by EnchantedWolf | Sep 12, 2011 | Meditation Journal
After a bit of thought, I’ve decided to do something a little more lighthearted and whimsical. It’s a combination of visualization and mindfulness. I’ve seen this opening meditation many times, in many different places, so I’m not sure of the source, but I’ll list at least two sources here for the main practice.
It’s the orange meditation (that’s how I tend to think of it). I will write down the actual mediation here, including the other fruit / mindfulness exercises I do this week.
The Meditation / Mindfulness Exercise
Pick up an orange. Really examine it. Feel its weight, its texture; run your fingers along the rind. Smell its fragrance. Hold it up and look very closely at it. See the dimples, peaks and valleys, its shape, its colours and how it reflects the light. See the yellow undertones, the deeper oranges, the white rim of contrast at the edge. Really SEE it. Now, peel it. Note the smell, the texture, the juice; how the juice feels, smells, seems. Now take a bite. Note the stickiness, the wetness, the taste, the fragrance. Experiment. Does holding your nose change the flavour? Does the area near the rind taste different from the inner pulp? Smell different? Look different? Really savour and think about every bite. When you’re done, wash your hands and face with mindfulness. Do you still see the orange in the same way as you did before?
Do this for other kinds of fruit and food during the week.
Source:
I still need to cite them properly.
Core Energy Class, Grey School of Wizardry
Dedicant: A Witch’s Circle of Fire (Course of Study in the Old Religion – Calafia, Thuri)
Weight Watchers’ mindful eating and chewing paraphenalia
by EnchantedWolf | Sep 12, 2011 | General Thoughts & Comments
As time goes on, I’m being acquainted with a part of myself I don’t like. It’s a very obstinate, negative, contrary part. It’s the part of me that says ‘no!’ and ‘i don’t want to!’ and ‘ain’t gonna!’. It is also a part of me that tries to be very different – the opposite of whatever the group is doing. I saw this part come out in an online chat environment in an oracle study that I attend. It’s a part of me that feels very alienated and unlike others. I have my suspicions as to the origins and survive value of this part of me, but in truth, I don’t know how to cope with it now. I believe this part of me needs to be tempered and healed, if I am to interact with others, and be a worthwhile member of a group. Best it comes out now, where I can see and deal with it, than later.
One thing I’ve learned on this path, is ‘timing is everything’. This part would not have become part of my conscious awareness, if I did not have the resources and awareness available to me to begin to heal. How am I going to heal this? I don’t know. Not yet. But, because of my Path, I now have the faith to say ‘in its own time’ and ‘I will also learn the value of this uncomfortable side of me’.
by EnchantedWolf | Sep 11, 2011 | Meditation Journal
This week went really badly. A week ago I started having serious breathing problems, and realised on top of everything, I caught a cold. It was hard to deal with what I set for myself, and I just mostly failed in the attempt. I was being very unrealistic to think i could push the deep / rhythm breathing med this week. I was able to do it yesterday, and Thursday, however, but that didn’t come close to what I wanted – every day without fail. This is a hard push back for me to learn my physical limitations, so, the week was useful and instructive there.
Tomorrow starts week 12, and I have no idea yet what I am going to do – I might do some visualization work – that would probably be better.
by EnchantedWolf | Sep 7, 2011 | Nature Awareness
There are lots of good people in the path of the Texas fires, and my heart goes out, as well as my prayers, to those affected by them. May the Gods protect you during this trying time.
I live in the Central Texas area, and although I’m not in the direct path of the fires, the whole area is a tinderbox. Record heat, record drought, high winds and low humidity have brought this on. At this time, there are 60 new wildfires, out of control across the state. The fire in Bastrop is the most destructive on record. The military at Fort Hood, where I live, may have to be mobilized to fight them.
We’re in a D4 Drought Exceptional Zone.
Much of the area rainfall is 20 inches below normal.
June and July are the hottest months on record. It has averaged 75 days over 100 degrees, making this summer the hottest in recorded history.
The 10 months from October 2010 through July 2011 have been the driest for that 10-month period in Texas since 1895.
So, what I can I do? I can give to disaster relief, I can volunteer time, I can dedicate ritual to the relief of the drought; I can restrict my own water usage, I can honor no open flame in outdoor rituals.
Sources:
http://www.lcra.org/water/drought/index.html
by EnchantedWolf | Sep 6, 2011 | General Thoughts & Comments
UH! The 21st of this month! And I have to check the ephemeris, because it is an astronomical event, not just a social one.
Again, losing track of everything! Being sick and breathing poorly is really bringing me down. Lately, all’s I’ve been able to do is work on the Meditation / Mental Discipline. Everything else has been put on hold for the WotY Path. I will get back to it… I just need to feel better, first. I have to fall back on ADF’s ‘unofficial’ tagline ‘fast as a speeding oak’!
For the Wiccan Coven I study with, the next high day is ‘Mabon’; for us, the Autumnal Equinox, and I need to look at my hearth culture’s names and customs for it.
