Honor my Soul

In the name of daybreak
and the eyelids of the morning
and the wayfaring moon
and the night when it departs,

I swear I will not dishonour
my soul with hatred,
but offer myself humbly
as a guardian of nature,
as a healer of misery,
as a messenger of wonder,
as an architect of peace.

In the name of the sun and its mirrors
and the day that embraces it
and the cloud veils drawn over it
and the utmost night
and the male and the female
and the plants bursting with seed
and the crowning seasons
of the firefly and the apple,

I will honour all life -
wherever and in whatever form
it may dwell – on Earth my home,
and in the mansions of the stars.

Diane Ackerman

I love "i will not dishonor my soul"
and being a guardian of nature and
a messenger of wonder

I made my own labyrinth

Here is our friend Austin walking my labyrinth. It is made of duck cloth ( love the name) and I drew the image on with chalk. Once I know I like it the way it is..I'll paint on the lines ( or use permanent marker?) It did not take long to make..I did a little measuring to make the best use of the cloth..but mostly just used a photo in a book as a guide.

I want to have one here at home that I can walk when ever I want. It was a powerful experience ...making my own and then walking one I had made.

Seeing with New Eyes

 

I love Rachel Naomi Remen's stories. I am reading My Grandfather's Blessings. The story Seeing with New Eyes is about a doctor who is very skilled and saves many lives..and yet is depressed himself. He thinks he should quit his job and find more meaningful work. Rachel asks him to think about the answer to three questions at the end of each day..and to write his answers in a journal.
1. What surprised me today?
2. What touched or moved me today?
3. What inspired me today?

Bet you know the end of the story. I am answering these three questions each day for a week.

The photo is of Lake Michigan by the Siena Center where I was on retreat last weekend. I have no memory of the great lakes in winter. I was in awe.

Retreat II

 

Highlights from our second retreat:

Walking the Labyrinth
I walked the outside labyrinth once and the inside one 4 times. :) Since I don't have easy access to a labyrinth here at home, I wanted to make the most of my time while at Siena. I am noticing that I am more comfortable walking...I don't try as hard. Plus since I knew I could walk multple times....I could" afford" to be more open and just let the walk unfold. When I can only walk it once and then who knows how long it will be...it seems more important that I "get something worthwhile" out of it.

The walk I remember most was on Saturday morning...I walked the outside of the 11 circuit labyrinth ( Chartes)..there are curves called lunations...and you can walk around the labyrinth by stepping into these. I walked with no intention...I actually didn't think I would "like" it at all...since I wouldn't really be in the labyrinth.

It was a very powerful metaphor for me...it was the wheel of life... I got to the first cross quarter and thought...this is the childhood of my life...where was I then? who was I? what did I value?
And got to half way round..which seems about where I am now....who have I become? what do I hold sacred? How do I know? I sat there for quite awhile. I found myself crying...it felt like grieving for the part of my life that is over.
But also looking to my right...for the part of my life that is left to live. Who am I becoming? What does my life hold? I did not come away with answers...just a deeper awareness of the wheel of my life..that if my life is like the wheel of a year and I started as a child in spring....am I coming to the end of summer and at the cusp of autumn?

Spiritual Practice practice
We go to try three different spiritual practices.
Meditation, Centering Prayer, Tai Chi. I, true to my nature, liked them all and wish I could try them all. Of course I can...at least for the next few months. We are encouraged to try any and all of them to see which seems the best fit. Going into the weekend, I thought it would be Tai Chi ( if any of them) because I am so drawn to walking meditation in the labyrinth. But I found meditation...at least as lead at the retreat, to be a moving and powerful experience. I do think that part of my journey is to practice stillness and to just be. To wait until my muddy water settles.

I still love my yoga class and may choose to continue that as my spiritual practice. If the idea is to see which practice chooses you...right now, I would say yoga. But I am practicing trusting the process and moving at the pace of guidance. I don't have to decide right now...so I'm doing my best to stay open.

Declarative Prayer

This is new to me.
I got Julia Cameron's book Prayers to the Great Creator from the library. The first part is called Heart Steps and she says "The tone of these prayers may startle you" ( and it did) These prayers "do not beseech divine help, they assume it" These prayers speak to a "co-creative bond with a power greater than ourselves" (which is an image of God I can hold) Julia says "I don't ask you to believe...try them." And so I will.

I have already changed the way I pray in the mornings...from asking for help to be grateful to saying " I am grateful. I am compassionate..." It is an empowering way to pray.

This week I'm going to try reading ( out loud..because Julia's says that is they way they should be read) one of Julia's declarations each morning.

Updating my bucket list

I got the Seed Saver's catalog. The photo is of their tomato festival. I read the story of how Seed Saver's got started. And I remembered that I wanted to go visit last year (look at the photo..who wouldn't want to go )...which made me think of a few more things I wanted to do...which made me think of my bucket list.

Julie's Bucket List
-Visit the Seed Savers farm ( it's in Iowa)
-Plant in my front yard ( prairie and veggie garden)
-Canoe the WI river from Spring Green to the Mississippi River ( one trip)
-Travel the Amazon River
-Visit Italy
-Scuba dive

-See the Redwoods (we are planning a trip Summer 2010)
-Go on a Vision Quest ( I'm trying to find out if I can do this is WI)
-Visit Rachel's Carson's beach in Maine
-See Jane Goodall's chimps ( visit Africa)

Photo Credit: flickr shylobisnett/3906935974/

Walking a Labyrinth

I walked the FUS labyrinth today. I love labyrinths. I felt calm and centered just walking into the room. My intention for walking was " What do I need to learn today?" Soon after starting to walk...I almost missed a turn...and then I did miss one and had to back up. I was walking too fast...which was a reminder that I often go to fast in my life. Long lists for each day, scheduling multiple things a day, realizing when I am done, that I have eaten too fast.

I sat in the center and asked "What do I need to do?" and the answer for me was "Savor". I was reminded that if you want to enjoy a meal...serve just a little bit on small plates. I eat slower when there is less food...and tend to enjoy what I eat much more.

This week I will practice savoring. I will try to schedule a little less, walk a little slower, taste life one bite at a time.

Photo Source: flickr mtsofan