Lady Heather's Domain: My life in a Nutshell

I am reading The Quest for Peace in a Broken World by Juli Alvarado. Because I love the book and do not want to do any copy write problems I am only going to post what I did or how I understood each day of this 100 day journey.  I highly recommend purchasing this book if you want to find peace within. As I started this book I found that my thoughts resonated with Juli and brought back many of the things I learned and worked on during my Simply Healing Retreat.   I can tell this is going to be quite a journey and will be tough but I really hope that it will help me find internal peace. I want my legacy to be that I was caring and thoughtful and worked to help heal the world one person at a time.

Well it is the Full Wolf Moon also known as Full Moon after Yule and Ice Moon and basically any kind of moon that has to do with seriously cold weather. So what does Full Wolf Moon mean - well it is said that in this time of winter the wolves would howl in hunger.  But if we look deeper, we know that wolves are pack animals.  They require a connection to their pack to hunt, rear their family and to live.  What do we do in cold weather?  We connect with family, visit, celebrate and keep our home fires burning to share food and keep warm, much like the wolves do. So I am focusing on family and being connected even in this cold weather where all you want to do is cozy up in bed and read a book.  I am making phone calls, volunteering and making sure that my "pack" (family and community) is part of me and I am part of it.

Today is Winter Solstice otherwise known as Yule.  My hubby, son and I celebrate it as our main winter holiday.  We still have Christmas stockings on Christmas morning but today is when we each give each other thoughtful or handmade presents. I enjoy Yule because it lets us get away from the hectic Christmas season.  We plan ahead because we know there is not last minute Christmas Eve shopping for us (although truth be told I know my son will be going to the mall tomorrow for a "haircut" which is code for finishing what he needs for Yule. It is a time of introspection and celebration of family and togetherness.  For us it is in the evening.  I spent yesterday making a family stew recipe that I thought was a perfect fit for our dinner.  It uses nearly everything in one's pantry and refrigerator, kind of like my ancestors might have done in the winter.  I can imagine they would make stews with little bits of meat and lots of vegetables and items fr...

Full Oak Moon is the full moon before Yule.  The oak is a symbol of strength and eternity. When the winter is in full reign over the Earth, it is important to remember the oak’s endurance. To survive the trials of winter, people must find within themselves the oak’s great strength. I find this year I am finding my inner strength to move through harder times using that strength. I find it very fitting that today is stormy and cold and the wind is blowing the remaining leaves from the trees.  Even though this year the Oak Moon is early, somehow the weather seems quite fitting and today I feel deep in winter. It is important at this time of year that roots are pushed deep into the Earth so you can survive through the storms - no wonder it is a time of family gatherings and sharing of resources (Thanksgiving, Holiday events and such) - we need our families and they help us find our inner strength when the world around us seems brutally cold.

This last weekend I attended a Simply Healing Retreat for women that was put on by Coaching for Life.    I have created this video to express what it was like for me. The music is by David and Steve Gordon from their album Sacred Spirit Drums - this one is called Path with a Heart.

This year has been such a challenging year.  This year I had only three of seeds of intention that I planted.  1.  To continue to support my daughter in every way I could to help her healing.  2.  To support my husband during his lower surgeries.  3.  To continue towards becoming a therapist working with families struggling with RAD. One thing that I have learned to trust although it is still really hard is that when you put an intention out there and focus on it, you have to understand that it may not come to fruition the way you planned or thought it would.  When I decided on my intentions last year and imagined what my life would be like now, I never imagined it would be this way.  I imagined that my daughter would probably have been given another 6 months to a year at the group home she was this time last year and she would be an hour away and making progress to coming home.  I imagined my hubby would be finished with his su...

Beaver Moon, sometimes called Frost Moon is usually the full moon in November but this year it is at the end of October as it is the 2nd full moon after the fall equinox. From Wikipedia: Two reasons are given for the coupling of the November moon with the flat-tailed aquatic animal: (a) November is a month when many hunters used to set leghold traps for beaver, [1] and (b) November is a month when many beaver families are especially active in rebuilding their beaver lodges and dams . [2] Much of the mammals' building and repair work takes place by moonlight, because the beaver is primarily nocturnal . Both explanations implicate November's position as the last full month before the coming of winter , as beaver (which do not hibernate ) need to have ready access to food during the cold months, and need to grow an especially lush pelt of fur so as to be prepared. By the traditional valuation standards of the fur trade , a late-fall beaver pelt was worth more than a pe...