Prepare for Imbalc

Imbalc is in a week and I have a few practical and contemplative preparations to make - mostly I need to slow down to watch as the wheel of the year turns. I'm exploring what it's like to BE the earth, accepting the seed and willing to nurture it, and shifting my perspective to make room for the possibility that the Earth-Me has a powerful Goddess supporter called Brigid. 

We've been having a very cold spell, and we still have a month of winter left, but my thoughts are turning outward, to the garden, our neighborhood, and my community.

Agenda:

1. Practice a Reverent Way of Being

2. Read "The Spirited Walker"

3. Love cycle

4. Make a Creativity Altar

5. Write about my seeds of inspiration

6. Plan a party

Fourth Sunday of Lent and Chaitra Navratri

Today is the start of Navratri, a Hindu holiday during which we honor and thank Shakti, the Divine Mother, in all her forms. Shakti is the universal principle of energy and creativity, Mother Earth, and the feminine power in each of us.

The word nava means nine and ratri means nights; the festival lasts for nine nights and ten days. Navratri is celebrated twice each year, in the spring and fall, because these are times when nature and people undergo great changes. Spring (Chaitra) Navratri begins the day after the new moon in late March or early April, and is celebrated as a request to Shakti for a good growing season.

The nine nights of Navratri are broken up into sets of three, and during each a different aspect of Shakti is meditated upon - the Goddesses Durga, then Lakshmi, and then Saraswati. Each of the three goddesses marks 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.

Agenda:

2021 Rangoli (with grandson help)

1. Morning meditation and mantra

2. Read "Everyday Simplicity"

3. Make a self-cultivation plan

4. Lent review and Simple food plan

5. Make a rangoli design

6. Plant grain seeds
7. Set up an altar for Mother Nature
8. Make channa sundal (spicy chickpeas)

Autumn Navratri

Navratri is a Hindu holiday during which we honor and thank Shakti, the Divine Mother, in all her forms. Shakti is the universal principle of energy and creativity, Mother Earth, and the feminine power in each of us. 

The word nava means nine and ratri means nights; the festival lasts for nine nights, symbolic of the nine months in the womb.

Navratri is celebrated at least twice each year in India - in the spring and fall - because these are times when nature and people undergo great changes. Autumn (Sharad) Navratri begins on the day after the rise of the new moon in late September or early October.

The nine nights of Navratri are broken up into sets of three, and during each a different aspect of Shakti is meditated upon - the Goddesses Durga, then Lakshmi, and then Saraswati. Each of the three goddesses marks 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.

 
Agenda for today:

1. Morning meditation and mantra

2. Make a rangoli design / seed medallion

3. Make potpourri

4. Set up an altar for Mother Nature

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. Make a new rangoli design
3. Add to my altar

Chaitra Navratri

Today is the start of Navratri, a Hindu holiday during which we honor and thank Shakti, the Divine Mother, in all her forms. Shakti is the universal principle of energy and creativity, Mother Earth, and the feminine power in each of us.

The word nava means nine and ratri means nights; the festival lasts for nine nights and ten days. Navratri is celebrated twice each year, in the spring and fall, because these are times when nature and people undergo great changes. Spring (Chaitra) Navratri begins the day after the new moon in late March or early April, and is celebrated as a request to Shakti for a good growing season.

The nine nights of Navratri are broken up into sets of three, and during each a different aspect of Shakti is meditated upon - the Goddesses Durga, then Lakshmi, and then Saraswati. Each of the three goddesses marks 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.

Agenda:

2021 Rangoli

1- Morning meditation and mantra

2- Make a rangoli design

3- Plant grain seeds
4- Set up an altar for Mother Nature

5- Make channa sundal (spicy chickpeas)

Ash Wednesday and Valentine's Day!

Ash Wednesday is the first day of Lent, a 46-day period of preparation for the joyful Easter celebration. The word lent comes from the Anglo Saxon word lencten, which means "lengthen"; it refers to the longer days of spring. 

Lent is about mortality and transformation; death and rebirth. Marcus Borg says, "It means dying to an old way of being, and being born into a new way of being, a way of being centered once again in God."

Quakers don't traditionally celebrate Lent because we live every day being born again, centered in God. Still - I will always jump at a chance for a period of reflection.

Today is also Valentine's Day! Saint Valentine was a third-century Roman Christian who died on February 14. The poet Geoffrey Chaucer and his circle probably invented many of the romantic legends about Saint Valentine, in the fourteenth century.

Valentine made by a student of mine.

After that, it became a custom for a man to write a romantic poem to send to his beloved on St. Valentine's Day. Very fancy paper cards, with lace and ribbons, became popular in the 1840's, and that custom expanded into sending cards to Mom and Dad, and friends of all kinds.

Agenda:

1. Read "Lessons for Simple Living"

2. Simple Steps for this week

3. Make Valentines

4. Begin fasting

5. Hang up the Lent Lady

Autumn Navratri

Navratri is a Hindu holiday during which we honor and thank Shakti, the Divine Mother, in all her forms. Shakti is the universal principle of energy and creativity, Mother Earth, and the feminine power in each of us. 

The word nava means nine and ratri means nights; the festival lasts for nine nights, symbolic of the nine months in the womb.

Navratri is celebrated at least twice each year in India - in the spring and fall - because these are times when nature and people undergo great changes. Autumn (Sharad) Navratri begins on the day after the rise of the new moon in late September or early October.

The nine nights of Navratri are broken up into sets of three, and during each a different aspect of Shakti is meditated upon - the Goddesses Durga, then Lakshmi, and then Saraswati. Each of the three goddesses marks 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.

 
Agenda for today:

1. Morning meditation and mantra

2. Make a rangoli design

3. Plant grain seeds
4. Set up an altar for Mother Nature

Tending the Land

Tending the land is a problematic phrase for me, as it touches on the concept of stewardship. I have seen stewardship defined as "managing and caring for resources" or "taking care of the things we own and use." In biblical terms, it's defined as "Utilizing and managing all resources God provides" or "managing and utilizing intelligently the gifts that God has given."

This is an important idea when applied to, as our Faith and Practice says, "the right use of gifts given to us - time, ability, money, and our physical selves", but it is not appropriate when applied to nature.

1. On a cultural mandate 

2. Root reading

3. Early Anglo-Saxon preservation

4. Harvest, dry, and braid my onions

5. Unity with Nature

Summer Art Retreat

Love poem #1

I've called myself an artist for nearly 50 years now, but often my feelings about art are a vortex of chaos, and it's painful and frustrating. Currently, I'm having a struggle with direction, and I'm being pulled in so many ways I'm feeling torn.

This spring and summer I've made a few interesting collage pieces. I stillI don't have a clear idea of next steps, but I trust that light will dawn if I keep faithful to the process. My starting point is the firm belief that art is a healing force in the world.

I've set aside parts of two days to dive in and muck around with art.

Agenda:

1. Read "The Creativity Book"

2. Clean the (metaphorical) refrigerator:

3. Guided meditation

4. Harvest drawings

5. Unity art plan

Navratri, Part 3, and First Quarter Moon

Navratri continues for three more nights, with the arrival of Saraswati. 

The word navratri means nine nights; on each set of three nights 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. 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. For these final three nights we honor and thank the Divine Mother as Saraswati, who is "the essence of self".

 

Photo by Alan Gillespie

Tonight is also the First Quarter Moon; we are one-quarter of the way through the moon cycle. The moon is waxing - growing in light and energy, creating a time for decisive action. I use this end-of-March quarter moon's energy to be really present in my body, and do the work - less dreaming and more creating, digging, cleaning, writing, biking, and playing!

Agenda Today:

1. Journal queries

2. Make a Full Effort Plan

3. Write a mission haiku

4. Practice visualization

5. Morning meditation and mantra

6. Add to my altar

Navratri Continues

Navratri continues tonight with the visit of Lakshmi. The word navratri means nine nights; on each set of three nights 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 - 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

Laksmi is a beautiful golden woman with four arms, sitting on a fully bloomed lotus and holding a lotus bud. Cascades of gold coins flow from her hands, and she wears gold embroidered red clothes, indicating her offering of prosperity. The word Lakshmi comes from the Sanskrit word Laksya, meaning aim or goal. Lakshmi heals and nourishes my spirit and brings me steadiness of mind. She bestows spiritual and material wealth, good food, health, and happiness. Lakshmi brings the growth and unfolding of whatever is life-enhancing. 

Agenda Today:
1. Morning meditation and mantra

2. Resilience practice

2. Make a new rangoli design
3. Add to my altar

Chaitra Navratri

Today is the start of Navratri, a Hindu holiday during which we honor and thank Shakti, the Divine Mother, in all her forms. Shakti is the universal principle of energy and creativity, Mother Earth, and the feminine power in each of us.

The word nava means nine and ratri means nights; the festival lasts for nine nights and ten days. Navratri is celebrated twice each year, in the spring and fall, because these are times when nature and people undergo great changes. Spring (Chaitra) Navratri begins the day after the new moon in late March or early April, and is celebrated as a request to Shakti for a good growing season.

Agenda:

2021 Rangoli

1- Make a rangoli design
2- Plant grain seeds
3- Set up an altar for Mother Nature
4- Morning meditation on strength

5- Make channa sundal (spicy chickpeas)

6- Evening visualization and prayer

7- Durga mantra

Ash Wednesday and Pea Planting Day

Ash Wednesday is the first day of Lent, a 46-day period of preparation for the joyful Easter celebration. The word lent comes from the Anglo Saxon word lencten, which means "lengthen"; it refers to the longer days of spring. 

Lent is about mortality and transformation; death and rebirth. Marcus Borg says, "It means dying to an old way of being, and being born into a new way of being, a way of being centered once again in God."

And Pea Planting Day is a special anniversary for us. February 22 is listed on my planting calendar as the first day to plant peas in the Willamette Valley; it also happens that this is the day W and I got engaged to each other, 47 years ago!

Peas are traditionally the first vegetable sown outside in the spring because they will germinate and grow in very cool soil. We plant peas today to ceremonially kick off the start of the planting season, and also to remind ourselves of the beginnings of our relationship; the day we decided to be together forever.

Agenda:

1. Read Nature Mentor

2. Resilience practice

3. Begin plastic fasting

4. Hang up the Lent Lady

5. Pea planting ceremony

6. Permaculture pea tips

7. Make a pea label

4th Day of Christmas

This is the fourth day of the twelve-day festal tide - a sacred, festive season. My retreat today will again embrace the disposition of a pre-schooler ... a busy kind of retreat, with lots of short projects and (hopefully) a long nap!

Agenda:
1. Christmas retreat

2. Kwanzaa principles

3. Earth care reading

4. Service and activism goals for 2023

5. Prayer candle ceremony

6. Make end-of-year donations

7. Winter nature table

A Natural Christmas

My theme for this week of Advent has been "cherish and care for the earth". Each year, this first week, I bring nature indoors, by collecting greens, pine cones, straw, and other natural materials to use for decorations, and for making gifts.

I've been collecting fallen branches of evergreens for the last weeks, and now I will bring them inside to deck my halls. Greens are the first decorations I put up around the house, along with a few candles, to open the door to a little light, and to connect with the earth. Evergreens are a symbol of eternal life, and also symbolic protection against trouble. Today I bring the protective spirit of nature inside.

Agenda:

1. Make scented pine cones

2. Grapevine heart wreath

Medicine Art for Autumn Leaves

I'm designing a Medicine Art practice that I can teach and share, that will open the doors of creative healing to anyone, any age, any ability. The goal for my practice is to heal our connection to the earth and Creation.

We are all (de facto) connected because we are a part of nature, but we have built walls to keep nature separate, because our culture is human focused; we've been taught that we are more important than other parts of nature, and that's a hard lesson to unlearn. And when we begin to care more about nature it's easy to become overwhelmed, and then we need more walls to protect ourselves from feelings of anger and guilt.

Last week I shared some Medicine Art practices and projects for fall seeds that included the intentional steps of collecting, observing, preparing, creating, sharing and giving thanks. What I'm finding is that it's easy to find ways to connect to the earth, and  - with intention - any simple task (even a chore) becomes a path to healing.

Agenda:

1. Set leafy intentions

2. Collect leaves as a sacred activity

3. Observe leaves (with kids)

4. Observe leaves (with adults)

5. Create leaf mold to cultivate abundance

6. Leaf mold thanksgiving

Navratri Continues

Navratri continues tonight with the visit of Lakshmi. 

The word navratri means nine nights; on each set of three nights 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 - 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

Laksmi is a beautiful golden woman with four arms, sitting on a fully bloomed lotus and holding a lotus bud. Cascades of gold coins flow from her hands, and she wears gold embroidered red clothes, indicating her offering of prosperity. The word Lakshmi comes from the Sanskrit word Laksya, meaning aim or goal. Lakshmi heals and nourishes my spirit and brings me steadiness of mind. She bestows spiritual and material wealth, good food, health, and happiness. Lakshmi brings the growth and unfolding of whatever is life-enhancing. 

Agenda Today:
1. Morning meditation and mantra 

2. Make a new rangoli design
3. Add to my altar

4. Set intentions

Fall Navratri

Navratri is a Hindu holiday during which we honor and thank Shakti, the Divine Mother, in all her forms. Shakti is the universal principle of energy and creativity, Mother Earth, and the feminine power in each of us. 

The word nava means nine and ratri means nights; the festival lasts for nine nights, symbolic of the nine months in the womb.

Navratri is celebrated at least twice each year in India- in the spring and fall- because these are times when nature and people undergo great changes. Autumn (Sharad) Navratri begins on the day after the rise of the new moon in late September or early October.

The nine nights of Navratri are broken up into sets of three, and during each a different aspect of Shakti is meditated upon- the Goddesses Durga, then Lakshmi, and then Saraswati. Each of the three goddesses marks 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.

 
Agenda for today:

1. Morning meditation and mantra

2. Make a rangoli design

3. Plant grain seeds
4. Set up an altar for Mother Nature

5. Set intentions

Art Retreat

Love poem #1

I've called myself an artist for nearly 50 years now, but right now my feelings about art are like a vortex of chaos, and it's been painful and frustrating. I'm having a lengthy crisis of inspiration with art-making (an old familiar feeling!) and I'm in deep discernment about my painting. 

It's been months now, I stillI don't have a clear idea of next steps, but I trust that light will dawn if I keep faithful to the process. My starting point is the firm belief that art is a healing force in the world.

My mission haiku this month is:

Love poem #2

Take root, grow skyward,

and create love poems to the earth; 

share them on the wind.

A couple of times this week I took a bucket of supplies (watercolors, brushes, paper, charcoal, pens) to my garden, let nature talk to me, and created love notes. 

Today I'm going to dive in and muck around with art.

Agenda:

1. Read "Healing with the Arts"

2. Weekly lesson

3. Guided meditation

4. Medicine art