New Moon's Arising--shining on our homes and hearts

The new moon for March is upon us.  With the March moon the Spring Season also begins.  As it happens, season of lent in the Christian liturgical year also begins this week. 

It's time to begin 'spring cleaning'-not only in our homes,but in our hearts and our lives.  I grew up Catholic and lent was always a time of giving up something we 'loved'.  For us kids, that usually meant candy.  I have friends who still follow this practice of giving something up-most often it's alcohol, coffee or chocolate. 

This year, I've decided to do this Lenten practice again: I've decided to give up being irritated-just for the next 40 days and forty nights. I might not be able to stop being irritated, but I commit to stop myself from putting what irritates me onto others.  (IE stop bitching, crabby, and blaming).  I am going to watch myself, watching myself with my reactions: (to learn about how to practice this exercise go to http://www.circleofself.com/Pdfs/aspectselements/PersonalAspectofSelfOverview.pdf  )

If I'm going to be successful, I will spend time doing some spring cleaning.  Starting in the 'easiest' place I will be truthful with myself about what needs to be cleared out of my home space-my office,my kitchen, my closets and the stuff I have stashed in the basement over the winter. Then I might move to my heart.  What am I clinging to that invites irritation into my life?What are my resentments and past hurts that small things stir up again? I will do an honest inventory of where I need to have boundaries for myself and others and where it is time to have a more clear and open heart.  Finally, I will work on housecleaning in my life--a few bad habits have taken residence in my life over this past winter.  I've brought some new people, activities and plans into my life and I  need to make space for them, so I will use the Spring cleaning and truth weighing over this first moon cycle of Spring. 

On Being Kind

“Be kinder than necessary, 

for everyone you meet is fighting 

some kind of battle.” 

― T.H. Thompson and John Watson

I have a friend and colleague who writes a blog for her friends.  She has disciplined (committed and supported) herself to do a piece of verse everyday as her morning prayer/meditation.  She sent this along to us, an invitation to 'be kinder'  and this includes to ourselves.

I'm fighting a cold today.  I succumbed to it by the stress I put on myself over the weekend.  I wasn't even aware of it until I woke up in the middle of the night unable to breathe , my sinuses were so clogged.  For me, getting a cold is always connected to stress of some sort.  I have come to the awareness nearly everyone has a pet 'illness' that visits them when they get too far out of balance.  We get out of balance when we stop being kind to ourselves--which most likely means we have also not been kind to others at the same time.

February Moon Cycle begins with today's new moon

 It's so gray out today-this 23rd day of January.  10 days until the groundhog has a chance to see his shadow--or not!  Regardless we will have many more gray days to get through before the spring sun dominates our Midwest sky.  Maybe it's not surprising gray is the color associated with the February moon cycle which begins today. It kind of goes with the current landscape! But, gray is also the color that represents neutrality. When we look at the events in our lives, our beliefs, our feelings from a place of neutrality, we are then able to see more possibilities and have more options for creating change. The grayness we experience in these waning winter months can have new meaning for us. We can see it as a reminder to move into a place of neutrality and then be able to see the bigger picture, rather than be sucked into mid-winter depression and despair.

Gray is the perfect background for reflecting all of who we can be and help us to see outside of ourselves more accurately. Try this: Take a gray piece of fabric (or paper), a white piece of fabric (or paper) and a black piece of fabric (or paper) and lay upon each one a colored object (or paper or piece of fabric). You will notice that the colored object has more vibrancy and depth against the gray as in comparison to the white. So it is also in our lives. When we become willing to live in the gray of things, rather than insist on a black and white world, we see things more fully and brilliantly and can also see more possibilities. By learning to come into a place of neutrality, we can release our judgments and embrace the wisdom of discernment. (For those interested in archetypes--discernment is the matured and enlightened aspect of the judge archetype.) The ability to be in the ‘gray zone’ is also the gift of humility, a necessary virtue for having wisdom.

How do we know when we should hibernate or get out and fully embrace where the winds of winter send us?

From the Circle of Self Website  http://www.circleofself.com/MoonCycle.htm
"January’s suggested Aspect/Element is the Element of Nature (Collective Aspect). Depression, despair, and seasonal affective disorder symptoms all raise their difficult heads during this month. It is easy to hunker down and wait for spring to come, and sometimes it is good, healthy and supportive to hibernate during this month. But for some of us, withdrawal and hibernation lead to more self-sabotage and a deepening of addictive behaviors. By taking time to focus on nature, by spending time out in the winter world, committing to care for the birds and other creatures who may need extra support during these months of scarcity of food, we also support ourselves. Focusing on practices that support your emotional health during this cycle has the ability to change historical patterns of winter depression."

How do we know when we should hibernate and withdraw from the world or when we should bundle up and get our selves out in the world?  Or as another option, invite the world into our own?  It's a tough question many of my clients struggle with at this time of year.  For some of us, over indulgence and succumbing to our addictive  tendencies during the holidays, leaves our bodies and minds exhausted and depleted.  If we don't take time to re-group or take some retreat time to get rebalanced, our bodies will often give us a good bout of flu or a bad cold as a way to slow us down.  This happened to me this past week.  I could feel it coming, but I was too stubborn to slow down.  And too emotional to acknowledge to myself  I desperately needed a time-out!

Perhaps the healthiest way is the middle road-plan out a few days to hibernate--no commitments, simple foods, NO LAYING IN FRONT OF THE TV or GETTING HOOKED ON VIDEO GAMES.  NO COUCH POTATO.  In your retreat time do things differently. Allow yourself to sleep.  GO to bed soon after sunset and don't set the alarm.  Wake naturally.  Indulge in a morning beverage and connect with the morning world of nature, even if it's just through the window.

Make a plan to do a winter hike.  Even a short one.  One of the most magical times to do this as at twilight.  The winter sky is beautiful in January, the sunsets are miraculous.

Finally, plan a celebratory meal with close friends.  It needn't be stressful or fancy.  Only invite those friends who can accept a not so perfect house and who are willing to help with some clean up afterward.  Celebrate each other.  Celebrate the gift of human life.  Celebrate possibilities. But mostly, just be with one another.  Be gentle with one another and enjoy community.

Waxing Moon for December 2011

I somehow was locked out of my blog for the past week.  Then tonight, when I checked it once more-voila.  I was once again able to post.  I can only take this to mean that it was not the time for me to post.  So, I missed writing about the Dark and New Moons that graced us of the thanksgiving holiday.  THe waxing moon starts at the same time as the season of advent in the Christian faith.  Seems like a perfect dual energy for making changing and taking advantage of the energy available to us this season.

The time between the new and full moons is a time frame for developing the strategies and support system that will help you manifest your goals for your chosen Aspect/Element.  The Waxing moon is about development and strengthening changes needed to fulfill intention and goals.  This may be inner work, relating more to thought patterns and beliefs, or it may be about behaviors and actions.  The energy of this part of the moon cycle helps us be aware the work needed to manifest our desired changes and goals.  If we tune in to this part of the moon cycle, we can get an energetic boost to our efforts.

FYI:  The dates for the waxing moon for December 2011--novemeber 26 to December 9.

Life With Out News

 

It seems that I have been traveling a lot over the course of the past few months.  One of the things I’ve noticed is how little I heard the news. The people I was staying with didn’t watch the news. If it hadn’t been for the Washington Post updates on my blackberry, I wouldn’t have had a clue to the latest disaster or crisis. We have developed a habit at our house to turn on the news every morning and every night.  I grew up listening to news radio, and after we got television, watched the 5 o’clock and 10 o’clock news.  I found myself wondering about Syria, the latest housing numbers, the results of the most recent political fall-out, the Penn State drama.  All the things that were in the headlines when I left home, I wondered about them, and I recognized how they had infiltrated my thoughts. For what purpose do I listen to the news?  Do I feel somehow more in control? Safer? Informed (which means what??)  The point is, that while all these events were going on around the globe, life at the ranch, life on the road, life at my friends’ home went was not overtly impacted.  We talked about things that were relevant to our daily and local life.  I don’t feel those I was with didn’t care about world events, rather attention was given to the life they could have an impact on-immediately. It’s just that focusing on that news is one more way I avoid living in the present moment.  It’s one more way I being present with myself, living in my own life.  I avoid my issues, my responsibilities and my purpose.  I hadn’t realized how much my energy was drained and distracted by all the watching and reading.

I’m traveling again.  I’ll have another week without easy access to the news.  I intend to take it in and know myself better!

Daily Inspirational Reading Makes a Difference

I am traveling just now, and in my rush to pack and leave home in the predawn hours, I left my current Daily Inspiration Reading. (Jamie Sams'  Earth Medicine).  I felt the missing piece (peace, too) the first morning I woke and reached for it at the bedside table. I was able to do a short centering exercise, I connected my thoughts, with my heart, with my gut feelings and my intention for the day.  Still not the same, though, I'd gotten used to Jamie's words settling in throughout my day and helping me remember, (re-member) myself, my intention, my purpose.

It's been three days of traveling so far and each day I miss my inspirational reading more.  It's not that I don't have any reading material (if you ever travelled with me, you would know I tend to take more books than clothes). It is that my daily inspirational reading has been doing what it is meant to do-inspire me, help me stay connected to Divine Source and stay focused on my purpose.

Blessings to us all as we begin the 11th Moon Cycle and prepare our bodies, hearts, minds and spirits for the coming winter months.