Happy ‘Wisdom’ Moon cycle (May 6 – June 5, 2016) and Happy Mother’s Day
Welcome to the trail ride…
Natural Time slows the pace of the race. We see the Wisdom path. We notice that there is nowhere to get to only the opportunity to BE creative. We spiral through each year, moon by moon, navigating with depth of grace and ease.
Catharses Aura, Drozda, Acrylic canvas, 36 x 48”, 2003, private collection
The art/life trail ride blog is designed to help us use the Natural Calendar as a creative time management tool. Who feels that they have enough time? If you Google the topic ‘time management systems’ about 33,000,000 results come up.
Do we need one more? Do we need yet another way to consider time and our relationship with time? I say YES indeed! A kinder, gentler mothering way is in order.
Medicine Wheel
Here called the art/life trail ride this nurturing path allows us to grow together. Natural. Tremendously beneficial. Stepping onto the new path each spring does no harm. Zero. Zip. Nada. Instead aligning with and making the creative commitment to ‘natural time management’ places us onto a sane path of the middle way.
THERE WILL ALWAYS BE A MARKET FOR BALANCE AND JOY
The middle way is a clear path to balance. It’s a navigational system that’s based upon relating to time with a graced pace at all times remaining connected to Center.
The trail was originally gifted to us as a circular format known as the Medicine Wheel that creates a spiraling path leading us home.
I honor and share my variation on the circle map inspired by Sun Bear, a First Nation teacher. Sun Bear felt that many natural gifts from his ancestors (as well as his monthly keywords) would support those of us on a fast track.
In 1989 I and a group of Creatives began walking this path as performance art; as a way to discover and uncover the mystical relationship that comes from engaging time like a natural animal, wandering, meandering, circling the path.
SLOW DOWN!
The twelve touchstones/keywords that we use here on the art/life trail ride help us to stay curious about slowing down. Each keyword accompanies us along the trail for a full month. This model is steeped in Wisdom: any thought, any habit, any inclination can be seeded with beauty, goodness and truth within one moon/month.
Week by week and moon by moon we engage with Natural Time Management using the twelve keywords to support commitment and intention. It’s creative. It’s natural. It’s individual. My way won’t be your way. We each align with Natural Time so as to be in sync with personal creative rhythms. We see how this enhances self-expression and impacts the unfolding of our projects and our possibilities.
ENHANCED CALM AND DEEP CONNECTION
Each spiral through a Natural Year brings the opportunity for enhanced calm and deepened connection to emotional/creative balance. We find that rather than age we sage. We become wiser regarding choices and inspirations followed.
It’s lovely and communal and mystical to navigate the art/life path aligned with Lunar cycles. I truly appreciate that I am standing beneath the same moon as you no matter where we are each standing on the earth.
Lunar time is stretched out time
There are 8 primary moon phases each moon/month and those phases creatively stretch time. Each phase extends 3.5 days in length and those elastic days give lunar time a mellowed and meandering quality. Rather than being fast paced and linear in nature (as is the 24 hour Solar time pattern) Luna dances about in the sky and we twirl to see where Grandmother Moon is on any given night during her journey.
In our relationship with Lunar time we have more breathing room. With spaciousness for the breath we take in the scenery and pay attention; we notice shadows and hear movement, we are alert for encounters along the art/life path.
Imagine being refreshed with each New Moon and its attendant keyword. Notice how this level of focus supports you as you navigate the art/life trail ride.
A review here at the midpoint of spring gives an overview of the spiral path:
Monthly Keywords and Animal Totem:
January – Clearing – Snow Goose
February – Renewal – Otter
March – Purify – Cougar
April – Clarity – Red Hawk
May – Wisdom – Beaver
June – Radiance – Deer
July – Growth – Flicker
August – Trust – Sturgeon
September – Love – Bear
October – Experience – Raven
November – Introspection – Snake
December – Strength – Elk
Me Sitting in My Wisdom Tree, First Landing State Park, Debi Stadlin photo, 2014
THE NATURAL YEAR
The Natural Year begins at the spring equinox and the first 180 days provide ample time to develop and generate your vision for the year. April, May and June apply the keywords of Clarity, Wisdom, and Radiance. These qualities lay the foundation for the path leading to July, August and September expanding the trail with keywords Growth, Trust and Love.
By September’s end a tremendous amount of expansion has infused the original spring vision. Throughout October we simultaneously review where we’ve been since April and start the turn inward toward regeneration.Fall equinox shifts the energy and begins the turn inward. For six moon/months the guiding signposts relate to Experience, Introspection, Strength, leading into the Mystery of Clearing, Renewal and Purity.
A Savvy Path!
The Natural Year provides sweeping vistas that open consciousness and creativity to balance. Think of the Yin/Yang sign; fall-winter = feminine/Yin. Spring-summer = masculine/Yang. Combined = rhythm.
SPRING INTO THE NATURAL YEAR
On May 1 we mark the cross-quarter day; midway between spring equinox and summer solstice. Feel the sexual tension of bringing your creative ideas into the world as a birth.
Scan the scenery. Ahead we catch a glimpse of the four weeks of the Wisdom cycle. What is your focus is for this walk around the wheel?
WISE WOMAN OF THE WEEK
~ YOU ~
Mother Yourself/Mother’s Day mug design for The Center for the Prevention of Domestic Violence, Drozda, 1991
