Lakshmi. 

The word navratri means nine nights; These nights are broken up into sets of three, and during each set we meditate on a different aspect of Shakti (the universal principle of energy and creativity, Mother Earth, and the feminine power in each of us) - first the Goddesses Durga, then Lakshmi, and then Saraswati.

Each of the three goddesses signifies a stage of the spiritual journey we all go through: Durga’s strength and energy creates an opening, Lakshmi’s success and fortune nurtures growth, and Saraswati’s wisdom and knowledge leads to enlightenment, happiness, and peace. Tonight we honor and thank the Divine Mother as Lakshmi, the Goddess of success.

2021 rangoli

Agenda Today:

1. Morning meditation and mantra 

2. Read "The Antidote"

3. Start a new project

4. Make a new rangoli design
5. Add to my altar