I remember Candlemas at my Catholic grade school – how mysterious it seemed.  Blessing candles.  Blessing your throat.  St. Blase (candles? fire? blaze? it all seemed pretty confusing to me).

It IS a time to nurture the light.  We can see it returning – the days are visibly longer.  And even in mild winters, as we are having in Chicago this year, you can still see it’s winter if you look at the trees, the dormant earth, the lack of color and flowers.

So it’s a liminal time.  Still (sort of) winter, not (yet) spring.  Still time to go within – but now with a purpose:  planning our spring gardens.  Physically, yes, for my gardening friends.  But for all of us – what do we want to plant in our lives and in the world this year?

It feels to me to be a powerful time.  So being purposeful on what I plant feels very important indeed.  Today is a good day to do the inner work, the planning, the receptiveness so that we will have a good and glorious spring and summer.  I woke up this morning, greeted by a deep fog – what a perfect start to this ancient power-gate day.

Happy Candlemas, all!  Whether the day makes you think of groundhogs or candles, know that it’s roots go WAY back – to lambs and springtime and HOPE.

What are you hoping to bring forth this year?  I really want to know!

Like you, I have some periods that are very productive (which always make me feel happy – whether or not they have any ultimate meaning or purpose).  And then there are days like yesterday.  Yeah.  Those days when you go to bed and say to yourself, well that felt like a waste.

As I was journalling this morning, I thought “What’s up with me?” and thus this post.

So I made a “Things Hanging Over My Head” list so that rather than unsconsciouslly avoiding the pain points or operating at half steam because of them, I can either address them (long or short term) or at least acknowledge that they’re there and decide what I’m going to do about it.

Once you look at what you’re avoiding you can both decide what to do about it, and also see the ripple effect.

Here’s one example:

• Hanging over my head – the weight I gained at Christmas is just enough to make my new-ish jeans too tight, but my older jeans are still way too baggy.
• So I’m wearing the baggy jeans and feel like a slob (but when I wore the tighter jeans Friday night I was not only uncomfortable but felt that looked bad too)

Of course, the correct (for me) longer term solution is to lose the weight I gained and all will be right in the world – at least vis-a-vis pants.  But a good short term solution might be to spend $30 on a pair of jeans that fits better right NOW so that I don’t feel like a schmoe every day.

Some of the items on my list will take more time/energy/new approaches (how DO I address my kittens’ destructiveness?).  Some are simple and I just need to complete them (attending to the chaos in my office – I HAVE been working on that, but since I spend a lot of my time here, until it’s done, the disorder affects my mood and productivity).

How about you?  Is there anything ‘hanging over your head’ that is sapping you of vitality, productivity and joy?  What ya gonna do about it?  I really want to know!

I’ve written several posts in this blog on cohousing – it’s been a passion of mine for many years.  (See cohousing, advantages of cohousing while staying right here in my suburban house, more cohousing ‘lite’ – cooking parties, baby steps towards cohousing – the shared shredder, and more baby steps towards cohousing – aka neighborliness).

And in at least one of those posts I vowed to start a group with some of my wonderful neighbors.

Last night we had our kickoff meeting.  Kids running around (oh, my kittens slept SO well last night!) and good potluck food accompanied our planning.  We agreed upon our intent – as stated above, to share stuff, time, resources and talents.  We agreed upon a forum – a Facebook group for routine communications, good old-fashioned phone calls for the impromptu ones.  And we agreed upon meeting for a Sunday potluck every other month – to fine-tune the process, to socialize, but also to share stuff – bring the things we want to give away and give neighbors the first crack at it.

For now we’re keeping it very simple. Though I’m at a simpler stage in my own life, the other 3 families consist of two working parents and 2 or 3 kids.  Busy lives.  For this to work it has to be easy.

We’ve talked about maybe doing a ‘time bank’ in the future to keep on top of the sharing of time/talents – but for now we’ll trust the process – that it will be equitable and fair.  We’ve already shared resources – I shared a link to the McHenry County Transition and Pete shared a link to a page he heard about on NPR – OhSoWe.  David and Katja offered use of their composter.

We talked about checking in with one another before store runs – while I’m at Costco, does anyone need anything?  Two years ago I did this in an impromptu way, calling Pete & Julie and Lisa & Jon when I was at the Farmer’s Market and saw something I thought they’d like.

I’m very excited about creating conscious community with my neighbors.  What’s your reaction?  Is this something you’d like in your life? How could you make that happen?  What would the benefits be?  I really want to know!

Continuing on the theme I began last Sunday, I’ll explore my take on the five Unity principles.

At my church we frame the second principle as “The Christ spirit lives within me.”  Another variation, shown on our website is “We are spiritual beings, created in God’s image. The spirit of God lives within each person; therefore, all people are inherently good.”

My view of God has changed a lot since I was a child.  Then I pictured God as a distant (in all ways), somewhat stern, male authority figure.  God seemed to be a person, but even more powerful than my father – imagine!

In other words, God was only a transcendent God – above and beyond us – outside of our beings.

The best way for me to describe God’s immanence (lives within me) as well as transcendence (but is also a force outside of me) is from Maurice Sendak’s “In the Night Kitchen.”  In that delightful children’s book, the wee hero, Mickey, is in a bakery in the middle of the night, when they are baking bread.  He falls into a huge vat of milk and exclaims “I’m in the milk and the milk’s in me!”

The transcendence (I’m in the milk) and immanence (and the milk’s in me) of God.

This principle speaks to God’s immanence.  Our Hindu friends use the lovely greeting “Namaste” to express the same principle:  “the God in me beholds the God in you.”  Our Buddhist friends talk of our Buddha nature.  Interestingly, “Immanence” in Wikipedia provides a perspective across religions on this topic.

But what is important to me is how do I apply this principle in my life?

For me, the best shortcut to this principle is the lovely salutation “Namaste”.  It reminds me that the Good (aka “God”) within me is always there for me to tap into.  I don’t have to be a jerk, even when that is tempting!  And it also reminds me that even though you may be disguising your God nature (aka goodness) at this moment as you cut in front of me in line in the store, that it is still there – your innate goodness.

One of the purposes of religions or religious schools of thought is to provide a code for moral conduct.  This is the moral conduct part of this principle – act in a “Godly manner”.

But it is deeper than that.  For me, this is a radical departure from the teachings of my youth – the belief that God IS within me. Which gets to the heart of the nature of God.

For me, it’s love.  Kindness.  Goodness.

It’s not just who I am when I call a friend who is grieving (the moral code/behavioral component), but it is also who I am when childlike wonder bubbles up in me as I open the blinds on a Sunday morning and see a magical landscape of fat fluffy snow falling.

And the reason my favorite way of expressing this principle is “Namaste” is that it brings in YOU, and relationships.  If I can remember not only my own “Christ consciousness”/Buddha nature – but yours as well, it not only makes life more pleasant, but it adds meaning and mystery.

Namaste!

“And miracle, Bill and other early A.A.s knew from their own experience of alcoholism and recovery, is exactly the opposite of magic.  Miracle involves openness to mystery, the welcoming of surprise, the acceptance of those realities over which we have no control.  Magic is the attempt to be in control, to manage everything – it is the claim to be, or to have a special relationship with, some kind of ‘god.’  Spirituality is aligned not with magic and the effort to control, but with miracle, “the wonder of the unique that points us back to the wonder of the everyday.’” {page 118}

I used to have a bumpersticker on my car that read “Expect a Miracle”.  I put it on the car at a time in my life that felt bleak, frightening and filled with uncertainty.  I was clinging to spirituality with all my might.  I must admit, I was also looking for some magic.  some Ju-Ju that would make the bad stuff go away, the disappeared good stuff come back and life to feel steady, secure and normal again.

I learned in that liminal period that several powerful principles used together always create positive results:

• Live life from a place of gratitude
• Practice acceptance – don’t fight reality!
• “Do the next right thing”
• Trust the process (personally I call that trusting God, but my non-God-fan friends might like ‘process’ or ‘Universe’ better)

I heard a show on NPR yesterday about sustainability and climate change.  The scientist being interviewed talked about a phenomenon, of which I’m aware, but had no idea it had a name:  techno-optimism.  I’ve heard this argument from my Dad when we talk about climate change (which, like politics, is perilous turf for our conversations).  I did a Google search to find a quick definition – but I see the results remind me of political conversations:  It’s Good! No, It’s Bad! — but not so much “here’s what it is”.  However, my take is that people who would prefer not to change now are betting on magic – future technology will fix bad things, so don’t worry, be happy.

I don’t think that’s helpful.

My brother and I were talking about some tricky conundrums he solved in fixing his sailboat (I  have to say, my brother can fix ANYTHING! He’s amazing).  He said he was happy that the problem was eradicated, but not happy that it might have involved “FM”.  “Radios? What on earth is FM?”, I asked.  I’ll paraphrase his reply as I like this blog to be non-profane:  Flippin’ Magic

Magic (or Miracles) is not a good strategy.  Back when I was a software developer eons ago there was a popular cartoon showing an application development plan – in the middle was a big box saying “And here, a miracle occurs”.

Why then, do I expect a miracle?

Because over and over and over again I have seen that if I do the next right thing, live from a place of gratitude and trust God that unexpected blessings do appear – often from unlikely sources at just the right time.  Is that part of my strategic planning?

Well, the miracle part per se is not.  But being open to possibility, planning ‘the next right thing’ and not every tiny step for the next ten years, and coming from a place of positive expectations ARE part of the plan.  And you know, so far it’s working pretty well.

How about you?  Are you relying on “FM”? Or are you doing your part and expecting a miracle.  Or maybe – none of the above!  I really want to know!

The me who can be negative and judgmental had a little snippy remark to self about comparing checkbook size and waist size.  But then I thought “Oh wait! Create Positive Change!  How can I make this into a GOOD story?”

While I am the first to admit that my food expenditures are not just on apples, broccoli and cod, and that Ms. No-to-Big-Corporations has a robust Starbucks addiction going, I DO think that eating high quality, nutritious food is part of the reason why I spend more —- on Food.

On health care?  not so much.

And I think there’s a correlation.  I had asked my friend Kay, when she worked as a nurse in our local hospital, what percentage of people were in the hospital due to lifestyle factors as opposed to genetics or accidents.  At that point she said something like “over 75%”.  When she and I discussed this again last week, she said she thinks it is well over 90%. This 2005 article “Only 3 percent of Americans live a healthy lifestyle” would seem to substantiate that.  Some common diseases caused by lifestyle (nutrition, exercise, smoking) are outlined in this recent Livestrong article.  And though this article is from 2003, I suspect the depressing facts and figures on how obesity contributes to health and health care spending have gotten more depressing, not less.

I could provide a million links, but you get my point.  As I’ve written here before, when people point out that it costs money to eat healthfully, I always say that I’d rather spend money now on good food than later on cancer or diabetes care.

Does eating healthfully guarantee that I won’t develop heart disease, cancer, diabetes or other lifestyle-related leading causes of death?  No, life does not come with guarantees other than death itself.  But if articles like this one are correct (and if you read just ONE link from today’s blog, make it this one) you can save lots of money for yourself – and the government (as you may well get these diseases once you’re on Medicare – the effects of bad choices often take a few decades to kick in).

So – the Create Positive Change me DOES need to look at some of the unhealthy food choices I make with all that excessive spending (can I justify a Snickers bar?  I’m thinking no.  The Starbucks, however, shall remain).  But I can feel good about the choices I make  – food, my gym membership, even reading Prevention magazine to stay motivated – that are helping me save money – both now and in the future – on health care.

How about you?  How did you do on MoJo’s “Is Your Food Spending Normal” quiz?  Do you feel okay about the results?  Or do you need to make some changes?  I really want to know!

I attend Unity Spiritual Center of Woodstock and see Unity as one of the main streams of the river of my spirituality.  My nephew asked me ”Well, does this church you go to have any core beliefs?”.  As it turns out, yes, we have five principles by which we live.  Each Sunday we say them in our service and I’ll cover them individually here over the course of some Sundays.

1. There is only one power and one presence in the Universe and in my life – God, the Good Omnipotent.

(This is also expressed as “1) God is the source and creator of all. There is no other enduring power. God is good and present everywhere.”)

It’s important to me to remember that there is ONE power – God.  Not “the job market” as I seek next right livelihood.  Not “the stock market” or “the economy” as I wonder if my money is safe for retirement.  Not “common sense” as I wish that I and others in my life would not make bad decisions.  Not “ADD” or “getting older” or any of the things I think I could blame actions on in my life.  Not “the devil” in whom my mother had a great belief.  Not Republicans, nor Democrats, nor any seeming political force (oh, I DO invest a lot of energy into believing that politics is a force in the world).

There is ONE presence and ONE power in the Universe – AND IN MY LIFE.  And luckily, too, it’s not my ego!  It’s God.

There’s a great pamphlet written by Emmet Fox – The Golden Key - in which he says that whenever anything troubles you, rather than ruminating on your worry, think instead of God.

This principle helps in that pursuit.  Because when I worry about what my next job will be, or about the health and well-being of those I love, or the direction in which our country seems headed (or even just losing the few pounds that found me over the holidays), I can remember that the real power is with God.

Some people I hang out with say that if “God” seems a scary or foreign word to you, you can substitute G.O.D. – Good Orderly Direction.

And for this principle I think you could substitute one of God’s longer names – Good.

I also like the last word we use for this principle at my church – “Omnipotent”.  When things feel insurmountable I can remember that – the all powerfulness of the Good, of God.  That helped me a lot last year as my 46 year old friend was dying from cancer.  When I felt overwhelmed with sadness and wanting to stop  what was happening, I turned the whole mess over to God the Good Omnipotent.  Becky still died.  But she was definitely at peace, and over time I have become at peace with it too.  While God’s idea of good, or what the ultimate plan is still remain mysterious to me at times, I have come very much to trust the process.

So when I find myself troubled, I can turn to this principle and remind myself that thankfully, neither my ego nor {fill in the blank with the supposed power about which I’m worried – economy, health, et al} is anything else.  Over to You, God!

First, I have to just  say – the book is FANTASTIC on outlining what’s wrong.  If you feel America is headed in the wrong direction and need some facts, figures and talking points this is a great resource.  Like some of Friedman’s other books the description of the problem can feel almost overwhelming at time.

As I focus for 2012 (Create. Positive. Change.) I remind myself to get out of despair/anger and into solutions.  This post will cover solutions proposed for the first of the four major areas of challenges that the book addresses:

1. How to adapt to Globalization
2. Hot to adjust to the IT revolution
3. How to cope with the large and soaring budget deficits
4. How to manage a world of both rising energy consumption and rising climate threats

For Globalization – in essence, the antidote is education.  On page 19 he quotes Charles Vest, former president of MIT who said:

“..it requires a public awakening, establishment of political will, resetting of priorities, sacrifice for the future, and an alliance of governments, businesses and citizens. … Engineering, education, science, and technology are clearly within the core of what has to be done.  After all, this is the knowledge age.  The United States cannot prosper based on low wages, geographic isolation, or military might.  We can prosper only based on brainpower: properly prepared and properly applied brainpower.”

He again emphasizes the importance of science and math on page 100:

“Because of the merger of globalization and the IT revolution, raising math, science, reading and creativity levels in American schools is the key determinant of economic growth, and economic growth is the key to national power and influence as well as individual well-being.”

• We need to close the educational gap between whites and minorities – we need “all hands on deck”
• Tony Wegner, from Harvard, argues that we should “create a West Point for would-be teachers and principals”

Use these lessons from Colorado:

1. Pay teachers for results and watch what happens!
2. Reward the best teachers and then pay them to teach their methods to others
3. Base tenure on performance, not seniority
4. If reductions in force are needed do it based on effectiveness, not seniority
5. Let principles hire their own teachers.  “That is, the school district cannot take ineffective teachers, whom no school wants to hire, and force them on a school.  Teachers who are not hired by any school on their merits after one year get released.”

There are other things WE can do to help:

• Support effective teachers as a community.  Money isn’t the only reward – Washington, DC does an event called “A Standing Ovation for D.C. Teachers” (p 118)
• Push politicians to make educational reform a priority.
• Get who the real competition is – it’s not the other middle school in your town, but the middle school in Shanghai or Seoul against which you should compare your children’s school
• Expect more of your children or the kids in your life.  I love this line:  “American young people have got to understand from an early age that the world pays off on results, not on effort.” (p 125).  Amen!
• Get involved – ACTIVELY involved in your kids education and learning.
• Read to your kids and have lots of books in your home:  “children growing up in homes with many books get 3 years more schooling than children from bookless homes, independent of their parents’ education, occupation, and class.” (p 127)
• “At precisely the moment when we need more education to bring the bottom up to the average and the American average up to the global peaks, our students are spending more time texting and gaming and less time than ever studying and doing homework.  Unless we get them to spend the time needed to master a subject, all the teacher training in the world will go for naught.” (p 129)

Those are just a few suggestions from one chapter – the book is full of ideas that could each spawn a movement.

The statistics and anecdotes they provided about how VERY far behind America is educationally scared me a lot. I don’t have kids, but I have nieces and nephews and now a lot of grandnieces and grandnephews.  I want a better future for them.  If you have kids you love, consider providing them with encouragement, inspiration, books and resources.  Push them to get results – it’s so important for them and for America.

Yesterday I got another opportunity for the type of neighborliness, “We’re all in this together” vibe I’m seeking to have more of in my life.  My dear friend/neighbor Julie texted me asking if her husband Pete could borrow my Forester mini station wagon to take their daughter Madelyn to band practice.  Julie had their minivan and Madelyn’s stand-up bass would not fit in Pete’s Saab without putting the neck of the bass out the window in our very cold Chicago winter evening.

Often I’m home in the evenings, but I had plans to meet with a bunch of women last night.  My friend Kay had been feeling a bit down and when we had tea earlier in the day said she’d like to go with me (she’s actually the one who introduced me to this group).

So I called Kay, asked if she could drive me to/from the gathering – she said yes.  Texted Julie back that it was a go.

Then, I remembered my conversation with Kay about how frustrated I am that the nutritionist I saw a few years ago seems to have been right – looks like I ***am*** allergic to almonds.  I had, alas, just bought a big $12 bag of almonds last week.

So in some very nice synchronicity, Pete used my car to get Madelyn to/from band practice.  Kay and I had more one:one time to talk in our rides to/from the group.  I gave Kay the bag of almonds – I was pleased to give them to someone I knew would appreciate them – she was pleased for the unexpected treat.

Cohousing.  It’s a more formal, structured way to ensure neighborliness and community and resource sharing.  Right now I live in a little suburban house in an ordinary neighborhood.  But I’m creating more neighborliness and sustainability every day.

The solution:  Say no! —- and — Say yes to an alternative!

I spent a lot of last year being outraged.  Well, I’ve been outraged a lot since 2008, watching America change into an entrenched plutocracy.  Being outraged, per se, only hurt me.  Not paying attention (the tactic I see many – most? – people use) is probably worse.

Now I’m focusing on two alternatives, both of which will create positive change (as you know, that’s my theme for 2012 – create positive change).

Say no to what you don’t like.

Or say yes, to a better alternative.

At a philosophical level, I feel the better strategy is to say yes to the better alternative.  My mom used to tell us “you become what you think about” (wise woman!) and one of the tenets of my church (Unity) is that “Thoughts held in mind produce after their kind” – i.e., our thoughts create our reality, so best to choose positive ones.  I agree with that.

But this pugnacious, passionate Irish girl still gets riled up at injustice and inequality.   Rather than wishing I were less bombastic, it’s occurred to me that I can do both – focus on creating good, put my energy into the new world I wish to see.  But also continue to say no.

What saying no looks like for me:

• Attending “Occupy the Courts” in Chicago this Friday
• Writing about what needs changing
• Boycotting companies that are egregiously wrong (top of my list:  Wal-Mart, followed by Target and BP)
• Getting more involved in Occupy Chicago

What saying yes looks like for me:

• Getting more involved in the Transition Town network
• Getting food from local sources – farmer’s markets, CSAs, my friend’s garden, Farmer Nick (local eggs and chickens)
• Buying locally in general
• Seeking sustainability from the very small acts (cloth bags rather than paper/plastic), to the medium (buying a shredder with my friend rather than each of us buying one) to the larger (investigating co-housing)

I plan to explore more of these this year and will take you along for the ride.

How are you saying no right now?

How are you saying yes right now?

Which feels more natural to you?

I really want to know!