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 full moon shines her light on everything; use the full moon energy for creatively completing things, and for seeing your next moves, and also to CELEBRATE how far you've come and give thanks for the lessons learned and the blessings received.
This is also the tenth day of the twelve-day festal tide - we have 3 days of Christmas left! By now, most people are fed up with holidays and ready to get back to "normalcy", but I'm holding on for my full 12-days-worth. I celebrate these last days in Sabbath mode, doing as little work as possible, resting, reflecting, and finding peace within.
Agenda for today:
1.
2. Gnothi Seauton
3. Choose a theme for the New Year
4. Read "Perspective"
5. New narrative for the week
6. Celebrate stillness
7. Eat Hoppin' John
1. Gnothi Seauton:
January is the first full month of winter, a time when everything is shrouded in mystery - the sky is gray, trees hold their buds tightly closed, and hidden seeds germinate secretly in the ground. In winter I sit inside the darkness (a cloak of comfort, or frosty blanket of snow), in a place where thoughts have no words, and the child is desired but not yet conceived.
January is when I consider the Greek injunction Gnothi Seauton - Know Thyself:
- How can I know myself better? What particular aspect of myself do I want to give attention to?
- And how can I create a comfortable level of Light in the dark? What is the meaning I want to practice in my life?
Journal: This year my goal is to get a better handle on the story I tell myself about respect and self-worth. I need to make a shift in how I define these and the importance I put in what other people do and say. The meaning I want to create is entirely in my own hands!
2. Vision walk:
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| Photo by Alan Gillespie |
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, 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.
Today I call on the Spirit of Light to guide me, bring me clarity and open my eyes.
What messages am I receiving from my inner guide? How can I open to new, creative perspectives? How can I foster curiosity?
Who is helping me towards clarity? How can I best seek the practical wisdom I need?
What new skills might be useful in the new year? What specific new skills do I need to complete my goals, priorities, and leadings?
What study might help me to understand myself better, and help me to grow?
3. Choose a theme for the New Year:
As soon as I am able in the New Year, I discern a theme for the year. I generally choose something poetic that embraces the overall trend of my goals and resolutions for the year: 2019 was my "Year of Virtue", 2020 - "Year of Gestation". 2021 - "Year of Discovery", 2022 - "Year of Awareness", 2023 - "Year of Being Rooted", 2024- "Year of Witness", and 2025 was my "Year of Active Hope and Resilience".
I've settled this year on "my year of creative perspective."
Creative perspective: To keep a positive and broad perspective; shift my perspective to help myself find equanimity, and also expand my perspective (think outside the box), having the courage to take experimental risks and express myself honestly with words and art.
Perspective is my way of viewing or thinking about something, shaped by my experiences, beliefs, and values. When I adopt beginner's mind and become more curious and open-minded, I am able to shift my perception to see things in their true, relative importance.
Then I might be able to accept what is and stop obsessing, and enjoy my life in the moment.
The third step is to choose creativity; once I am able to let go of trying to control a situation or how I feel, I will open space for intuition and inspiration. I can begin to visualize a way forward.
Today I will begin to make some plans for creative perspective: My ideas are:
- New narrative to re-frame a mind-set (Saturday)
- Creative renewal habit ideas and scripts (Sun-Mon.)
- Generate inspiring proaction and reciprocity ideas (Wed.)
- Beginner's Mind. for creativity (Thurs.)
4. Read "Perspective":
I'm reviewing Chapter two, The Filter Effect, which explains that the reality we experience is filtered by how we see what is happening; therefore we can frame it any way we want. We can decide it's all hopeless or we can decide to find hope.
The author says that perspective is a cycle of awareness, alignment, and action. Each chapter has an action step, which she calls the Thrive Cycle, and this first is to Condition your mind for change. It's all about how to choose your own filter, one that empowers you, and tell yourself a story about what's happening that is honest, compassionate, creative, and hopeful.
Our brains are wired for survival, and the default story is fear, panic, and negativity; we need to take charge of the narrative and shift away from self-protection to creativity and hope.
Mind conditioning is a practice of pausing before reacting to ask: questions. Questions are "the secret back door into your brain's belief system." Questions interrupt the default story long enough to open the door to curiosity, which uses a different part of your brain. Asking questions creates space for reflection. She calls this productive possibility - finding the path forward. It's a great way for a leader to shift the perspective of everyone involved.
5. New narrative for the week:
I certainly have limiting beliefs and stuck patterns, and they do affect the energy in the room. As a leader, writer, and grandma, I am the lens through which others take cues on how to act and feel, and my energy and tone ripples outward. I'd like to project a narrative of stability, focus, possibility, and peace. The first Thrive Cycle Action Step that I have adopted is the Mind-Conditioning process which I call New Narrative for the Week. I ask:
- What belief do I need to challenge? What mindset shift do I want to make this week / month?
- What else could be true? How else can I look at it? Can I find a creative response? Are there hidden opportunities? What might work this time?
The 4 patterns I'd most like to interrupt are:
- Protecting myself from what I perceive as disrespect and unfair criticism.
- Impatience and anxiety (and frantic, sharp words) when things don't go as I planned, or as I think they should go.
- Slothfulness and overwhelm that lead to disorder in my mind and environment.
- Blunt and rude speaking-without-thinking when I am uncomfortable in social situations.
I've used this story reframe successfully for the past couple of weeks:
"I have the time, energy, creativity, and discipline to bring order to my mind and my environment, and finish the things I start - I can just make a detailed list and check off one tiny piece at a time! It will be fun!"
This week my new narrative is:
"I am the Zen Grandma: Things don't need to go my way; it's not always about me! I am happy to flow with the needs and wants of others, and find the creative shift we all need."
6. Celebrate stillness:
My theme for this White Moon cycle continues to be stillness. I've been sitting with some big questions about how to best proceed in my life, and have gotten clarity on some of them. Today I get to celebrate my accomplishments and reaffirm this theme for the next two weeks.To celebrate stillness I will:
- Meet with a dear friend to share about our journeys.
- Spend the rest of the day in silence, flowing through my tasks with integrity and attention.
7. Eat Hoppin' John:
In many places legumes (beans, peas, lentils) and cooked greens (cabbage, collards, kale, or chard) are consumed at New Year's because they are symbolic of money; legumes resemble coins, and greens look like folded money. This delicious recipe comes from the American south.
We make this recipe every year from the leftover Christmas ham bone, as soon after the new year as possible.
Ingredients
- 1-1/2 c. dried black-eyed peas
- 1 ham bone
- 2 stalks of celery
- 1 onion
- 1 green pepper
- 1 large carrot
- 1 jalapeno pepper, seeded
- 2 cloves of garlic
- 1-2 c. cooked ham, cubed
- 3 Tbsp. vegetable oil
- 1 bay leaf
- 2 tsp. fresh or dried thyme
- 1/2 tsp. crushed red chili pepper flakes
- salt to taste
- 6-10 leaves of kale, collards, or beet greens
Yield: Serves 6 to 8-
1- Place black-eyed peas in a large soup pot over medium-high heat with the ham bone; cover with cold water and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and cook until peas are tender, about 45 minutes.
2- Meanwhile, dice the celery, onion, green pepper, carrot and jalapeno. Mince the garlic. Stem and chop the greens. Cube the ham.
3- Heat oil in a heavy pot over medium-high heat. Add ham, diced vegetables (but not the greens), red chilies, thyme, and bay leaf and cook, stirring occasionally, until soft, about 8 minutes.
4- Add black-eyed peas along with 2 c. of the cooking liquid (add more or less as desired), and the greens. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer until greens are tender, about 1 hour.
5- Remove the bay leaf. Add salt to taste. Serve with cornbread or biscuits.
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