January New Moon and the Gift of Healing Touch.

Carolyn shares her thoughts on the night of the new moon:  I sat listening to what thoughts make themselves known to me during the time I set aside for my new moon meditation.  Thinking about the gift of the call to Learn Truth that I embrace this month. AND thinking, too, about the gift creator has provided for me through my five senses.

This month the sense we are asked to know better is the sense of touch.  My mind goes to a memory of one of the first times I laid my hands on the skin of a loved one and through that touch received awareness of their pain and the way to relieve it.  Remembering this, and reflecting on the other times my coming in touch with another has been healing for me, or them, and sometimes for both of us, I had this thought:  What if we are beings born as cells of the heart of Creator? What if our bodies are living ‘hearts of the Divine’?  Then this skin of ours, which is the largest organ of our body, is a magnificent receptor and giver of all that is possible of Divine Love.  It is no wonder that intuition is developed through our awareness of touch.  It is of no surprise that we Learn Truth through our willingness to be in relationship with all, and how often our sense of touch (as well as our voice) frames these relationships.  

Self Reflection: Am I open to the gifts which come my way with the willingness to learn truth?

As We Move to a New Year of Truth Cycles...

Being and living the vision for our life: Everything in the universe has a template for it's structure and existence (it's potential and possibility).  We, as human beings, are no different in this sense than rocks, trees the elements and the stars.  We are what we are.  Yet, as human beings, the template of our potential is often co opted by our ego and our thinking brain (a simplistic description; read Ken Wilber's  work on Integral living if you want to know more).  We have brief, fleeting moments of awareness and knowing--where we ARE fully present, and the person we dare  to dream we could be-if/when...makes herself/himself known to us! 

We are already who and what we were created to be.  But...because our sense of self is not in alignment with our 'Divine Template' it only means that we must learn how to bring our vision back from the distance of 'someday' to the present moment.  

We already are the person we sense we are called to be.  We CAN and WILL learn to experience ourselves as this person! How? We start by paying attention to the reaction of our senses in our daily lives.  We notice our preferences, likes, dislikes, prejudices, beliefs.  No judging, just notice.  No judging, just notice.

Self Reflection: The process of becoming who I am is not so much about becoming more, but a process of shedding, letting go, dropping what is not 'me'.

Stereopsis Moon

Stereopsis New Moon , Lisa Kay, 9/30/16

 Looking into a black ceramic crock pot, soaking in my sink, I captured this strange and astounding photo that I titled,  Cyclops. The mandala image was created from the interaction of  vinegar and baking soda. I have been contemplating and wondering about the meaning of this image ever since the new moon. What does this have to do with the moon cycle? What I discovered is that a more fitting name for this mandala is Stereoposis rather than Cylops. This greek term (stereo meaning "solid" and opsis meaning" appearance") refers to one's ability to see with both eyes that which may is hidden from each eye alone.  For me, this is a reminder to stay open to seeing and perceiving with what Educational Philosopher, Maxine Greene has called a "wide-awakeness."

Serving the Child, Serving the Future

Karin, a founding member of our original Moon Cycle Circle and guest blogger, starts off the exploration of the role of 'will' (and true service) on the path to Live Truth.  She shares her personal reflections:

During last month's focus on Serving Truth, I was startled by the assertion that I needed to serve myself. (This flies in the face of my Christian indoctrination.)  It took so much pressure off me to serve, serve, and serve some more until I was spent. Working with Kinders these past two weeks--and I mean, young Kinders--with their joyful and willful expression, has reminded me to be aware of and care for my own inner child.  I intuit that I need to cultivate and give witness to an intermingling of service to them and to service to myself. Therein lies the evolution and healing of Planet and Self--one and the same!

It takes daily contemplation and review of my intentions in order to Serve God/The Good.  My intentions encompass guiding the little ones in learning how to 1) distinguish needs from wants; 2) balance their needs and immediate wants with those of their peers; 3) to assert when they have not been heard, yet also practice strategies of patience and grit when faced with challenges.  Basically, to stre-e-etch both their brains AND their hearts when peers trespass their boundaries and they don't receive immediate gratification--tall orders for any of us, let alone Kinders!

August's focus on Service and September's focus on Awareness of Tomorrow's Dreams in its range of manifestations epitomizes my journey through the cycles.  The image of a giggling-then sleepy-then generous babe Wata-jis in the cradle board (from Jamie Sams story of Setting Sun Woman) captures the essence of a Kinder kid!  This morning I looked at our class pictures and could distinctly envision them as high schoolers!  I need to be aware that their future selves will carry the foundational circuitry and emotions from their Kinder selves!

What exactly is my role?  It's imperative that I pray morning, evening, throughout the day (!) for the words and patience to love them just as they are developmentally (as my young Karin needed and did not always receive). Also important is to give them choice and a measure of responsibility in making those choices.  Tell them in word and deed that I trust them.  Model that I, too, make mistakes, but that we can and will become skillful emotionally and cognitively.  This is a process, an entire life's journey. My co-teacher and I are learning that patience and respect (with respectful consequences for obstinacy!) during this journey are the hardest to practice and model.  But the fruits of our labor are so worth it.

Serve Truth Mandala for the Waxing Moon

The Music of Serve Truth. Lisa Kay, 8.5' x 9", sheet music, watercolor, money plant seed cases, scrabble tiles
Copyright, Lisa Kay

Forgiveness as an Instant Disolver of Anger

From Mary Z: Jamie Sams writes, “In her wisdom, Loves All Things teaches us that we can find the joys of physical life, without trying to escape our pain through becoming addicted to false pleasures or compulsive behavior patterns.”

I have a pattern of diffusing painful situations with humor or flattery only to succumb to internalizing the hard feelings I could not express to another.  Carolyn talked about forgiveness.  If forgiveness is for the self, how does one forgive when the feelings come from within one’s own self?

I only recently realized how angry I was at someone who had taken advantage of me a few months back.  I feel I cannot forgive him without him understanding how hurt I was.  Yet tonight I was finally able to express my feelings in writing.  A weight was lifted when I wrote down the words.  Is that the healing feeling of forgiveness?

I become overwhelmed trying to figure out where I took the wrong turns in life that leave me so unhappy so often in the present.  Focusing on a current emotion and doing something about it fostered a lightness I have not felt in a while.  Can past sins be forgiven by breaking a few patterns in the present?

Jamie Sams writes, “Forgiving the self for being human…usually dissolved the anger instantly

We All Share the Circle of Connection and Relationship

Carolyn shares:  I'm writing this post just after saying "good night" to a group of women who joined me on this night of the summer solstice and the June full moon. This joining of solstice and full moon hasn't happened for 50 years.  It made the news and was an 'excuse' for a lot of partying.  On our end, These 8 women came all with different connections and from different places. We came to hold ceremony, to share about our current life-both the joys and the challenges, and to bear witness to each woman's request for the next step in her journey.  It didn't matter that some of us didn't know others, or that we came from different circles.  Neither did it matter that we all seemed to have different spiritual traditions. Songs were sung from different ancestries, even in different languages. In this small group, in a few short hours, new truths were spoken and old stories released to grandmother moon.  We committed to flourish and nourish others with the abundance of who we are, just as the solstice celebrations invites and reminds us all to do.
Hundreds, maybe thousands of women are gathering together for ceremony on this evening, and we are all connected. You, reading this post, are connected, too.  I am full of gratitude...and tired. It's near midnight, and way past my bedtime.