Sabbath for Resilience Boot Camp

We all have times in our lives when we are stretched by challenging situations, and the hope is that we are strong enough to win through with some amount of grace. This is what all the books, journaling, and habit-building is meant to prepare us for.

Am I prepared? Mostly, but I could always do more. This week at the full moon I discerned a new intention: 

I intend to list clear actionable steps towards paring down, resilience habits, delegation, care-taking, and community-building because the next 2-weeks are our boot camp for the long haul of recovery.

The truth is that I need to control the bits I can control: MY habits, my preparations and negotiations, my integrity and compassion. So, for the next two weeks I'm putting myself through Resilience Boot Camp! And today is Day One.

Agenda:

1. Read "Revolutionary Witchcraft"

2. Start new work-out program

3. Harvesting practice

4. Bee watching

5. Discern actionable steps

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 "The Book of Doing and Being"

3. Projects for the week

4. Make a rangoli design

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

New Holiday Moon and Chinese New Year of the Horse

Today is the Chinese New Year, which starts when the new moon appears in China. This is the month of the Holiday Moon, and the year of the Fire Horse. Horses represent strength, freedom, and spirited perseverance, and the element of fire magnifies these qualities with its intensity, urgency, and passion. This will be a fast-moving, high-energy year, with a stronger drive -- ideal for pursuing new opportunities, and making it especially important to stay attuned to the body’s limits and energy reserves.

This first new moon of the Chinese year is called the Holiday Moon, because it's the start of a month-long holiday season in China. The new moon is 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.

The first day of the Chinese New Year is called Yüan-tan, the "Day of Origin". This one day determines the luck for the entire year, so Chinese people are careful to use their best manners and to remain honest and peaceful.

Agenda for today: 

1. Retreat Day

2. Choose a month theme

3. Set intentions

4. Eat jai for breakfast
5. Give gifts

6. Make and give hóngbāo (money packets)

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)

Full Egg moon

The full moon of March is the atcha-uyu or "Women Dig Camus" moon by the Kalapuya of my area, and the Egg Moon by others, because this is the month when birds begin to lay eggs again. The egg is a powerful symbol of hope, new beginnings, and completeness: My vague ideas take a solid shape, enclosed in a perfect shell, and I have created a whole new beautiful thing! The March Full Moon is a good time to ponder ​t​he wholeness of life.

We are now at the peak of the high-energy yang phase of the waxing moon, and will soon begin the low-energy yin time of the waning moon.

Agenda Today:

1. Take a vision walk

2. Celebrate strength

New Budding Moon and Maha Shivratri

Tonight is the new moon; the Chinese call the second new moon the Budding Moon. As we cycle nearer to spring, I can feel my energy growing and swelling like the buds on the trees! 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, prepare, and set intentions.

Shiva, Crafts Museum, New Delhi

Tonight is also Maha Shivratri, a Hindu festival which falls each year on the night of the new moon in the Hindu month of Phalgun (in February or March). The Sanskrit word ratri means night, and maha means great, so Maha Shivratri is the night to honor the great Shiva, for his dance of primordial creation, preservation, and destruction.

Many Hindus keep a fast all day, make offerings of flowers and incense, and chant to Shiva. They vigil all night, sing songs, and dance to the rhythm of the drums.

Agenda Today:

1. Retreat Day

2. Mantra

3. Choose a month theme 

4. Choose goals

5.  New moon altar and meditation

6. Make Thandai

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

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)

Third Quarter Moon of April

Photo by Alan Gillespie

Today is the Third Quarter Moon: This waning 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 and self-care.

Agenda today:

1. Read "The Comfort of Crows"

2. Renewal plan

3. Evaluation House

4. Monthly journal brainstorm

5. Surrender, rest, recuperate

Full Egg Moon and Holi

The full moon of March is the atcha-uyu or "Women Dig Camus" moon by the Kalapuya of my area, and the Egg Moon by others, because this is the month when birds begin to lay eggs again. The egg is a powerful symbol of hope, new beginnings, and completeness: My vague ideas take a solid shape, enclosed in a perfect shell, and I have created a whole new beautiful thing! The March Full Moon is a good time to ponder ​t​he wholeness of life.

We are now at the peak of the high-energy yang phase of the waxing moon, and will soon begin the low-energy yin time of the waning moon.

Today is also Holi, a Hindu holiday that falls on the day after the full moon in March each year. It marks the end of winter in India. Holi is sometimes called the Festival of Color, because on Holi everyone in India throws paint at each other! 

To prepare, folks buy gulal, which are powdered paints in rich colors of pink, magenta, red, yellow and green. Three days before Holi, families get together to sprinkle a little of the gulal powders on each other, to share love and blessings. 

On the day of Holi the whole country goes wild with people laughing and running in the streets; they smear each other with powder, drench each other with buckets of paint, and spray paint with long pistons (like super-soakers). They also fill water balloons with paint! People often show respect for elders by sprinkling dry powder on their feet. 

By the end of the day everyone is covered with color- old people, children, men, women, rich and poor. Holi creates a feeling of equality in a country with strong disparity.

Agenda Today:

1. Take a vision walk

2. Celebrate strength

3. Make Malpua
4. Have a color celebration

New Budding Moon and Fourth Sunday of Lent

Tonight is the new moon; the Chinese call the second new moon the Budding Moon. As we cycle nearer to spring, I can feel my energy growing and swelling like the buds on the trees!

 

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.

If at all possible, I schedule a day of retreat on the new moon, or near to it: I do less talking, less business, and more personal thought and action. I had a peaceful retreat day yesterday. (Today is going to be very social!)

This is also the fourth week of Lent. My theme this year for Lent is Down-to-Earth Simple Living: I plan to ease back to the basics of living my life: Eating, playing, home and garden, family and art. At Lent I allow myself to be slow, simple, and thoughtful. I spend time each day in focused study and prayer. This Lent, I plan to continue to explore my relationship to the natural world, the cycles of the seasons, and down-to-earth living, with the simplest of actions. 

Agenda Today:

1. Simple steps plan

2. Choose a month theme

3. Set intentions

4. New moon altar and meditation

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

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

Full Egg Moon and Holi

The full moon of March is the atcha-uyu or "Women Dig Camus" moon by the Kalapuya of my area, and the Egg Moon by others, because this is the month when birds begin to lay eggs again. The egg is a powerful symbol of hope, new beginnings, and completeness: My vague ideas take a solid shape, enclosed in a perfect shell, and I have created a whole new beautiful thing! The March Full Moon is a good time to ponder what I need to be made complete.

We are now at the peak of the high-energy yang phase of the waxing moon, and will soon begin the low-energy yin time of the waning moon.

Today is also Holi, a Hindu holiday that falls on the day after the full moon in March each year. It marks the end of winter in India. Holi is sometimes called the Festival of Color, because on Holi everyone in India throws paint at each other! 

To prepare, folks buy gulal, which are powdered paints in rich colors of pink, magenta, red, yellow and green. Three days before Holi, families get together to sprinkle a little of the gulal powders on each other, to share love and blessings. 

On the day of Holi the whole country goes wild with people laughing and running in the streets; they smear each other with powder, drench each other with buckets of paint, and spray paint with long pistons (like super-soakers). They also fill water balloons with paint! People often show respect for elders by sprinkling dry powder on their feet. 

By the end of the day everyone is covered with color- old people, children, men, women, rich and poor. Holi creates a feeling of equality in a country with strong disparity.

Agenda Today:

1. Take a vision walk

2. Celebrate strength

3. Make Malpua
4. Have a color celebration

5. Plant the sabzeh

Clean Monday and First Quarter Moon

Today is known as Clean Monday in the Eastern Orthodox tradition. The clean originally referred to the purification of the soul for Lent. Today it's customary to clean the house thoroughly, and, in Greece, people go on picnics, eat shellfish, and fly kites!

It's 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-February 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. Nature Mentor 

3. Make a Full Effort Plan

4. Prayer of Cleansing

5. Kitchen cleaning

6. Plastic fast

7. Make Laguna (flat bread)

New Budding Moon and Maha Shivratri

Tonight is the new moon; the Chinese call the second new moon the Budding Moon. As we cycle nearer to spring, I can feel my energy growing and swelling like the buds on the trees! 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, prepare, and set intentions.

Shiva, Crafts Museum, New Delhi

Tonight is also Maha Shivratri, a Hindu festival which falls each year on the night of the new moon in the Hindu month of Phalgun (in February or March). The Sanskrit word ratri means night, and maha means great, so Maha Shivratri is the night to honor the great Shiva, for his dance of primordial creation, preservation, and destruction.

Many Hindus keep a fast all day, make offerings of flowers and incense, and chant to Shiva. They vigil all night, sing songs, and dance to the rhythm of the drums.

Agenda Today:

1. Retreat Day

2. Mantra

3. Choose a month theme 

4. Choose goals and set intentions

5.  New moon altar and meditation

6. Make Thandai

Winter Transitions Retreat

Winter is beginning to wain; though we are having very cold nights and icy mornings, I see more and more greenery, and bulbs are popping up. Winter is making a slow transition to spring.

Also, the new moon is coming, and Lent. I'm on the cusp of a new phase of study and action; it's time to sum up what I've learned about receptivity, and prepare for a shift. Today I will take a retreat for transitions.

1. Read about loving kindness

2. Manage my strengths

3. Ponder the Relationship Dance

4. Prepare for Lent

5. Prepare to plant

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

Full Egg Moon and Holi

The full moon of March is the atcha-uyu or "Women Dig Camus" moon by the Kalapuya of my area, and the Egg Moon by others, because this is the month when birds begin to lay eggs again. The egg is a powerful symbol of hope, new beginnings, and completeness: My vague ideas take a solid shape, enclosed in a perfect shell, and I have created a whole new beautiful thing! The March Full Moon is a good time to ponder what I need to be complete.

We are now at the peak of the high-energy yang phase of the waxing moon, and will soon begin the low-energy yin time of the waning moon.

Today is also Holi, a Hindu holiday that falls on the day after the full moon in March each year. It marks the end of winter in India. Holi is sometimes called the Festival of Color, because on Holi everyone in India throws paint at each other! 

To prepare, folks buy gulal, which are powdered paints in rich colors of pink, magenta, red, yellow and green. Three days before Holi, families get together to sprinkle a little of the gulal powders on each other, to share love and blessings. 

On the day of Holi the whole country goes wild with people laughing and running in the streets; they smear each other with powder, drench each other with buckets of paint, and spray paint with long pistons (like super-soakers). They also fill water balloons with paint! People often show respect for elders by sprinkling dry powder on their feet. 

By the end of the day everyone is covered with color- old people, children, men, women, rich and poor. Holi creates a feeling of equality in a country with strong disparity.

Agenda Today:

1. Take a vision walk

2. Celebrate strength

3. Gratitude practice

4. Make Malpua
5. Have a color celebration

New Chrysanthemum Moon

Endurance- acrylic and collage on canvas.

Tonight is the night of the new moon. The Chinese call this ninth new moon the Chrysanthemum Moon. The chrysanthemum is a symbol of long life and endurance because of its ability to withstand colder temperatures. According to Chinese scholars, it shows the virtues of one who can endure temptations and maintain grace.

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 for today:
1. Journal queries

2. Retreat Day

3. Pick a theme

4. Set goals and intentions

5. New moon altar and meditation

6. Fall cleaning