-
Upcoming Full Harvest Moon – Culling
“Just meditate on this fact. If the past is not there, who are you?“ – Osho. Tao: The Pathless Path (p. 146). Kindle Edition. At the age of 48, the Daoist (and future Master) Sun Bu’er met Wang Chongyang, the Daoist teacher she would eventually follow. She was exasperated and outraged by Master Chongyang in the beginning. However, by the age of 51, she was a Master in her own right, and left every part of her prior identity and life behind, striking out alone to continue furthering her Daoist cultivation. Sun Bu’er felt it necessary to destroy her own beauty and behave as if mad to safely do so.…
-
First Illumination, 2023
February 2023 began today. It is a time of many different, Spring-yearning celebrations and observances, including Imbolc, Candlemas, St. Brigid’s Day, Groundhog Day, and leads to the Chinese node of Spring’s Beginning, and the Lantern Festival. Because so much emphasis is placed on beginnings, inspiration, and new life and light, I may just sum it up by calling it ‘First Illumination’.
-
New Beaver/Frosty Moon 2022
Though I am a touch belated, I am happy to have celebrated this new October-November moon tonight. I felt a strong urge to return to these lunar rites – and to renew my commitment to becoming a much more devoted priestess. I have needed to get my health under better control, and to set some new goals for mind, body and spirit. Tonight was excellent.
-
On: “Road to Heaven…”
“Road to Heaven: Encounters with Chinese Hermits”, by Bill Porter
-
On: “Daoism and Chinese Culture”
A short bit of reflection on this book by Livia Kohn follows below.
-
From “Road to Heaven:”
“Taoism teaches us to reduce our desires and to lead quiet lives. People willing to reduce their desires or cultivate tranquillity in this modern age are very few. This is the age of desire. Also, people learn much more slowly now. Their minds aren’t as simple. They’re too complicated.” Master Jen Fa-jung
-
Front Facing
I have completed a wonderful solo retreat. There were many moments of inspiration, and deeper reflection that really broke through tough ground. In addition to progressing with my Daoist meditation, I am working through a self-awareness course. These are things that go together well; a synchronous retreat integration. One of the parts of retreat that I try to leave time for is free-flowing journaling. This is an attempt to catch wayward thoughts and questions. Excerpts from this retreat: Who am I now? I don’t think I know. I have spent so much time basing it on the idea of who I was. I’ve spent so much of my time trying…
-
Autumn Woman
-
New Pink Moon 2021
I am very grateful for Spring. Being outside in the yard is absolutely rejuvenating. As I wrote in my latest report to my teacher / Shifu, I feel as though the past year has been one very long winter… and we’re only now emerging from it. Tomorrow night is the New Pink Moon, and being out of spiritual/mental hibernation is good.
-
Flower Moon & Summer Begins (Long)
The “Beginning of Summer (Li Xia)” – the Chinese calendar node for May 5th. The Full Flower Moon will be on Thursday, May 7th. I have been doing quite a bit outdoors at our home since the New Flower Moon, and am hoping to finish at least my current projects by Thursday, when the moon will be full. Being attuned to the seasonal shifts is something important to me, particularly in such an unusual time. So I gardened by the moon cycles, too. It started right before the New Moon, with me cleaning up and weeding as much as I could ahead of time. I told myself to focus on…