On The Farm
My favorite time of year is autumn. In Michigan, so many beautiful colors—I love to watch the becoming, the gradual turn of the leaves that begins at the tips of branches and moves inward to the center. Or those trees that are green one day and bright yellow the next and seem to change overnight, like putting on a different dress.
At these times of transition, I find it’s good to slow down and create spaciousness in my life to enjoy the beautiful moments. Fixing tea that is so hot I can’t gulp it down is a trick my brother taught me. Sit outside with it and as it cools, sip and enjoy the view and the time. My tea meditations take nearly 1/2 hour to take it all in.
It’s time on the farm to wrap the trees and vine house against wind burn, tidy up dead branches on the apple trees and maples, and fallen fruit from the pear tree. Cover the roses and bring in the birdbaths and statuary that might crack with freezing. Always tending.
Prior to attending a retreat for Wind Shamanism with Renee Baribeau, I visited with my friend, Dennis, who took me to the Holden Arboretum in Cleveland, Ohio. What a great experience! I’m afraid of heights, but did the canopy walk twice, just to see if I could. The photo of me is within a beautiful handcrafted willow structure that is an interactive sculpture. I highly recommend getting out of town for a short time to enjoy something you never tried before.
What do you love about this time in your life? How will you create spaciousness in your life this fall? How will you nurture yourself as your life turns inward with winter? Be a witness to your life and its needs during this time, and find what makes you happy.
Autumn Meditation
I find that doing a special meditation to mark the change of seasons is a good way to ground into that transition. I tune into the nature around me, and gather whatever wants to come to me, putting it into a creative expression of those things I want to leave behind—a kind of gratitude for what the past season has given to me. It’s a good time to consider what I want to leave and what to take with me into the next phase. This month’s video tells you how to do a nature mandala. Have fun!
The Bookshelf
One of the very basic skills we are learning in the chaplaincy training is how to truly hold a healing presence. Although I’ve been evolving this for nearly 50 years, there’s always more to learn. THE ART OF BEING A HEALING PRESENCE: A Guide for Those in Caring Relationships by James Miller and Susan Cutshall, is such a gem. A small book, its short, concise chapters are ideal for what Rev. Sarah Bowen calls lectio—reading a chapter, sitting with it for a few days, then journaling on your thoughts. Amazing what comes up when I sit with what I’ve read. I do this with poetry. I find I can go much deeper into its relevance in my life.
Many of the book’s tenets are things I’ve taught others over the years, like “silence is sometimes the most effective thing you can do for someone”. Being able to create a spaciousness between you and the other person allows them to expand into whatever they are experiencing and to face it, because you are holding the space in a connected way that makes it safe to do so.
So many of us are now in caring relationships at this time in our lives. When you read this book, try the lectio reflection and see what happens.
New Toolmaking Workshops!
If you live in the area (southeastern Michigan) and would like to make your own tools for spiritual practice, this is for you. I am a very tactile person and I love making tools for my practice from scratch, putting my own energy into something meaningful that is beautiful to use. In shamanism, it is always important not to rely on one’s tools, but to use them as support for the practice.
With that in mind, I have asked some craftspeople to teach their expertise at my home in Chelsea, Michigan. The first of those will be Eli Zemper, of Curiouser Clay. Eli and I met when I took a fairy door workshop from her. She will offer both a glazed version of a ceremonial clay rattle and a raku version, for which we can observe the firing. One of my favorite rattles was a raku rattle that I used so much, I wore a hole in it.
The workshop is scheduled for February 25, 2023, from 1pm-4pm. Cost is $70 per person to learn the craft and make two rattles. Additional rattles will have an additional cost of $20.
It’s going to be a lot of fun. Eli is a very experienced instructor and well organized in her methods. While my purpose is shamanic, your purpose might be to make something to help you with meditation, prayer, or give a special gift to someone you love.
Stay tuned. I’m also lining up a smudge fan person for spring and a drum maker for the summer.