The magic of falling leaves

I love fall, I always have.  There is something in the air:  it's cool but not cold, often breezy but not super windy, and there is this smell that I just adore.  And a huge part of this is the leaves falling off of the trees.  I think that is where the scent is rooted...in the drying leaves.  They come in all colors of the rainbow, and the wind makes them dance across the ground.

Even when I was little, and had to rake leaves as a chore, I loved fall.  And of course, part of the process of raking leaves involved jumping into the piles you had made (which meant more raking...but it was worth it)!  There is something very satisfying about feeling the leaves crunch around you.

This time of year brings a rainbow of fire colors.  The leaves turn all shades of yellow, orange and red.  There is something fantastically beautiful about seeing one tree with a healthy mix of colored leaves, and a carpet underneath of fallen ones. 

I'm also a fan of unconventional beauty.  I appreciate monochromatic themes, and leaves that have fallen to the ground often come in shades of brown.  But there is still something about the different shades and the variance of shapes that creates an intricate landscape.

Beyond simply taking in the splendor of the season, there are many ways to work with falling leaves.  They speak to me of transitions and of letting go.  The leaves must transform, changing their color and very essence from living receptors of sunlight to dried bits that will become fertilizer, returning to the soil to enrich it and helping new growth.  The tree must let go of what had been a vital part of itself, in order to make itself ready for the coming winter.

One of the simplest ways to work with fallen leaves is to find one, and imbue it with something you wish to release.  You can cup it between your hands and send the energy of what you are letting go of into it, or blow your intention into it.  If you want a more elaborate ritual, consider painting your release onto the leaf (you can even paint one side to represent what you are letting go of and the other side for what you are making space for by letting it go).  You can also sew your focus into the leaf, just like you might sew a word into cloth.  Once your leaf is infused with your intention, you simple release it to the wind, and let it get blown away from you!

If you have a lot of things to release, or something that is made up of a lot of little parts (like clearing your house of unwanted junk, or letting go of a bunch of Facebook friends who you don't resonate with), add this clearing to your physical clearing of leaves.  Find a spot outside, with at least a handful of fallen leaves. 

First, you will name the leaves as things that you want to release.  You can name them specifically:  the person who always posts hateful memes on Facebook or the stack of old magazines that has been growing in your living room corner. You can also name them in a more general way:  anyone who will bring conflict to your news feed or things that serve no purpose in your future.

Then, gather up all the leaves, keeping your focus on pulling together the things you are wanting to be rid of.  If you have a yard, you can rake up all the leaves in your yard, but if you don't have a yard that isn't a problem either.  You could sweep together leaves on your front porch or on a balcony.  If you don't have either of those, you can also go to a park or public place, and gather up a handful of leaves to use. 

Once your leaves are gathered, you will want to dispose of them.  If you have a large yard and typically mulch your leaves, feel free to do that!  When you have added them to your mulch (even better if you shred them first...), visualize them anchored to that place now (instead of free to return to you).  Another great option is to burn the leaves.  If you gathered a small pile (like from a park), you can burn them in a cauldron (or other fire safe container), or even one by one in a candle flame.  If you have quite a lot, you can pile them into a fire pit!

When you are burning the leaves, you are not burning them as representations of the things you named them...but as the connections between you and the things named.  So don't worry if you named leaves after people!  Your intention isn't to cause harm to them, simply to cut the ties between you so that you can each go your own separate ways.  The same holds true for items named.  It is perfectly fine to donate, give away or otherwise share the items you no longer need!

Another fun project with fallen leaves is to use them for a transformation goal.  If you are working on creating change in your life, you can harness the energy of the fallen leaves to not only enhance your work, but also serve as a reminder and reward!  You will want to gather a selection of leaves, so that you have one for every step you are working on.  For example, you might be working on studying runes, you you can get a leaf for each rune. 

You can mark your leaves however you like, either simply writing on them, painting them or sewing on them. Once you have marked them, you can display them somewhere that you will see them (and thus be reminded of your goals).  If you were lucky enough to find some fallen branches with leaves still attached, you can put them in a vase as a centerpiece.  Or you can find some nice branches and use glue or florist tape to attach loose leaves to them.  You can also make a garland with them, fixing the leaves onto a string.  Alternately you can create a collage or painting representing your goal, and then stick the leaves on top of it.

But as you complete each step, you remove the leaf from your display!  This leaf can be released to the wind, buried or burnt, giving thanks as you do for the progress you have made.  This becomes quite a visual reminder, either making your display more sparse (great for goals that involve letting go or reducing something) or revealing the picture underneath (wonderful for transforming).

You can also use it for building habits, either having several leaves for the same thing or using each leaf to represent doing the habit for a set period of time.  So if your goal is to improve your physical health, you may have a leaves for eating healthy portions, working out or getting enough sleep.  If you have one leaf for each time you do it, plan out how long you want to work on your goal, and make sure you have enough leaves for each step!  Then, every day you do a workout or feel you ate an appropriate meal, you can pull a leaf off!  If you want your leaves to represent periods of time, then you can remove a leaf when you go through an entire week without indulging in guilty snacks or when you workout three times that week.

The flipside of this practice is to have your leaves represent bad habits that you want to let go of.  You set a goal date, for example you might want to avoid posting negative thoughts on social media, and you want to work on it for the next month.  You would make your leaves represent those negative thoughts, and make your display, but this time, every time you falter, you remove a leaf.  When you do, pause for a moment, and remember why you want to stop this habit.  Thank the leaf for reminding you to keep strong in your focus, and then release it.  Whenever you see your display, take a moment to appreciate how many leaves are still up there!  And, when the time has come to an end, you can bury, burn or throw away the remnants, offering up your gratitude for the progress you have made!

Falling leaves are a wonderful tool, that are plentiful this time of year!  They teach us to not only see the beauty in the changes all around us, but also to be able to transform when we need to and that letting go of things that don't serve us helps us make room for new growth.  So take some time, this fall, to work with the falling leaves, and see what changes they can bring to your life!

Celebrating Accomplishments

I just got back from a luncheon, held to honor high school seniors for their outstanding academic achievement.  My son is being scouted by colleges, and though there was definitely a pitch in there for the kids to go to the school that was hosting the luncheon, it was also a nice little recognition of the work they had done in school.

I am not a fan of participation rewards.  I don't think every kid should get a trophy just for showing up.  I do think that recognizing accomplishment is a big thing though.  And it's personal.  What is a big deal for one person (kid or adult), may not be to another.  Everyone should get recognized for the things they excel at, and the things they have worked hard for.

There are a lot of people who go through life without being acknowledged for the things they do, and to me this is sad.  Someone may be a super hard worker, put everything they have into the things they do, but because their job is menial or because they aren't the top seller or the name that everyone recognizes, they go unseen.

My son does really well in school, often without trying.  While I do congratulate him on that, we both also know that it's something that just happens for him.  The things I choose to acknowledge more often are the things that I know don't come easy for him.  When he suggests changing when we do the housework, because he has other plans, instead of putting it off and then complaining because he has chores, I let him know that I'm proud of him. 

I also try to make sure the people in my life know that I not only see the things they do, but that I appreciate them.  I think sometimes, that recognizing the little things can carry more weight than celebrating the big ones.  I've expressed this idea when it comes to things like Valentines Day and Anniversaries:  by all means celebrate them, but don't let that be the only time you let the other person know how much you mean to them.

Even something as little as a thank you can make someone's day.  As much as I love cooking for my family, it can sometimes be a long, tedious process.  I don't always feel like doing the prep work, or taking the time to make dinner.  But it always makes me smile and feel glad I did when hubby or son tell me it tastes good.  Even if it's something simple.

One place that we may find it hard to honor our accomplishments is in the spiritual realm.  Not only are many of us solitary, but it feels sort of counter-intuitive to more or less brag about our spiritual life.  Or we may even feel silly being proud about something that we feel like we should have mastered ages ago, but we really struggled to get a handle on.

I don't think there is anything wrong with wanting to recognize making progress in your spiritual path!  In fact, I think that pausing to honor our path and the steps we are taking along it, can be an important part of our growth.  Sometimes, it doesn't feel like you have actually gotten anywhere until someone else tells you that you've done a good job.  It's like we're programed to not trust our own judgement.  Having someone else (or many people!) congratulate you, really helps it sink in that you did it!

I also think that if I am struggling with something, then there is also someone else out there struggling.  If I share my store, really being open about how hard it was for me to learn or get good at something, not only does it let other people help me celebrate my victory, it helps let other people who may not have figured it out themselves see that they aren't the only one who has struggled with it...and that there is hope for them too!

So many parts of our life have markers for different levels of accomplishment.  In school you may earn awards, and there are graduation ceremonies.  In many clubs you earn badges or stamps or collect stickers for passing different benchmarks.  Your job my recognize numbers of years served, a set amount of sales made or a certain number of successful projects.  Why not have a similar plan for your spiritual life?

Some of my favorite books include a plan of study.  I like having things laid out in a logical order.  But this also gives me goals and benchmarks.  Many times, if there is an exercise given, there is either an amount of time you are supposed to dedicate towards it (once a day for a month, or until you can do it for 30 minutes straight), or some other tangible level of 'being done'.  This makes for easy places to celebrate your progress.

But it is also something you can come up with on your own, for whatever it is you are studying, working on or working through!  Whatever your path is, think about where you are at right now and where you are headed.  Come up with both long and short term goals, and break those down into steps.  You may set dates for when you want those steps to be done by, or you may leave it undated and go with a more fluid "it will be done when it's done" approach.  But think about different places along the way that you might consider celebrating.

And then plan some sort of celebration...and sharing that celebration with at least one other person!  How you celebrate may change depending on what type of goals you had.  If you wanted to finish a year and a day study of your chosen path, you might have a big celebration planned at the end.  If you want to do a daily draw every day for a month, you might plan a smaller recognition of making your goal.  You may even feel like inviting other people to join you on your challenge and make it a group celebration!  This works really well for group study, whether it is a group that meets in person or only online.

Some accomplishments may be so very private that you may feel you don't want to share at all.  I would challenge you to still share, at least in part, with someone who is very dear to you and who you trust.  You don't have to tell them all the nitty-gritty details, but you can at least tell them that you were working through some stuff, and that you feel you have made real progress and that you want to honor that. Just having someone there, to hear and support you, can be a huge booster.

And if you are really struggling, you may want to honor that as well.  Sometimes our accomplishments aren't that we won, but that we persevered!  If you have been really working on something, and it's just not turning out the way you thought it would, you might gather together some friends, especially anyone who has been through something similar, and honor your experiences by sharing what you have been struggling with.  You may find that, by talking it out, you walk away with a new approach.  Or at the very least, with a new resolve to keep trying...and people who are cheering you on!

Lots of things in life are hard, and it is easy to get discouraged or to feel like you are just lost in the shuffle.  Taking the time to stop and acknowledge what you have been doing, and celebrate yourself and the people around you helps lighten the load and gives you energy to continue onward and upward!  Celebrating other people can bring surprising benefits to our own lives.  And allowing other people to celebrate us, gives them that same opportunity!  So look at your life, see what you have been up to that deserves a little spotlight...and celebrate it!

Honoring your Elders

I think that there are many ways in which modern life has lost things.  Community is definitely one of these areas.  I don't think we have as tight of a community as we used to, before people started moving and traveling and becoming so busy.  And while technology does help bridge some of those gaps, some things seem to get lost in the cracks.

One of these places is our relationship with our elders.  In days gone by, if almost everyone in your village was born, grew up, married and died there, you were in close contact, not only with your own familial elders (grandparents and what not), but also you knew the other elders in the village, because you grew up with them your whole life.

I have lived fairly far away from my own grandparents for most of my life.  I was lucky enough to see them pretty regularly though, typically once every other summer (we would visit one side of the family one year, and the other side the next year).  I was also expected to write letters as a thank you anytime I was gifted money, and they had to be more than just a thank you, I had to talk about what was going on in my life.  When I was little, I didn't appreciate writing the letters, but now that I am grown, I am glad that I did, because I have always felt like I knew my grandparents fairly well.

I was also expected to spend time with my elders (whether it was my grandparents or other older relatives).  I have spent many hours talking with my grandparents, and even with my great-grandparents (when they were alive).  I grew up talking with people and listening to their stories, so I never learned to think that older people weren't interesting.

I have had other opportunities, in my life, to talk with elders, both those related to me by blood and those who aren't.  And some of those experiences have been deeply moving.  I think there is a lot we can learn from people (of all ages), and that sometimes the elderly get overlooked.  Sometimes it is because they do things at a slower pace, or because they have trouble communicating, or even perhaps because they like different things.

What I find really telling though, is that connection with another person, and learning from them, bypasses all these barriers.  It doesn't matter if you personally enjoy the same things as they do, when you listen to them, if you open yourself, you can often learn things.  That thing might be "wow, I'm glad I didn't grow up having to do that....", but it lets you appreciate the other person more for what they have experienced.

Language may feel like a huge obstacle, but many things transcend the spoken word.  When one of my great-grandmothers was living in a nursing home, there was another old lady there, who bonded with my great-grandmother.  Her name was Mary, and her family didn't come visit her, so we always included her when we visited with my great-grandmother.  Mary didn't speak, and it wasn't always obvious if she fully understood what we were saying.  But she was always smiling, obviously liked my great-grandmother, and she would gesture if she wanted something (she collected can tabs) or wanted to give you something (she gave me some plastic beads, which I still have).

And though I am a big fan of actual face time, I know it's not always possible.  If you have elders in your life, it may mean you need to slow down and take a different path to connecting with them.  Facebook and texting might work for some of your elders, but others might prefer a phone call.  Or consider actually writing them a letter and mailing it.  There is something really elegant about mail (and you can include pictures or other things that might mean something special).

I also find it sad that sometimes elders have no family left to care for them.  Even if they are in a facility that sees to their needs, and even when the staff is wonderful and cares for them on an emotional level too, I think that when people choose to spend time with elders for no reason other than to spend time with them, that says something and it can be felt.

When I was in high school, we had to do community service.  Though technically I didn't have a choice, I really enjoyed my community service.  I worked with the humane society, and they had a special set of animals that volunteers took to different places (like the hospital and nursing homes) to visit with people in long term care.  The care facility I visited had several people who had been there for a long time (we were told that there was one bird that was a particular favorite, and if we didn't bring her, people would be disappointed).

Watching people interact with the animals was wonderful.  There was such a delight and fascination.  We brought two rats once, and many people wouldn't touch them, but they were interested in them...as long as one of us was holding them!  And while the animals were there, people talked.  I got to hear all kinds of stories about their lives.  It didn't matter that I didn't know them, there was still sharing and connection going on.

There may also be elders who are not near us or who have already passed, but we can still learn from their wisdom.  I think that often we tend to look to vital, young people when we look at history's heroes, but there are lots of people who had huge contributions later in life.  Being able to read about these elders lets us partake in their wisdom and experiences, even if we didn't have the opportunity to meet them in life.

The one thing I don't agree with is the idea that all elders are worthy of respect JUST because they are old.  For me, respect is a thing that is earned, and you earn it by how you act.  I have known horrible, cranky, mean old people.  And while they may have their reasons and justifications (just like horrible, cranky, mean young people might), it doesn't mean they are automatically somehow better, just because they are old.

What I do think is that our elders can be powerful messages about how our own future might turn out.  If you see someone who has become someone you would never want to be, look to see how they got that way.  Sometimes they just start out mean, but sometimes they respond to the things life threw their way and their choices forged them into who they are.  If you don't want to become them, you can learn from their journey and make different choices.

I feel elders are a precious resource, and that we need to honor them in the way that they deserve to be honored.  I have lost some of my own elders and know that there are things that I missed having the opportunity to do.  Time with our elders is precious and we should treat it (and them) as such!

All work is sacred

I think that a lot of our experiences in life come from our perspective.  We can seriously shift our outlook and what we gain from the things we do by changing how we look at them.  There are quite a lot of things that happen to us that we have no control over.  But we do have control over how we approach them.

There are a lot of tasks we have to do that we may not particularly enjoy.  Whether they are things you do for your job (or other activities you use to provide income), things you do for family or loved ones, things you do around the house or even the more tedious parts of a hobby or activity that you otherwise enjoy.  It is very easy to focus on how we have to do these things, and on how non-fun they are.  We can get caught up in complaining or feeling annoyed by having to do them.

But this doesn't have to be the attitude we adopt when faced with tedious tasks!  I have talked before about how we can find the magic in every day chores and how we can look for fun in the things we have to do.  Today I wanted to talk about thinking about the things we do as sacred tasks.

Sometimes it feels like finding time for the sacred is a loosing battle.  There is so much stuff we have to do that even taking a moment to ourselves feels like it stresses us out even more.  I always seem to forget that when I think I have no time is when I most need to take that moment (and that afterwards I am almost always WAY more productive, so that small time out actually helps me instead of hindering me).

I also think that sometimes we spend so much of our personal energy in just getting through the day that when all of our to-do lists are finished, we just don't have anything left to give.  I know that I often feel like just sitting in my comfy chair at the end of a long day and putting something brainless on the tv.  I know it's been a really hard day when I don't even have the energy to read (a for fun book, not something serious).

I believe we all have a purpose...well actually I believe we have many purposes!  I think there are things we are meant to do and things we are called to do.  Some may not feel fun, but we can appreciate how important they are.  Some may feel like they are deeply personal and we may not appreciate how they impact other people (yet often they do).

Since so many people spend so much of their time tied up in their job, let's start there.  Whether your job is something you do to put money in your pocket (and often food on the table) or something you do because you love it and are lucky enough that it also pays your bills, typically speaking a job has a lot of things that we often have little say in.  If your boss tells you to be at work on Monday and to do a specific task, that is what you do (if you want to keep your job).

Every job I have ever had in some way or another involved helping people.  In customer service, it's pretty straight forward:  customers come in and you help them get their needs met.  If your job involves creating products, then you are still helping people (by making things they need or want).  Each part of your job can be traced back to doing something that in some way (whether large or small) helps other people.

Instead of thinking about how tedious it is to restock the shelves, think about how much nicer it will be for a customer to be able to find what they need when they come into the store.  Instead of groaning at having to put another roll on that conveyor belt, think about how happy a child will be to eat that roll.  Putting our thoughts on other people can often help shift our focus off of ourselves (and what we may be finding unpleasant in the moment).

I think there is a really deep spiritual connection to helping others.  I feel this is why service is such a huge part of so many religions, and often required of religious officials.  I don't think we need to dedicate special time for community service in order to help people (though there is absolutely nothing wrong with deciding to do so).  There are a million ways we can help people, in the things we already do, and by recognizing and acknowledging the things we are doing, we send that energy out into the world.

The same thoughts help me go through household chores.  I don't like to clean, and some parts of cooking (like the endless prep work!) are not quite fun.  But I love my family, and I want to make things they like, and to keep our house both clean and inviting.  Taking care of the house (and my family) are part of my role as mother and wife.

And I think our family roles are important to our sense of self.  Regardless of whether or not we are on good terms with our extended family, whether we are in a relationship or if we are a parent, we are part of a family.  Many of us work with ancestors in some way.  Working within our family roles can help deepen our connection to our ancestors.

It can be hard, especially if you struggle with family ties.  I am very blessed in that I have good relationships with most of my family (and even my in-laws).  But I have had my struggles too, and through continuing to examine my relationships (especially with my Mother, whom I have always loved, but not always felt comfortable relating to) I have seen the ways in which they have changed (and the ways in which I have learned to understand them better). 

I also think that our relationships with other people, whether they are family, friends or strangers, influence our relationship with deities, spirits and other beings that we  might interact with spiritually.  We can use the actions we take in this world, that support our relationships with each other, to also strengthen our relationships with worlds beyond. 

If you work with a deity or spirit that watches over your home, they probably would be quite pleased with any work you do in the house.  Beings who are devoted to family would be honored by actions that care for (or work at understanding and coming to terms with) your own family.  Acts of kindness towards a stranger may incur the favor of spirits you might not have worked with yet.

Even play or activities you would do just for fun, can have sacred undertones.  Laughter is a powerful energy, and we need joy in our lives.  Art is well know for it's ties to the sacred, and it doesn't matter if you feel you are an artist or not.  If you create, from the heart, and because you are moved to, you are making art.  And that art can be a wonderful tool or gift for the divinity in your life!

I believe that creativity sparks new thoughts in all parts of our life.  When we think outside the box, even in play, we are practicing being creative.  And creativity is all about creating...which I feel is the root of magic!  We practice and work to be able to create the things that we want to draw into our lives, and in fact to create the life we want to life!  Play is a great way to tap into your creative juices, often in a way that encourages you to experiment and just have fun. 

Spirituality doesn't have to be a solemn thing!  There is this idea that when we laugh or joke we aren't taking things 'seriously' (which I guess technically is true...by the dictionary definition of the word), but we can absolutely be serious ABOUT our work while still being mirthful or finding the humor in a situation.  In fact, depending on what you are working towards and who you are working with, embracing the silliness might be a part of your spiritual life.  I definitely think a lot of tricksters would appreciate a good laugh.

I am all for sacred time, and setting a priority to have time we dedicate to connecting with our inner selves, our divinity (both within and without) and our spiritual life.  But I also think that there is a lot to be gained by looking for the sacredness in the every day actions we are already taking.  Taking a different perspective, searching out those sacred lessons and opportunities, might make you enjoy certain things more!  And wouldn't that be a blessing.

Home Harvest

When I was first starting out, it was pretty much a given thing that if you were walking some kind of Pagan path, you would celebrate the Sabbats.  Not many people were questioning how well these agricultural celebrations fit our modern lives.  There was an awareness of Northern versus Southern hemispheres, but beyond that little was done to adjust the Sabbats to your local climate or seasons, it was just expected that you would celebrate whatever Sabbat the calendar said to celebrate and do 'seasonal' activities and workings to fit the season that particular Sabbat focused on.

But many Pagans are now starting to leave behind the wheel of the year celebrations, either in part or entirely.  They might have adapted the suggested eight festivals into less, moved them about to fit their local weather patterns or chosen to celebrate more cultural aligned festivals instead (picking the festivals of their chosen path or their personal cultural identity).

I still feel drawn to the structure of the wheel of the year, but I do find that there are struggles there for me.  I am not a grower of things, in fact I have a pretty bad track record of things I've tried to grow.  For all that I live in a fairly rural area, our produce really isn't that great, even during times when I think it should be.  And with the modern shipping industry and big chain grocery stores, I see many fruits and vegetables year round, so that makes it even harder to feel the changing of the wheel through the harvest.

As it is harvest time now in the wheel, I have been thinking about harvest lately.  And to me, harvest is not only about reaping the benefits of the hard work you have put in previously, but it is also about shoring up for the hard times to come.  When the crop harvests are brought in, they aren't all used up immediately.  They are stored and used to make it through not only the lean times of winter, but also through the growing season...pretty much until the next harvest time.

It is a time to look around and see where our bounty is, but also to let go of the old to make room for the new.  While you can absolutely do this for any area of your home and life, I think it is a great time to look at our pantries and do a clearing out.  If you are anything like me, things get bought and stored...and forgotten about.  I often treat my pantry (and freezer) like my closet.  My favorite things get used often, but there are lots of other things that get lost in the back or out of the way places.

I also have a bit of hoarder in me.  I like to save things 'just in case'.  Especially with stable shelf foods, it makes me feel very secure to know I have lots of food in the cupboard, and if some kind of emergency were to happen, whether it was a financial one or a logistical one (snowstorm, power outage) my family would still have food to eat.

Personally, I also like to save nice things 'for special occasions'.  I catch myself buying things that are treats, and then not wanting to open them.  Sometimes this means that special things will be past their prime because I was so reluctant to indulge.

While I do try to get rid of things I find that are no longer viable, I also find it very useful to do a big pantry purge, and this is a great time to do that!  I will go through my cupboards and look for things that are seriously out of date.  It always surprises me when I find canned goods that are past date, because the dates on most of those are several years, but they end up shoved in the back of the cupboard and forgotten about.

When I'm doing this, I also try to really be honest about whether or not I'll actually USE that thing I found on sale or got on a whim.  It's kind of like the closet question (get rid of anything you haven't worn in a year), if I have actually thought about making a food but decided against it because it just didn't sound good, I will probably let it go.

Of course one of the main reasons to do this time of a clearing out is to get rid of food that you won't eat (or that might not be good anymore).  But another reason is to open up options.  If my cupboards look full, I don't always think about what needs restocked.  And if they look full because there is a bunch of things I don't want to eat, then I find that my choices are actually much more limited than I thought they would be.

Clearing out my cabinets also is a great time for me to clean and organize things.  Over the years, the foods we keep in stock has changed, and we may have started off using an entire shelf for one type of food that we now barely buy, while another food may be spilling out of it's designated area.  By weeding out the stuff we aren't going to keep, we can truly take stock of what we have and where we should keep it.

Thinking about how food habits change, I also find this is a really great time to take stock of what foods we have been eating more and less of.  Sometimes, I'll not be paying attention to what we have been using, and will just shop like I normally do, buying things we 'typically' use, and when I go to put them away, I'll find that I have way more than I thought I did.  Or I'll assume that we have something in our pantry, and then realize when I go to cook dinner, that we are actually out of it and I'll have to scramble to substitute something else!

Part of this process of going through the cupboards lends itself perfectly to paying attention to the bounty in your life and giving thanks for it.  Even when my cupboards have been very bare, we were able to keep some food in them.  I am thankful that there has always been something that I can feed my family, even if it was a simple, cheap meal.  But when I find myself with extras, I give thanks for that as well.

I try not to let foods go bad, because it makes me feel wasteful.  I know that sometimes things are out of my control (especially with produce that starts to spoil within days of purchase...boy does that make me angry!), but when it is just things that we bought and then never bothered to use, I find myself more resolved to only buy foods that I will use, no matter how good a deal something might be. And if I have food that is good but just something that I wouldn't use, I try to donate it to someone who might be able to use it. 

This is also a great time to take stock and clear out your magical cabinet.  While many magical stores are shelf-stable, some may need to be checked on.  I have had some materials I have collected that I didn't store properly and they needed to be tossed.  I tend to just stick new things I acquire in my magical bookshelf or my end table, and it is always good to go through and actually organize things.  Not only does it make it easier to find the specific things I want, it helps me see what I have.

I have a bit of a different standard for my magical tools and supplies.  There are some books and other tools that I rarely (if ever) use.  But some I will never get rid of, either because they have strange sentimental value to me or because they are something I would never inflict on someone else (I have a couple of pretty horrid 101 type books that I keep for that reason).  But I also do often find that I've picked up things that either I intended to pass along when I got them or that I got just because I thought they were kind of neat and I never figured out a good use for them (or they just weren't a good fit for me).

I love taking these things to magical gatherings and putting them up for trade or sale.  I like knowing that they are going to someone who would use them and love them.  I have traded oracle decks before, as well as different tools and books.

And of course, our magical cupboards can experience the same flux of supplies that our kitchen cupboards go through.  Especially with commonly used ingredients...for me that is most often candles and incense.  I am always looking for good sales on these things, or for new types of incense that I might like...or interesting birthday candles (I love the little tiny ones for simple everyday workings, and they come in all kinds of fun shapes and colors now!)  But I do sometimes find that I've recently bought a bunch and now I have a dozen packets of candles waiting to be used.

Harvest can mean a lot of different things.  It is easy to loose track of the bounty that exists in our lives, when we don't stop to really see what is around us.  Time passes in the blink of an eye, and we look up and realize that we have things we haven't used for years.  Take the time to pause and appreciate what you have.  Take stock and let go of the things that don't serve you.  And honor the harvest, in whatever form it manifests in your life.

My eclipse experience!

I didn't actually have big plans for the eclipse originally.  I tend to get caught up in my daily life, and all the regular stuff, that sometimes I forget about these big events.  I remember an eclipse when I was in grade school, though looking at the dates, it must have been an annular (where the moon is smaller than the sun) and not a total eclipse, because I would have only been 1 year old at the last total eclipse! 

But what I remember is the wonder and fascination.  I vaguely remember some kind of glasses, though I also sort of remember the pinhole box thing, so I don't actually know how we viewed it, but we did stuff for the eclipse at school.  I was really surprised that so many schools closed for the eclipse.  My son's high school didn't, however he brought a form home that we could sign that would allow him to stay home, 'officially' so that we could watch the eclipse from a better viewing location.  He went to school, but said that very few people did.

Because I didn't have big plans, I didn't actually have glasses or really any kind of set idea about what I wanted to do.  Then I saw someone post pictures of painted rocks they made in honor of the eclipse.  I love painted rocks, and really work with rocks a lot (both actual crystals as well as ordinary rocks), and knew I just had to try my hand at it.  And then my art journaling group had the eclipse as this week's prompt, so now I was doing eclipse stuff!

On the morning of the eclipse, I decided to start with my rocks.  I had some of those plain black rocks that are sold for decorations (I got mine from the dollar store, though you can also find them at the hardware store or craft stores).  I use these for all kinds of purposes, but I love to paint them.  Normally I use nail polish (I love the durability and I have tons of bottles in all kinds of colors and glitter options), but I think because I saw painted rocks and was thinking of my art journal I went with proper paint this time.

The first step I have to do when painting these kind of rocks is wash them really good with hot water and soap.  They always have a sort of waxy coating on them, and it doesn't completely come off, but it gets better.  I assume the coating is to make them look sort of shiny like polished river rocks, but it's not kind when you want paint (or polish) to stick to them.  Then I cut little circles out of a post-it to use as a blocking stencil.

My thought was that the rocks were black enough I could paint the halo, using the post-it to keep the center unpainted, which would make it look like the eclipse.  Post-its are sticky enough to keep in place, but easy to peel off (because trying to peel off actual tape without messing up your paint edge doesn't work well).  What I forgot the first time through was that I have to take the stencil off as soon as I am done painting.  If I let it dry with the stencil in place, the paint peels off with it.

Of course, I painted both the gold and silver parts of the halo, and used a hair drier to set the paint and then tried to peel the stencil off....only to peel off the paint with it!  I knew I'd have to redo them, so I figured I'd try my hand at painting the detail before I did, so I knew if it would work or if I'd just have to leave them plain (because I could see that just the metallic halo looked pretty cool on it's own).  I used the stencil to mark out the edge for a tiny yellow crescent, and then added a white starburst.  I tried to add a bit of white haze too (as the one I saw had it and it looked neat), but I couldn't get mine to look right, and I thought it looked nice without it so that's what I decided to do.

A bit of nail polish remover took the paint off my rocks, and I started again, this time painting and removing the stencil right away.  I actually got brave and painted the crescent on one of my rocks free-hand (and wasn't that terrifying....my hands shake with tiny detail work, so frustrating).  But I was super happy with how my rocks turned out!  They have been sitting on my desk altar now, and it's fun to be able to look up and see the shiny metallic halo, and I absolutely love how the crescent and star effect came out. 


Once my stones were painted, I wrote in my art journal for a bit, working through the prompts about the eclipse.  I am really loving the process of journaling and then painting (or collaging) over my journal entry.  I have so many ideas about things to art journal in the future!  I had thought I might actually get my page painted before the eclipse, but by the time I got my stones to where I wanted them, and had painted on the Gesso (to help cover the writing and give the paper in my journal extra weight), I knew I wouldn't have time to paint the page properly, so I decided to paint it later.

I was not in the path of totality, but we were at a .99 magnitude (over 1 is considered a total...so we were close), and I had looked up the times, ours hit at 1:30, but stretched for just under 3 hours around that time.  I knew I wanted to charge my eclipse stones outside in the eclipse light, so hunted about for a place to set them.  I am always nervous setting things outside unattended (and I knew I wouldn't be outside for the full time of the eclipse) because we do have neighbors and little kids, and these were shiny painted rocks!  But there was no good place out back on our tiny patio, so I set them out front on one of the columns near our door where they got the full light.

I went out myself about five minutes before the peak of the eclipse.  Most of our neighbors had gathered in the front, and there were quite a few kids.  I knew I wanted to sit and just enjoy the experience, so I went out back, toting my art journal with me.  I didn't have glasses, but I also know that I can do quick glimpses at the sun (I don't recommend this....I'm not always smart with myself lol), so I sat out with my journal open to my eclipse page on my lap and let the sun wash over me.

I'd look up for one blink, then close my eyes.  I could see the afterimage of the eclipse with my eyes closed, and it was really interesting to watch it change as time passed.  I could see the sky getting darker and more blue.  Colors seemed to be changing, and the temperature dropped.  It had been really hot and muggy, and now it was sort of cool and pleasant.  As I was looking around, it was just different enough to make it feel like I was looking at the world through a strangers eyes, or that the world around me was subtly different from the one I was used to.  It was a fascinating feeling.

I was leaning backward, looking at the more-blue-than-usual grass, and had another moment of slight disorientation.  Something about the way I was leaning and the angle of the hill of grass behind me, made it feel like the world was curved.  I lay back, so I could see nothing but sky and arched my head so I was looking at the sky below me and the curved horizon of grass above me.  It was a total inversion of the world, and crazy cool. 

I lay there, for the rest of the eclipse, watching the sky get darker.  The sun itself was no longer directly in my view, but off to the side, so I could stare at the sky easily.  And I thought:  about taking this moment to pause, about just existing in that space.  It was something I had written as my intention for the day (I set an intention each morning as part of my calendar work), and today it was to pause.

I realized I don't often just stop and let myself BE.  I do often zone out, or tune into something like music or a show, but I haven't been spending as much time tuning inward, sitting with my breath and the earth and the sky...and I missed it!

For me, this really encapsulated the eclipse.  I my not have planned ahead, but I did decide that I wanted those moments, that time right at the eclipse, to just be, and to be me.  I didn't care about what the neighbors were doing, if they were to come out back and see me and wonder.  In that moment, none of that mattered to me.  I found my peace and stillness and I cherished it.

My last moment of wonder with the eclipse came as I was walking down to get the mail.  We were still in the eclipse window, and I noticed the light filtering through the big tree onto the driveway.  I had seen instructions for viewing the eclipse through small holes (like a strainer or the holes in your blinds) by looking at the shadows it created, but I thought it was particularly lovely to see these crescents of light where there would normally be just random patterns.  I think there is something really special with noticing these kind of magical, natural moments.  Things we normally don't even register, but something happens to make them different, and all of a sudden it is this unique crazy thing and when we stop and take notice, it changes us.

Finding your Flow

Today is the start of the school year, which means my whole day changes.  In some ways, I have more structure when my son is in school, as I get up earlier and go to bed earlier.  But in other ways I have more freedom, as I can do things during the day whenever I want, without worrying about what other people are doing.

I definitely think that freedom is a two edged sword.  Having lots of time means that I am always tempted to do things that I enjoy first...and then get sucked into them and never get around to the stuff I actually need to do.  The more structure I can build myself, the better my days tend to go, and the more I get done.

One thing that is always very evident, especially when I first get back on a more regular schedule is that I am very productive in the mornings.  I can get a lot done before lunch, and during the summer, when I often stay up late and sleep in, I get so much less done, because I'm just in a different mental state late at night.

I am a night person, in that I love nights and feel more comfortable at night.  But while I am awake and alert at night, it is a different kind of awareness.  For productive things, I am often better off settling in and getting them done early in the day.  It is a strange thing, because I am SO not a morning person!

And this is one of those things where the phrase 'know thyself' becomes very important.  I can ignore the fact that I am productive in the morning and try to push myself to work at night, where I am more comfortable.  But even though I may not enjoy getting up and doing things in the morning, I accomplish so much, and it leaves my evenings free for me to do the fun stuff (that I do very well in the night time). 

I read an article a while back on ebb and flow in regards to personal energy.  It really stuck with me.  I think we all have our own personal cycles, whether we are women or men, at all phases in our lives.  We also often just have 'good' or 'bad' days.  Some days, I am very ON, and it feels like everything is easy and I can just get a ton done.  Other days, it's like pulling teeth to even get basic stuff done (like cooking myself lunch).

It is tempting, even on days where I am on a roll, just to play around and do things on my 'want' list instead of my 'need' list.  Especially if I have had a string of days where I was just not feeling up to doing a lot.  Those down days drag on, and make you feel like nothing is much fun.  When I feel more energetic, I want to do fun things!

But I know that I also have things that I do on a regular basis that are so much easier when I work on them when I'm in a flow state.  And sometimes I may not have that many great days, so I really need to capitalize on them.

It is hard sometimes, to push yourself to work when all you want to do is enjoy the day.  This is one place where my thinking mind really helps me.  If I put of my work, and play, there is always that voice in the back of my head, nagging me and giving me guilt for not doing the work I should be doing.  At the end of the day, when I look back over what I have done, I feel less happy if I didn't get productive stuff done when I could have.

If, on the other hand, I get my work done, I feel so much better.  And then, on days where I just don't feel like I can do things, I don't feel guilty about not working, because I know that trying to push through those hard days often leaves me more worn out (and doesn't lead to actually getting much done...I may fiddle about and pretend to work for hours, but actually end up just avoiding doing work).

Part of knowing yourself and your rhythms is knowing how often you have good days and bad days.  If you know about what you need to get done, you can decide how much absolutely needs to get done on any given day.  I always have a timeline in the back of my head, with the things I have going on, when they need to be finished by, and how much I feel I can do on both a good and bad day.

Having worked on writing regularly for several years now, and having done many years of NaNo (which is such an intense writing project, it really pushes my limits and helps me grow as a writer), I definitely know how much I can do when push comes to shove.  Even when I don't 'feel' like writing, I can often get some things done.  I may do more research or background building, just jotting down notes to myself for when I am ready to actually write what I need to write.

It can definitely be hard, to use your good days and productive times, to do things that may not be the most fun, but need to get done.  Sometimes, I think it's more a matter of reminding myself that things will be so much harder if I put them off until I am right up on a deadline.  I know that I can push through and force myself to finish, but that I will also probably be a little miserable doing it.  If I can remember this, when I'm feeling good and productive, it can help entice me to buckle down and work when the working is easy.

No matter how much I want to do something, there are always bits of the work that are more tedious.  I love to write, I really do.  But some times it feels like never ending work!  There is always more to work on, another project to get written, and works that I want to edit and finish up (which are definitely piling up!) 

There are a lot of spiritual books that suggest doing certain practices at specific times of the day.  And while I do think that there is often a reason for the times they suggest, I also think that if those times don't work for you personally, it can be detrimental to try to force yourself to do them as suggested.  You may feel frustrated and never really pick up on the practice, because it just was the wrong time.

As much as I love night time, doing things (like journaling) right before bed just doesn't work for me.  And doing it right when I wake up doesn't work either...I'm definitely not enough of a morning person to roll out of bed and be able to come up with anything coherent right away.  But after a little time, to eat and drink some coffee and wake up, then I find I am in a good place for thoughtfulness.

It can be hard not to get frustrated, especially if you tend to have more hard days than easy ones.  But it is never hopeless!  Start keeping track of not just how you feel, but how different activities flow throughout your days.  You may find that there are times where you are much more capable at deep mental tasks while other times are more suited for more physical things that don't require much thinking.  By paying attention and learning to match the things you need (or want!) to do with how you feel and what kind of energy you have, you will be able to accomplish so much more, with ease!