How do you infuse your daily life with a sense of the saced?
I’ve always been a lover of words, how you put them together and pull them apart.
When I was working on my Master’s thesis 30 years ago, I was fascinated by the writing of the feminist theologian Mary Daly — the title of her provocative book, “Gyn/Ecology: The Metaethics of Radical Feminism”, gives you an idea of the ways she de-constructed old words and created new ones in powerful, mind-bending ways. Check her out if you’re ready for some pretty brilliant brain food!
And I’ve always loved weaving words together myself that seem contradictory:
Soft intensity — a phrase I offered one of my yoga teachers to describe her classes (she ended up using it in her promos!)
Static movement — a concept I coined with one of my first coaching clients years ago for when things seem quiet on the surface but there’s lots going on underneath.
Ruthless compassion — when you’re struggling to feel empathy for someone and have to dig deep and hard to find an emotional connection.
Sacred Chaos — what I’ve dubbed the last 2 months! If we’re friends on social media, you know I suffered a torn meniscus on Dec. 20th (which then morphed into an “insufficiency fracture”… don’t ask), Peter’s twin brother Alan died a week later, and then countless plans upended, including Peter not being able to go on our much-anticipated trip to Mexico. It’s been challenging to stay grounded and centered in the midst of the whiplash.
But it’s has also given me a begruding opportunity to deepen my commitment to my spiritual practices even more, to stay sane… that’s the “sacred” part.
Which leads me to…Practical spirituality
It’s one of those word combinations that’s always fascinated me, and in the last few years really seems to be trending.
The Oxford Dictionary defines spirituality as “the quality of being concerned with the human spirit or soul as opposed to material or physical things”. But in order to ground our soul-searching, I believe we must find practical, tangible tools and resources to make our spiritually real in our lives.
The Virgo/Pisces Full Moon coming up on March 3rd embodies those two qualities perfectly! In fact, Full Moons in general are always a powerful time to bring together two different energies since the Sun and Moon are in opposite zodiac signs.
The Full Moon in Virgo brings with it a big dose of practical, quick-thinking mental energy, particularly focused on healthy self care. And with the Sun in Pisces from February 18 to March 20, it’s a great time for tapping into our intuition and imagination, for “going with the flow”, and for holding compassion and empathy for ourselves and indeed, for all of humanity.
Now, all that said, I won’t be facilitating a Full Moon TeleMeditation this month… I’ll be in Mexico, while Peter is being well-taken care of by friends and family. So, after you check out the Deb’s Picks below, you can go to the sidebar where you’ll find a link to a Virgo Full Moon meditation from a previous year.
(And after that, I’d love you to join me for my upcoming Pisces New Moon SisterCircle through the Wellness Universe on Wed., March 18th when we’ll be “Honoring our Deepest Emotionps“. Hope to see you then.)
On to this month’s Picks! (click on the titles to access each one)
BENEFITS OF A GRATITUDE PRACTICE by Deb Roth
I’ve always thought that creating a daily gratitude practice is one of the simplest, yet most powerful ways to relieve stress and deepen our soul connection — and now there’s lots of neuroscience to back that up! I wrote this blog years ago for Your Tango and it was updated last year… one of their favorites, they’ve told me. I think it’s because you don’t need any special tools or training — just some place to jot down a few “grateful-fors”. Some days I conjure up several, but I always write at least one in my journal before bed and even (maybe especially) during chaotic times, it’s a spirit-soothing way to end the day.
HEAD BUDDHIST MONK’S SPEECH at National Cathedral
In last month’s Deb Picks, I highlighted the group of Buddhist monks who were walking the 2300 miles from Texas to Washington, DC. to raise awareness of inner peace and mindfulness across America and the world. They arrived on February 12th and their leader, Venerable Bhikkhu Pannakara spoke at the Cathedral to share teachings on mindfulness, compassion, and being present. He led everyone in a beautiful meditation and shared a simple practice to start each day. Truly a perfect example of practical spirituality!
TURNING A DREAM INTO A REAL PLAN by Anna Pereira
Talk about a powerful representation of applying practical, tangible tools (Virgo) to manifest your dreams and visions (Pisces)! Anna is the founder and our fearless leader at the Wellness Universe and is also a beautiful writer. Her latest article offers a terrific overview of the “cosmic weather” swirling around us right now – the beginning of the Chinese Year of the Fire Horse, Saturn and Neptune (rulers of Capricorn and Pisces, respectively) meeting in Aries, and moving through an eclipse portal. Granted, Capricorn isn’t Vigro, but it is another earth sign and therefore, a great one for getting things done. She’s got some great ideas for harnessing this energy so check them out and see what resonates.
BEGUINES: MEDIEVAL COMMUNITIES OF WOMEN
The only “beguine” I’d ever heard of was in the Cole Porter jazz song, “Begin the Beguine”. But in the last month I’ve come across 2 different descriptions of these extraordinary women who formed their own intentional communities at a time when women had few choices. They settled in villages called “beguinages” where they owned property, earned their own money as a weavers, teachers, nurses, or brewers.They prayed, served the poor, and lived simply, some becoming mystics and writers. They truly lived their spirituality in practical, powerful ways, for 700 years. Click HERE and on the link above for 2 versions of their story.
DEB’S VIDEO on PISCES/VIRGO ENERGY
An oldie, but goodie! This one is actually from September 2013 when this energy was “flipped” — the Moon in Pisces and Sun in Virgo — but the essence is still the same. I focus alot on the divination aspect of this cosmic combination. I love including different oracle cards in my daily spiritual practice… the ones currently on my altar are the Nature Mandala Cards (which I’ve written about in the past), & the Divine Feminine Oracle. Check them both out and see if they speak to you!
I hope some of these offerings have inspired you to deepen your own spiritual practice and infuse your everyday life with more soul. I’d love to hear how you’re doing that, and as always, please do share any other events or resources that have have resonated with you.
With practical, spiritual blessings,
Deborah