Consecrating the Chaos — staying soul-centered in tumultuous times
In the midst of a particularly crazy week, that phrase — “consecrating the chaos” so resonated with me.
Generally, all I need to ground myself in the midst of the whirlwind is to look at pictures of the most precious people in my life… like this photo of my 3-month-old grandson Parker with my almost-94-year-old mom. (It’s a pretty great picture, isn’t it?!)
But in the week in question, I was faced with a shocker that involved both my beloved spiritual community, the Fourth Universalist Society, and the equally special 4thU Artivists theater group I founded there 15 years ago. I won’t go into detail here, but I will say that for about 10 days, I felt like l was on a proverbial roller coaster.
As we created deep, meaningful dialogues with all involved — both in conversations and via email — glimmers of light began to emerge. And that’s when I encountered the notion of “consecrating the chaos”… particularly apropos as it involved 4thU’s spiritual leadership!
Really, how do you wrap your head around the idea of chaos being sacred? Is there such a thing as “holy chaos?!
Apparently so. I’ve been reading Richard Rohr’s Daily Meditations newsletter for awhile now (more details on that below in the Picks) and there have been some gems within 2024’s theme, “Radical Resilience”. Perfectly timed, here’s an excerpt from the “Consecrating the Chaos” message that sustained me:
“In the storm of chaos, lost in confusion and disorder, … the question is whether there might be some way to use the harsh, unpredictable winds and the relentless currents of our lives to get us moving to where we actually want to go. Do we have the spiritual audacity and the practical means to turn chaotic energy to our own purposes?”
In the words of one of my all-time favorite quotes (from Nietzsche), “We must have chaos within us to give birth to a dancing star”.
Embracing the chaos
That’s exactly what happened. I found myself describing one of the painful, pivotal conversations as “beautiful” when I was summarizing it the next day for someone. And with that shift, we were able to do some powerful heart-storming to come up with an elegant, even exciting, solution.
In a nutshell, our “dancing star” is that the Artivists will now be presenting “The Vagina Monologues” as our Spring show, instead of “for colored girls who have considered suicide/when the rainbow is enuf”, as I announced here last month. You can read more details below in the first “Deb’s Picks”.
So where does the upcoming Virgo/Pisces Full Moon on Sat., February 24th fit into all this?? Well, it obviously wasn’t influencing what went on a month ago… no, that was Pluto entering Aquarius for a 20 year ride! (You’ll have to google what it means when slow-moving Pluto changes signs… moon magic is the only astrology I go into here 🙂 )
However, I think it embodies the energy of “consecrating chaos” beautifully — the organized, structured Virgo Moon is the perfect foil to contain the spiritual/magical, sometimes ethereal and confusing, “one with the universe” Pisces Sun.
It’s a great time to slow down, take a deep breath and get organized. Focus on our self-care, beef up our health commitments, and jettison the stuff that’s weighing us down, then create practical new routines for mental, physical, emotional, and spiritual healing.
[And if you really want to dive into the water-y, intuitive Pisces vibe, definitely tune into the at the Wellness Universe on Monday, March 11th. Our theme will be “Honoring our Deepest Emotions” and I guarantee you’ll come away feeling expanded and nurtured at the same time!]
So, as always, my Deb’s Picks this month are a creative mix of all of the above, sprinkled with a few random offerings.
Be sure to join us for my upcoming Virgo/Pisces Full Moon TeleMeditation this Fri., February 23rd at Noon ET — click HERE for details on how to join us or see the sidebar below for the call-in #. Hope to “hear” you then!.
4thU ARTIVISTS PRESENTS “THE VAGINA MONOLOGUES“, April 12/13
We’re going back to our roots for our FINAL benefit as 4thU Artiivsts! (That’s a whole other story, in addition to the one I shared above.) We’re inviting anyone who’s been involved with any of our productions over the last 15 years to join us on stage, or as a volunteer night-of or help with all the PR and fundraising work that needs to be done beforehand. The production will be performed with the updated monologues collected by V (formerly Eve Ensler) over the years. We know we can incorporate an extremely large cast which serves us well for attracting a large audience and raising lots of money for our beneficiaries, Women Deliver and VDay’s City of Joy. Click on the poster ASAP to fill out the Participation Form — all the rehearsal/meeting dates are outlined on that page. If you want to be in the cast, you must get the form in by Tues., Feb. 20th so our directors can finalize casting before our first gathering on Sun., Feb. 25th.
CENTER FOR ACTION & CONTEMPLATION (CAC) w/RICHARD ROHR
This is the “Daily Meditations” newsletter where the phrase “consecrating the chaos” came from and I don’t think there’s a better way to describe CAC than paraphrasing their website — “Franciscan Richard Rohr founded CAC in 1987 because he saw a deep need for the integration of both action and contemplation—the two are inseparable. Contemplation is a way of listening with the heart while not relying entirely on the head. It is a prayerful letting go of our sense of control and choosing to cooperate with [God(dess)/Spirit’s] work in the world. Prayer without action, as Father Richard says, can promote our tendency to self-preoccupation & without contemplation, even well-intended actions can cause more harm than good.” Yes, it’s Christian-based but the wisdom shared is usually universal. Definitely check it out and the rest of their many offerings!
JOYELY & THE CHAIR OF JOY™
Things are exploding at Joyely since I joined them in September! We’re getting such amazing feedback on the impact of the simple Chair of Joy meditation — SIT BREATH THINK FEEL. I continue to find powerful research on the “science of joy” and have led the CoJ experience many times since I first shared it with you here in my October newsletter, AND I highlighted it in my “Spiritual Practices” vlog with the Wellness Universe. We have a monthly call for anyone who’s interesting in learning more and/or becoming a Joyely Global Ambassador — the next one is March 12 and you can register for it HERE. Hope to see you there!
SUSCEPTIBLE TO LIGHT by CHELAN HARKIN
This beautiful collection of spiritual poetry was introduced to me by my dear friend Minx, whose wonderful newsletter, Balance Point, I’ve higlighted here before. Simply put, the poems are all deeply heart-centered, light-filled and uplifting. I’ve been reading one before bed each night and each one sooths both the mind and soul. Like a little bedtime prayer, they definitely calm the chaos of the day before going to sleep. Click on the link above to find it.
CREATING SIMPLE, SACRED RITUALS by DEBORAH ROTH
I’ve always said that the Virgo/Pisces combination feels like the perfect embodiment of ritual — it’s the art of creating a safe structure (Virgo), around a spiritual theme (Pisces). This was one of the very first articles I wrote after getting my Master’s degree in the mid-90s and starting Spirited Living. I finally added it as a blog on my website a few years ago… maybe you can get some good tips if you create your own Full Moon ritual (or any other one) this month!
I hope some of these Picks will inspire you to find ways to consecrate the chaos in your life more often! And as always, if you have any events or resources to share, I’d love to hear them.
With sacred, playful blessings,
Deborah