Tag Archives: Jamie Ridler

Full Moon Dreamboard: Full Cold Moon

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Last night was a full, bright moon. It was so light and white out that when Sam went to go potty before bed, he had a shadow that followed him around our snowy backyard.

Full Moon Dreamboards: This is another practice offered by Jamie Ridler. She describes it this way,

Dreamboards are fun and powerful creative tools. Using words and images, they express our desires and dreams, making them easier for both us and the Universe to see. Engaging in a regular process of dreamboarding can inspire, increase self-awareness and help you manifest your dreams. And to infuse this creating with even more energy, we harness the power of the moon by making or sharing these boards when she is full.

This is my first Full Moon Dreamboard, Full Cold Moon, (you can click on the image to see a larger version). This moon’s question:

“What comforts are you dreaming of?”

Some of the themes and elements that came up for me as I worked on this:

The ocean. I grew up in the Pacific Northwest, only a few hours from the ocean.  Living with the sun and mountains of Colorado is home, but so is being near the Pacific. And even though I miss it every day, I still feel so connected to it.  Every other summer, Eric and I rent a house in Waldport, Oregon and spend a month hiking, eating seafood, reading, taking naps, and walking up and down the beach. This coming summer is the year we get to go, so I am dreaming of the comfort that place gives me.

Balance. Practice and study, but also stillness and rest, a blend of comfort and craft.

Connecting to center, the heart of wisdom and compassion. A return and rest in stillness and simplicity, mindfulness and meditation, the seat of power and love.

Blue. The water, the sky, the Medicine Buddha, (the doctor who cures suffering using the medicine of his teachings).

A return, a connection to what is simple and true. That which is never faded or broken or lost. Freedom from attachment to external things, a settling in to being, here and now.

Gifts. Connected, centered in self-love, self-care, and self-knowledge, I can simply be. The magic of an open heart and a still & skillful mind is that I also generate enough to share. I hum with power, and my superpowers are gentleness and mindfulness. I open my heart and give away what I don’t need. “Give, look, love.”

Wishcasting

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In this last month of 2011, I keep getting reminded to reflect and celebrate the past year, as well as look ahead, dream, and anticipate the next. The newsletter I get from writing coach Cynthia Morris of Original Impulse Inc. came today and included a link to an end of year review, “Celebrate and Let Go: Take some time to acknowledge yourself for what you have accomplished and who you have become over the last year.” I went in my meditation room and lit the candles on my shrine with the intention of working with it, but I ended up taking a nap instead, honoring my need for more sleep. I did this because in the last year, I have become a better friend to myself.

Happily and coincidentally, Wishcasting Wednesday on Jamie Ridler’s site today is “What do you wish to celebrate?”

from Jamie's post

First, I wish to celebrate Jamie Ridler and her outreach to dreamers and wishcasters like me. Today is her birthday, and her birth, her commitment to being who she is and sharing that is a gift to all of us. She throws a wishing party every week, bakes a big cake, and invites all of us to blow out the candles and make our own wish.

On Jamie’s “about” page on her website, she includes this list:

I believe…

  • The arts belong to everybody
  • In finding the courage to be who we are meant to be
  • In experiencing life
  • In celebration
  • There is room for you, all of you
  • Our bodies are wise
  • The world needs our gifts
  • That having fun and working hard are awesome companions
  • That life is sacred
  • In the Universe

Jamie’s open-hearted and generous work helps me to believe these things too. On this day of her birth, may she be peaceful. May she be happy. May she be safe. May she be awake to the light of their true nature. May she be free. (See what I did there? Now when other wishcasters come, and finish the practice by wishing “As you wish, I wish also” it will send Jamie an even bigger birthday wish–maybe I should warn her about all the goodness coming her way? Nah, I think I’ll let her be surprised.)

I wish to celebrate the wisdom and kindness I practiced during this past four months, specifically at work. I was teaching, which is always intense, and working with a few difficult situations, but I managed it with grace, most of the time. As much as I could be, I was wise and kind, and at the very least, I managed to generate less suffering.

I wish to celebrate this blog, and all its kind and gentle readers. I started this blog on a whim, a “sure, why not” moment of inspiration that I described like this “I had my students set up blogs for a semester long blogging project they’ll be doing. One girl raised her hand and said, ‘Can I just say how excited I am about this? I have been wanting to start a blog for the longest time, and ever since you said we were going to get to in this class, I’ve been so excited.’ Hey, me too…I think I’ll start a blog. Why not? And especially, why not now?!” and ever since that moment, that first post, this has felt so right.  The Universe keeps saying “yes” to me, celebrating with me that I finally broke through and got unstuck and started.

from Hippie Dogs' blog

I wish to celebrate all the kindness being practiced by so many.
 There’s so much of it that if you are paying attention, there really is no time for criticism or negativity, there’s just no room. If you haven’t received your invitation yet, roll up your sleeves and get dirty.

I wish to celebrate all the people and projects who’ve made it easy for me to get involved and help do good: especially the Pine Ridge Holiday Project, Animal House Rescue, Heifer International, and the Larimer County Food Bank.

I wish to celebrate the choice I made to honor and love myself. This is one of the best things I have ever done, and I can’t stop thanking myself for it. I heard wedding vows the other day and it struck me that they are similar to the promise, the commitment I’ve made to myself: “I promise to be true to you in good times and in bad, in sickness and in health. I will love you and honor you all the days of my life.” Amen.