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.

Listening to Hear Truth Speak for Herself

Carolyn shares: When I opened Lisa Kay's full moon mandala for May/the cycle of Hear Truth I felt spoken to. Loud and clear!  I didn't feel shouted at, rather beckoned in a way I was compelled to take note of.  What is it that spoke to me?  A few words about working with mandalas might be helpful.  Working with a mandala is a bit like working with a dream.  In both cases, the dreamer (or the viewer of the mandala) becomes each part of the dream/mandala.  We see, sense and feel from each perspective. In this way we are able to interpret for ourselves the meaning it has for us and perhaps the different parts of ourselves.
As I sat in contemplation with Lisa's full moon mandala I recalled how I felt when opening her gift of the May New Moon Mandala-I felt impatient to light all the candles, and wanted to light them one at a time as the moon moved through her waxing phase. Impatience was my predominant feeling-antsy anticipation. I shared about this in a post the next day: Waiting to Hear.

This morning. I entered the mandala from the inside circle. I felt protected by the circle of light.  I felt the light shining upon me in the center of my being, I felt seen and invited to be seen.  I also felt a little in shadow by the light the candles cast. The ring of beads around the center--all my possibilities and potential-or maybe all my experiences, neatly wrapped inside each bead for safe keeping and organization.  I can be so disorganized. Either way, they remain an invitation for further exploration.

I am now the light of the candles-twelve of them.  The light that comes forth from patiently moving through the cycles of the year, the moons, the Truth teachings. Am I willing to be a light in all the ways I am called to be? When I live with the intention of light, I not only am a light for others, I also bring light to my own essence, the core of my being. The strength of the twelve lights in the circle are a strong boundary for me; a protection of sorts. I recognize I am not the source of my own light. I was lit up by another source, by Source.  With humility I remember that.

I am now the ring around the twelve candles.  I am the container holding all together.  The concentric circles remain concentric circles because the securely rest in their container. I sit in contemplation feeling contained, container, flame and wax and wick, twelve times over, the experiences and possibilities of who I am, and my I AM in the center of it all.  In this way I feel connected, I am connected with myself and with all.

Lisa's May Mandala transformed from a concentric space defined in anticipation to Speaking for Herself; a powerful, brilliant voice of reassurance and beckoning truth.

May Full Moon Mandala: She Speaks for Herself

  She speaks for herself: 1

 She speaks for herself: 2

She speaks for herself: 3

A Prayer for the Feast of Life

Creator,

Guide me through my day; help me

 Live fully,
Laugh deeply,

Love heartily,

Manifest abundantly,

Receive unconditionally,

Heal profoundly.

(feel free to add your own...)

Orange; the color for January's Moon and the 3rd Chakra

Carolyn's thoughts: On meditating on Lisa's mandala  I found my mind wandering into the realm of chakras. Hmmm; I know this relates in some way! Orange is the color associated with the second chakra, centered in the abdomen. It is the center holding the energy of relationships (and money and power in relationships). This chakra 'hangs out' between the first chakra at the base of the spine and the third chakra, at the solar plexus. The first chakra, represented in the color red, holds the energy related to our family of origin, culture, country, and ancestry (and the power these hold in our life). The third chakra center for our sense of self and self esteem is associated with the color yellow. Although I have worked with chakra energy for many years, The fullness of Lisa's orange mandala gave me a new awareness of the influence on my origin of birth and my sense of self on how I 'relate' in my relationships.  A healthy vibrant red and a healthy vibrant yellow will come together to support a healthy and vital orange.  Having had some digestive issues recently, I am also contemplating how this all shows up in my physical body.  What is it I need to learn?  I have a gut feeling there are some Truths I am resisting!