September Transitions

September is a transition month - the last weeks of the sun-baked summer, and the beginning of autumn. September's element is earth, which grounds and gives strength. And I need grounding, because Autumn is a wild and energizing time, when seeds ripen, and the everything is at its peak of unruliness. 

Even though I am feeling the urge to draw inward, now is not the time to completely retreat. September is a time to be open, and to respond to whatever life brings me; I am looking under rocks and turning things upside down. I am sorting out the ideas that come to me, holding each up to the light to see if it’s a keeper, looking and listening for crazy wisdom. I am maintaining an unruly kind of discipline. I am celebrating each new day and the Truth it brings.

This is the season to awaken the wild woman within and break some rules! I ask the important questions and misbehave (with integrity). But I am happily aware that I will never have an orderly shelf-full of the Truth. Truth is a mystery- it shifts and twists out of my grasp, and hides in the shadows. I am comforted to know this, because it releases me from the need to have all the answers. My real work is to ask all the questions.

We are in the yin time of the waning gibbous moon - a time to receive the fruits of our labors, a time of quiet, internal, heart-driven, intentional Being-ness. 

Agenda:

1. Journal query

2. Love meditation

3. Transforming Power

1. Journal query: 

Autumn's question is “What is the crazy wisdom?” Brainstorm ways to express the crazy wisdom I am finding: How can I express it visually? How can I integrate it with my teaching? How can I share it with friends and family? How can I celebrate it?

My journal: The crazy wisdom of this year is how energized we both are by having this big home project to work on. That has not always been the case; this time, we are finding our niches in the process and acting together (mostly) smoothly. My niche is to research and plan ahead, take time to communicate, list out the goals for each day (with visuals if possible), and gently remind about what we discussed or decided.

 

2. Love Meditation:

Every month after the full moon, in the quiet-energy yin time of the waning moon, I practice a love meditation that progresses from receptivity, to gratitude, to generosity. Today I look again at what I want to receive and open myself to receive it.

Day 1: Practice a love meditation, and open to receive blessings - send a prayer to the universe asking to be showered with love, kindness, health, and happiness.

1. 1 minute - Relax your body, and focus on the tender emotion of generous love. Allow a smile to settle on your face and in your heart.
2. 1 minute - Visualize love as soft, tingly, warm, pink light, and see it move from your heart to every part of your body so that every cell is glowing and vibrating.
3. 1 minute - Now see the pink light of love radiating to fill the whole room, then the whole city, and the whole planet earth.
4. 1 minute - See that all people, plants, and animals feel warm and happy.
5. 1 minute - Send an extra dose of love light to those people you want to have a better connection to.

3. Transforming Power:

Nothing changes unless we change. All the work I've done to know myself and understand others is interesting; but it's how I use it that takes it from interesting to transformative. I'm equipped with the knowledge to transform my thoughts and feelings by acting on my Truth and extending love to the world - I only need to tune into my values and principles, and draw on my strengths and the transforming power of love.

Transforming Power is a term coined by the Alternatives to Violence Project, which was started by Quakers and inmates at the Greenhaven Prison in New York in the 1970's, at a time of great unrest and violence. Together the inmates and the Quakers developed non-violence workshops inside prisons, which continue to this day, with town and inmate students, and town and inmate leaders.

In a nutshell, Transforming Power is a river of energy at my core, made up of my essential wisdom, strength, and goodness, which I can touch in with in order to experience a shift. It might be a shift from anger or resentment to peace; it might be a shift from fear and powerlessness to strength; it might be a shift from sadness or worry to joy. 

The shift I experience might be slow and steady or like a lightning bolt, but it will contain an element of love: I become part of the whole, no longer isolated. I will experience a self-acceptance and a sense of peace that allows me to connect with others without hesitation. It's this connection that transforms me: My view of the world is transformed, everything is different. I see people and situations in a new light, am able let go of whatever was holding me back and act - one small step at a time.

The Alternatives to Violence Manual says, “'Transforming Power’ is not dogma nor is it an item of faith. It is simply a term to refer to something that participants often experience when they respect themselves, care for others, seek a non-violent path, think before reacting, or expect the best.” AVP gives every participant a little card to carry that lists the Guides to Transforming Power. I want to highlight three:

-Base your position on truth.

-When you are clear about your position, expect to experience great inward power to act on it.

-Do not expect that this response will automatically ward off danger. If you cannot avoid risk, risk being creative rather than violent.