Guten Taag from Switzerland

I have missed yet another Sacred Life Sunday but this week with good cause! I am writing today from the heart of Zürich, looking out over the Old City, having seen the wonderful Chagall windows yesterday (which I didn't even know existed.) Its quite wild to try to log onto Blogger when it pops up in German.

Unlike my last trip, this trip to Europe was anticipated and has been delightful. The kids are adjusting surprisingly well and we've spent time with some lovely people.

Tonight is New Years Eve and I find it weird and magical that I will be in another country, half way across the world. I have my little rituals that I do every year that, fortunately, travel well and tonight I will look at the year ahead from a slightly altered perception. I wonder what changes that will bring in 2008...

Sorry about the lack of photos but we've been having too good a time to bother witht eh camera. Happy New Year and I'll "see" you all in 2008! With Affection, Deb

What changes your perceptions?

Mix and Match Traditions

Coming from a "mixed marriage" - one that's a blend of seemingly very different traditions, there comes not only a division of holiday labor but also the compromise.

After years of trying to get my husband to enjoy (not just take part, in but really enjoy) certain of my holiday traditions, I have acceded him the decorating of the Christmas tree. He bows out, choosing instead to be the official Christmas Story watcher and bearer of spiked eggnog on Christmas Eve.

Which leaves me the tree.

Yes, the kids whole-heartedly help with the decorating but there's everything that needs to be done before the decorating that falls to me. We have an artificial tree that needs assembling and the lights - oh, the lights! That baby looks like an 8 foot tall nonpareil by the time I'm done with it!

I tried for years to go at this from the mindfulness approach. You know it; infusing the spirit of the season into the process. Well, you want to talk about making a taxing situation even worse. Finally, on a particularly bad year (the holiday spirit was hiding behind one tragedy after another in 2001) I turned on the TV and a new tradition was born.

That first year it was Spy Game. Not exactly a holiday flick but I enjoyed the day. Last year it was Ocean's Eleven. Before you start thinking its a Brad Pitt thing, this year's movie was The Breakfast Club - one of my absolute favorite movies in the whole wide world (and 'fessin' up to that is going to yield me a whole lotta ribbing from The Hubby!)

This works for me, and it works for my family. I get to move with ease through a less than enjoyable task (those fake needles do awful things to my already dry hands!) My husband gets to opt out of a tradition that doesn't appeal to him (except for the one obligatory ornament we make him hang just so we can say he helped.) My kids get to come home from a school to a tree that looks as though it was put up and lit up...magically.

And I suppose it is a kind of magic, giving in to new traditions that are seemingly in conflict with the season's theme. But at the heart of the season is that elusive idea of JOY and by watching a good flick (and the occasional episode of Mythbusters) I do find joy in this particular holiday task.

What unusual traditions bring you joy at this time of year? What "unorthodox" aspect could you add to your current tasks to make them more enjoyable?

(Personally, I like my tradition of buying myself a gift or two while shopping for others. That sure adds incentive!)

Chili Con Spirit

My house smells of chili. The wonderful complex odors of cumin and chili powder and tomatoes all mulling together. By 6 o'clock tonight as we sit down to eat, all of us together as a family before trimming the tree, the smell will have infused every room of the house. There will be no escaping it and all I'll be able to think about all day is how good that chili will taste. It will be a good day, even as I curse at the Christmas lights.

The snapshots of our lives are made up of all the different levels of life that infuse every instant. It isn't only the sights and the happenings; it's the sounds and smells and tastes that all add up to the experience. Learning to be aware of all those different levels, even if only for an instant or two, adds the richness of spirituality to our everyday experiences. I am not just making chili - I am aware that I am making chili and that makes all the difference in the world.

What are the smells and tastes of your mindful life?

My prayer for this morning:

God, grant me the serenity not to snap, and the wherewithal not to sit around and do nothing all day. So mote it be.

What's your prayer - right now?

A Brooklyn Story Ritual

Ritual is a part of my every day life. Authors Renee Beck and Sydney Barbara Metrick say of ritual that it is "a series of symbolic acts focused toward fulfilling a particular intention." Ritual is at the core of the work I do for Story-Beads and its at the heart of what I do in my life.

Admittedly, some rituals are more elaborate than others. Yesterday's, intended to bless the Story-Beads I was making, went (almost) all out, with a frenzy of collecting to set just the right atmosphere to make my creativity group's holiday gifts. Like most of my personal rituals, it started with great expansion and slowly moved towards a more focused, defined state.


I had just gotten off a coaching call where we were discussing infusion words and focus. Synchronistically, the night before, my dear friend Casey gave me a set of candles with the kanji for wealth, happiness, longevity and luck. The Universe was happily conspiring with me to add a little extra something to the sets that needed to be made!
























To this I added a few runes: Gifu for gift, Lagas for Intuition and Berkana for birthing/transitioning (from a set I bought at Babbo's Books,) and a Fairy's Oracle card from Brian Froud (The Bright Mother - the archetypal mom who provides for her beloved ones. She's loving and caring and if you look closely, the best part is, She doesn't have that saccharine-y smile that so many mother figurines have; She's real.) Then I felt the need for a little music, so the mix I made for everyone was the soundtrack to my work:

1. Talking River by Adrienne Jones
2. Born at the Right Time by Paul Simon
3. The Heart of Life by John Mayer
4. Three Little Birds by Bob Marley
5. Unwritten by Natasha Beddingfield
6. Anything's Possible by Johnny Lang
7. Right Field by Peter, Paul & Mary
8. Pop Goes the World by Men Without Hats
9. On Children by Sweet Honey in the Rock
10. I Got A Name by Jim Croce
11. Handle With Care by The Traveling Wilburys
12. Simple Gifts/Amazing Grace by Judy Collins

The way that I look at the world, all these things add to the energy of the work that I am doing. I've always believed that objects soak up the energy around them. When that energy is set with intention and creative forethought, the energy signature is that much stronger.


So this post goes out to all my Dear Ones in Brooklyn: Leonora, Candace, Pam, June, Luz and KB. This is the story of our Story-Beads. They are infused with all these qualities, as well as all the love I feel for you all. I can't believe it either that you haven't always been in my life. I am eternally grateful for your presence in my life, my dear Soul Sisters! Here's to our continued creativity! Yours Always, Deb

How do you bring formalized ritual into your life? Do you long for ritual?

If so, stop by www.Story-Beads.com for some helpful ideas and tools for bring practical do-able rituals into your every day ordinary life.
(Let's hear it for the shameless plug: Hooray!!)

(PS The brownies were infused with all those qualities too! "Infusion Brownies" - Laura over at Cafe Entrepreneur would get such a kick out of that!)

A Pocket Full of Spiritual Guidance

(a picture of my yearly set, looking a little worse for the wear so late in the year. The dog ate off one of the other beads but that's another story...)

It was a busy day of beading, mostly to be given as gifts but I made myself two new sets while I was at it. That makes four in my pocket right now. It's a good feeling to know that all I have to do when I need to connect to Guidance, is reach into my pocket for my Story-Beads.

What's in your pocket? (Oh, and where do you look to access Guidance?)

Oh Dreidel, Dreidel, Dreidel

Back when the Romans were in charge, the Jews were forbidden to tell the story of Hanukkah. They were allowed to gamble though (the Romans were big on gambling) and so the Jews invented the Dreidel game. On the surface it is indeed a gambling game but the letters and the sentence they form "Nes gadol haya sham" ("a great miracle happened there") were a teaching tale, secretly hidden within.

Clever, huh?


Dreidel Game Rules - How to Play Dreidel

The dreidel is a 4-sided top of ancient origin.
The Hebrew letters on the side are nun, gimel, hay, and shin.
They form an acronym in Hebrew which means
"A great miracle happened there."
Dreidel, is a traditional game played by children
during the eight day Hanukkah celebration.

This game is best played in groups of 4-6. Each player gets an equal number of pennies, nuts, M&Ms, stones or whatever you wish to use.

Each player takes turns spinning the dreidel.
If it lands on:
Nun
-- the player receives nothing, next player spins.

Gimel
-- the player takes all of the pot.

Hay
-- the player takes half of the pot.

Shin
-- the player puts a playing piece into the pot.

Each time the pot is emptied out, each player puts in a
playing piece (penny, nut, candy) and the game continues.

What teaching tales do you have hidden within you?

"Who has kept us alive, sustained us, and brought us to this season."

Our family moves between several different worlds - there is my husband's Judaism, my Catholic past and our loosely neo-pagan traditions that we follow as the seasons turn.

Tonight is the first night of Hanukkah and so our traditions turn to a God who is decidedly masculine and whom we thank for the "miracles wrought for our forefathers in those days at this season." We try to help our children to feel they are one more link in a long chain that extends back for many years (which is often tricky given that mom isn't technically one of those links, but I dare anyone to cook a better Seder, so who's counting?)

This year we are sharing the first night with a new friend, Leonora from Babbo's books. Watching her help the kids with homework and play the dreidel game, while the cat played with Miss M's pencil and the dog lounged in front of the fire, my heart was filled with gratitude. I am so pleased to have this life and this home and this family to share with friends. We are incredibly blessed.

And so I offer this, the third of the Hanukkah blessings:
Blessed are You, Lord our God, King of the Universe, Who has kept us alive, sustained us, and brought us to this season. Amen!

What traditions do you uphold at this time of year?

Sacred Life Sunday - Dichotomies

Snow and fire; warm and cold - these are the glorious delicious blessed dichotomies of my Sacred Life!













What are the sacred dichotomies of your life?