I didn’t go into Lent with high spiritual ideals. It was a mindfulness exercise. But, perhaps unrelated, I’m more in touch with some mysterious thread, or, more appropriately, a thread of mystery. Was it uncovered because I’m more rested from consuming less caffeine and getting more sleep? Perhaps. It may be a combination of that and being hit by the hardest virus I’ve contracted in many years. Fever is harder on me than I remember it being in my youth. Being brought to my knees seems a particularly Lenten activity. The part of me that knows there are no accidents tunes into this.

I’m simplifying somewhat. This thread has actually been growing and strengthening for many years. It’s the core of my work. The core of my life. But, there’s a confidence in what is known that has reached a new threshold.

What is known is:

A wild woman herbalist in me who likes to sniff and boil and steep and sip.

A shaman dropping into liminal space and moving toxins out of this body system. I’ve seen Lyme literally dropping out of my body. A spirit teacher ripping a length of DNA that had developed from ancestral trauma and habit, and knit my building blocks back together without them.
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My Lenten commitments are: refraining from all forms of caffeine except cocoa or chocolate, shutting down the computer by 10, and being in bed by 10:30.

I’m so glad I don’t suffer as much as I used to from perfectionist critic attacks. Sometimes I feel like the skills I’ve developed in this area are the most useful and foundational of all the consciousness work I’ve done over the years. Knowing that progress counts for a lot is incredibly affirming. I remember a time when not hitting a mark perfectly, a mark that I had created, would send me into a tail spin of self flagellation for days.

I have successfully refrained from the caffeine. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed my chocolate, and have definitely used it as a stimulant on a few tired days.
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I realize some of you may still be in the ice and snow. Let me assure you that it won’t be long. She is moving her way across the land.

The fact that it’s Lent is part of my contemplation. My friends keep asking if I’m Christian when I say that. Well… yes and no. I’d call myself a Shamanic Christo-Budheo-Pagan these days. A Gnostic Mystic. A Laughing Fool. Lover of Food and Tribe. Pretty hard to pin that identity down, there’s just too much richness in the wild tapestry of life to try to fit it into a box.

For me, Lent is an opportunity to bring attention to areas of our lives that are often unconscious. Self-care. Other-care. How can we shine the light onto our habits, into our thought patterns?

Lent asks us to release habits or substances that may be blocking sacred expression. It also asks that we bring in acts of service. Where can we move out of our tendencies to be self involved?

And, how can we be joyful and free as we do so? Renunciation and service do not have to be an onerous task.

This is a valuable contemplation whatever your spiritual or religious orientation.

That’s my inquiry this season. Where does this rumination take you? I’d love to hear. I’ll share my discoveries along the way.

I’m offering three events this month, please RSVP if you’d like to join us!

Community event
Third Saturday with
The Cook Awakening
The Green Potluck
It’s Springtime, y’all! And, St Patty’s Day, or “Bring Back the Snakes” Day, as a dear friend calls it. And, Lent. Can we put all these together into a theme? Why not! Think green, fresh, Irish, and letting go of what no longer serves. Choose a part or all of the theme, just make it delicious. I think I’ll try and track down a nitrate-free corned beef, and cook up some cabbage.

No grains or refined sugars, please!

Saturday, March 15th, 11 am – 2 pm
Fee: one potluck dish to share
SE Portland address given upon RSVP
Contact Durga for suggestions, no one turned away for lack of imagination

Community event
Field Trip!
Wild Stinging Nettle Harvest
Nettles are ready! We’ll meet at the far end of the parking lot at the Sandy River Delta Park – take exit 18 off I-84 near Troutdale, OR. Call or text me at 503.422.8346 if you get lost. We’ll head out by 2:15 pm.

Sunday, March 16th
2:00 – 4:30 pm
Sandy River Delta Park
No need to RSVP, but we will be heading to the nettle patch by 2:15

Community event
Spring Equinox Bardic
Performance for Fun
This is an opportunity to have fun and/or go deep. Read a poem, sing a song, share a dance, or channel an extemporaneous offering. The earth is turning green again, it’s been a long, hard winter. Let’s celebrate Her return! Any offering is wonderful, but one in the theme brings cohesiveness to the evening. Kids welcome, including in the performance.

Saturday, February 22nd, 5 pm gluten-free potluck, 7 pm Bardic
Fee: one potluck dish to share if you come earlier, and a performance for the later portion
SE Portland address given upon RSVP
Contact Durga for suggestions, no one turned away for lack of imagination

It’s winter for real, now. The light may be returning after Solstice, but for most of us the air is cold and it’s more comfortable indoors. Or maybe under the covers.

Sunday marked the twelfth day of the Twelve Holy Days. I’m not particularly Christian, I find value in many symbols from many different spiritual traditions. And this year, the Twelve Holy Days felt very significant to me.

Solstice, December 21st, marks the moment in the northern hemisphere when the day is shortest, the longest night. The tightest contraction, if you will. There’s a span of time where things stop. The days aren’t immediately longer. There’s a resting. When early Christians chose the 25th of December as the birth day of the Christ, they did so for a reason. This is when we begin to experience movement again, just the inkling of expansion. The Sun appears again.

Those first 12 days of expansion are a time when we can experience the coming energy of the year. What will come into our lives? What intentions will we set? The 12 Holy Days are a time when God or the Universe or the Holy Spirit or your Higher Power, whatever words resonate for you, can be heard in the quiet. Some traditions say the 12th day, January 6th, is when the Magi visited the baby Jesus. When the Sun became known to the conscious mind.

Whether you know it as such or not, this is where your authentic New Year’s Intentions come from – your Highest Self speaking to you about your next steps in life.
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