“ In the Spring at the end of the day, you should smell like dirt.”
~Margaret Atwood
WINTER SOLSTICE: 2022 (Alban Arthan)
The Winter Solstice is on Wednesday, December 21, 2022 at 4:48 PM. This is the time when the Earth’s tilt away from the Sun is at its maximum and the Sun’s maximum elevation in the sky is at its lowest. In our Northern Hemisphere this marks the shortest day and the longest night.
From ancient times to the present, the winter solstice is celebrated in cultures world wide. Besides Stonehenge in the U.K., here are a few examples.
Alban Arthan is Welsh for “light of winter”. In Druidic tradition it is thought of as a time of death and rebirth when nature’s powers and our own souls are renewed.
The Feast of Juul– This is a festival observed in Scandinavia when fires are lit to symbolize the heat, light, and life given properties of the returning sun.
Dongzhi Winter Solstice Festival – The ancient Chinese believed that the yang or the positive energy will become stronger and stronger after this day, and so families would get together to celebrate. Continue reading “WINTER SOLSTICE: 2022 (Alban Arthan)”
Meal Blessings
Buddhist
“This food is the gift of the whole universe,
The Earth the sky and much hard work.
May we eat in mindfulness so as to be worthy to receive it.
May we learn to eat with moderation.
May we take only foods that nourish us and prevent illness. Continue reading “Meal Blessings”
Joy of Uncertainty: Embracing the Mess
“Even a wounded world is feeding us.
Even a wounded world holds us, giving us moments of wonder and joy.
I choose joy over despair.
Not because I have my head in the sand, but because joy
Is what the earth gives me daily
and I must return the gift ~ Robin Wall Kimmerer
What is Joy? Joy is traditionally defined as a state of great delight or happiness. Searching further, we find that joy refers more to an inner feeling, and happiness is more of an outer expression. We choose joy. Joy transcends. Happiness reacts. We find joy in spite of uncertainty. Joy endures hardships and connects with meaning and purpose. Joy is a constant, internal state on a spiritual level. Happiness is an external temporary emotion. “Joy is in the heart. Happiness is in the face.”~ from compassion international. Continue reading “Joy of Uncertainty: Embracing the Mess”
The Winter Solstice ~ 2021
The Winter Solstice is the time of ending and beginning, a powerful time to contemplate your immortality. A time to forgive, to be forgiven, and to make a fresh start. A time to awaken.
~Frederick Lenz
On Tuesday, Dec. 21st, 2021, once again the sun will travel its shortest path through the sky, giving us the shortest day and the longest night of the year. Winter begins. Holiday lights shimmer and glow, reminding us that we are once again celebrating our inner light as well as the light of Nature. The vibratory energy of the seasons allows us to reflect and go within to rediscover our own inner radiance and release any inner darkness that no longer serves us.
Pandemic living may make this more difficult. However, there are ways to amplify our own vibrations so that we may deeply align with the positive energy of the changing season and the changing times. Then we may share the radiance with others. This may be the year to keep it simple and self-reflect as you engage in self care.
I would like to share a few suggestions that have inspired me this season. Continue reading “The Winter Solstice ~ 2021”
My Christmas Greeting 2021
Dear Friends and Family,
I would like to share a verse from this “amazing” poem by Maya Angelou. The light and love in these words serves us all well in these challenging times.
Amazing Peace: A Christmas Poem
We clap our hands and welcome the Peace of Christmas.
We beckon this good season to wait a while with us.
We, Baptist and Buddhist, Methodist and Muslim say come.
Peace.
Come and fill us and our world with your majesty.
We, the Jew and the Jainist, the Catholic and the Confucian,
Implore you, to stay a while with us.
So we may learn by your shimmering light
How to look beyond complexion and see community.
May you find your joy, wonder, peace, and love this holiday season and throughout the New Year.
All blessings,
Franny and Andy
Felices Fiestas
Chag sameach
Kindness is like snow. It beautifies everything it covers ~ Kahlil Gibran
5 Contemplations before Eating – from Plum Village
Plum Village is a global community of mindfulness practice centres offering retreats and teachings on engaged Buddhism and the art of mindful living, founded by Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh. We share these contemplations with you, on this day before Thanksgiving:
This food is a gift of the earth, the sky, numerous living beings, and much hard and loving work.
May we eat with mindfulness and gratitude so as to be worthy to receive this food.
May we recognise and transform unwholesome mental formations, especially our greed and learn to eat with moderation
May we keep our compassion alive by eating in such a way that reduces the suffering of living beings, stops contributing to climate change, and heals and preserves our precious planet.
We accept this food so that we may nurture our brotherhood and sisterhood, build our Sangha, and realise our ideal of serving all living beings.
Yoga for Fall, the Pandemic, and Letting Go
Autumn is my favorite color.
“Autumn is a second spring when every leaf is a flower” ~Albert Camus
Nature is once again awash in the colors of autumn. I watched the sun peep out of the clouds after yesterday’s storm. It was shining magic light on the orange, scarlet, gold and plum tree branches. The hills glowed magenta at dusk.
The Greek philosopher, Heraclitus. said,”The only constant is change”. Continue reading “Yoga for Fall, the Pandemic, and Letting Go”
Let the Light Shine In
Happy summer solstice!
Please enjoy a favorite poem that was posted by a fellow Yoga teacher:
I thank You God for most this amazing day
For the leaping greenly spirits of trees
And a blue true dream of sky
And for everything which is natural, which is infinite, which is yesI who have died am alive again today
And this is the sun’s birthday
This is the birth day of life and of love and wings
And of the gay great happening illimitably earthHow should tasting, touching, hearing, seeing, breathing any
Lifted from the no of all nothing
Human merely being doubt unimaginable You?Now the ears of my ears awake
And now the eyes of my eyes are opened
– e.e. cummings
THE SPIRITUAL MEANING OF DAFFODILS (and The Pandemic)
“To plant a garden is to believe in tomorrow.”~Audrey Hepburn
“An optimist is a human personification of Spring.”~Susan J. Bissonette
Last October, my partner and I planted one hundred and twenty bulbs of Daffodils in our garden. We wondered, “what would next Spring bring?”. Winter was tough. We were faced with the tragic loss of lives coupled with economic, social and political unrest.
Continue reading “THE SPIRITUAL MEANING OF DAFFODILS (and The Pandemic)”